Garbage: A Poem

Garbage by A.R. Ammons reads--almost--like stream-of-consciousness writing, except that it really consists of well-structured, paired lines that take us,with the poet, on a journey through the junk that permeates not only our world but also our minds, hearts, and consciences. As an older reader (and English teacher for almost 30 years), I identify strongly with much that he says. And I like his unpretentious, but strong use of language. Ammons was a brilliant man with much insight. For those readers who say his book of poetry is junk, I invite them to take another look and read again each section. I am ordering this book today after borrowing a copy from a friend.

This book is brilliant, & so unique, through & through. Very particular music, with amazing, complex metaphors; a luminous lexus; a solid, earthy grip in the world with settings in real places such as route I-95 in Florida; & even humor. For example, at one moment in the book, there's an archetype which he comments on being "another Archie." His poetry never stops moving. I think his writing, especially this book with all its idosyncrasies & ideas, is very important poetry to know.

I think it's fantastic that Norton has reissued Garbage. It and the earlier Tape for the Turn of the Year are great examples of how the long poem can still be a fun, engaging, page-turner of a genre. Ammons was a crackerjack writer and he is at his best in Garbage. It starts off with an audacious premise - that garbage is a worthy subject for epic poetry. But, the next thing you know, Ammons is making you a believer with his astounding lyricism and exuberance. He then turns his romanticized trash heap into a springboard for a engaging discussion of life, art and the question of what is permanent. Garbage is bursting at the seams with Ammons' wry humor, old-fashioned homespun wisdom and refreshingly self-deprecating honesty about the befuddlement of the human condition. A hoot to read!

In terms of importance and pleasure--perhaps the only meaningful qualities of verse--Garbage is right up there with Harmonium and the Four Quartets. I can think of no other books last century which have had such a profound effect on the art than the aforementioned books of Stevens and Eliot. Garbage is sure to have such an effect for 21st century poets. It has completely transformed my poetry; I can no longer write in a stilted and affected voice. What's more, it has provided me days upon days of intellectual pleasure.The Ammons line is something totally unprecedented in poetry. Tentative, flippant, musical, supple and tough:...Mike, the youngkid who does things for us, cut down thethrift with his weedeater, those little whiteflowers more like weedsize more than likely:sometimes called cliff rose: also got the grassout of the front ditch now too wet to mow, slashed:the dispositional axis is not supreme (how tedious)and not a fiction (how clever) but plain (greatnessflows through the lowly) and a fact (like as not)Ultimately it is poets who decide which poet achieves greatness and which poet is forgotten. I believe Ammons will influence the coming generation of poets more than anyone else will, and Garbage is sure to play a starring role in this influence.

"Garbage" is a lively book-length poem in 18 chapters about...uh, well, garbage. Actually, that's just a jumping-off point for a poem more concerned with philosophical issues than the here and now, which is fairly uncommon in this age of tinny free verse poems about pretty much nothing. Ammons' imagination takes him all over the map, from musings on the trials of being sixty-three years old with "an unaccomplished mission unaccomplished," to the possibility of personal immortality. Parts are a little obscure, but on the whole this is very readable, even funny at times. Ammons knows how to make philosophy entertaining; as he puts it, "Argument is like dining:/mess with a nice dinner long enough, it's garbage."