Selected Poems: Summer Knowledge

I was first drawn to Schwartz via Saul Bellow's book Humboldts Gift. Although his rise and fall may be sad, what I am struck by here is the breadth of his poetry. As he says in his poem "The Kingdom of Poetry: "Poetry is quick as tigers, clever as cats, vivid as oranges". In his work, there are dark passages as "The Heavy Bear that goes with me" on the clumsiness of physical body. In contrast, there is the joyous morning song of "A small score" with song of crickets and the bubble of birds. Throughout there is the juxtaposition of classical images, as in "Plato's cave" and modern sensibility of the soul. In the longer series of poems Coriolanus and His Mother, the Roman characters of Brutus, and Marcius are interspersed with Freud and a semblance of standup comedy. I recommend this book, for its diversity and depth ... some of the images have remained with me over a decade now.Those who have read his short stories "In Dreams begin responsibilities" will enjoy the twist of the words in the selection of poems in the section "The Dreams which begin in responsibilities".

Delmore Schwartz was well recognized in his day, but has since lapsed into obscurity. His range of style is enormous, and his talent is superior. I recommend this work to anybody who is interested in poetry as the mainstay of a reading diet. It is truly outstanding. I don't know how I managed to earn a bachelor's degree in poetry without ever having read Delmore Schwartz. I hope that there are others like him waiting to be found . . .