Proofs And Theories. Essays On Poetry

Proofs and Theories. Essays on Poetry

From Library Journal Gluck (Pulitzer Prize winner for The Wild Iris, LJ 5/15/92) here presents an uneven collection of essays on modern and contemporary poetry. Some of the essays are written in a lucid prose style. For instance, "Disruption, Hesitation, Silence," the best of the volume, compares the poetry of John Berryman, George Oppen, and T.S. Eliot, associating each with an adjectival attribute in the title. However, many of the essays need more analysis of the poets covered. For example, the essay "On Stanley Kunitz" (Gluck's mentor) is too short for a tribute and fails to infuse any germane thought into his poetry. At times, Gluck is able to pull off the improbable comparison of these very different poets in a creative twist of her imagination. Perhaps the lack of development in many of the essays results because Gluck "doesn't trust [her] prose." She holds back from explaining her theories and developing her proofs, which leaves the reader wanting more. For literary collections.-Tim Gavin, Episcopal Acad., Merion, Pa.-- prose." She holds back from explaining her theories and developing her proofs, which leaves the reader wanting more. For literary collections.Tim Gavin, Episcopal Acad., Merion, Pa.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureProofs and Theories, winner of the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Non-Fiction,