The Complete Poems of Hart Crane - thoughts and BOOK REVIEW
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I just have to say, Hart Crane is my favourite poet. Thanks so so much for the review. There's an abstract catharsis with his work that inevitably leads back to his story and who he was. No wonder Tennessee wanted to be given back to the sea just like Hart. I don't think art exists to uplift or anything, but whenever I'm blue I always revisit Mr. Crane and see that everything I'm going through has been gone through before, and that something great can be borne from the pain. During my first year at college I pinned the line
'The imagination spans beyond despair, Outpacing bargain, vocable and prayer.' to my wall, and it became a kind of mantra.
P.S. please read 'In Youth is Pleasure' by Denton Welch
I feel this man. Crane was a spirit we got lucky enough to keep through the generations because of his poetry, but the life lived and the man remain just as loved as his works.
"This is really fucked up." Not at all, my man. I credit you for showing your emotions like that, no shame at all
My favourite American poet and I would argue, THE superior American poet, still unsurpassed. Crane's command of imagery, complex rhyme, perfect melting of sound into speech and vice-versa is second to none. His ambition and themes, recovered from the heart of America but not excluding the rest of the world, is like a verse-equivalent of Melville. Thank you for the comprehensive and detailed review!
You and your reviews are such a treasure, loved your stuff since I discovered you through your review on Michael Giras THE CONSUMER.
Truly a treasure.
@@TheSnoClan Agreed🎻Better than Food is the voice of a generation.
Didn't know I was going to cry today.
Thank you.
Man, I love your videos. Bought a copy for myself. Cheers from Cincinnati.
Thanks Better Than Food. Hart Crane was assigned in Modern Poetry class, I remember watching the Voices and Visions Crane doc that semester (1994). I've given other hours over the years to Crane's poems, never clicked for me, except for one short poem about I think I recall a photo of his grandmother. Gorgeous pathos. I read it in the sun room of a shelter I stayed in in Boone, NC. That was a little over a decade ago. Since I've tried Crane a couple more times, never clicked for me, The Bridge I mean. Not so much, not much. I'll read him again soon. Poetry has been my lifeblood, especially the poetry of painting. The poetry of verse too.
Other suggested poets are Ted Hughes, Plath (obviously), Jim Harrison, W.H. Auden, Byron, Norman Maccaig, Keats, Sorley Maclean, Robert Graves, to name a few.
Whitman?
I haven’t read much of Whitman yet. But sure thing! Robert Frost is another one. And I’m yet to pursue the work of Emily Dickinson, which I’m assured is brilliant.
Astounding review. One of the most special things you've put out there.
Fantastic review ! And your astute observation of the connection between Kenneth Anger’s films and Cranes poetry is inspiring.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
As a poet and fiction writer myself I can really say there is no creative madness brighter than poetry. I really really felt those lines you read, it hits you somewhere deep in an aesthetic and subliminal way. It has this way of moving you the way a rock ripples water when its thrown into it. The idea of capturing that motion is like trying to surf on tides that only exist inside your own head. Absolutely difficult, but wholly satisfying like nothing else when executed masterfully. Loved this review!
Do you have a link to some of your poems? Always keen to read a fellow writer’s work.
You are not a poet or a fiction writer
I was listening to you reading and it felt just like Clarisse's água viva, just provokes the feeling on you. It's witchcraft at its peak, there is some level of magic in this dead man's words. Just for the record I was already in tears while you still felling them coming KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
I cannot stand the Waste Land, but Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is possibly my favorite poem of all time. If you ever revisit Eliot, start there
Prufrock was the first poem that I loved, besides Dulce Et Decorum Est
Idk, next to the twl prufrock seems pretty sophomoric.
And to think, E.E. Cummings was Crane's good friend, and that Crane and Federico Garcia Lorca met each other in New York.
You should check out Ezra Pound (no one as ever said this with good intentions so proceed with caution)
My experience with Ezra Pound’s work is that he was extremely pretentious.
@@happymaskedguy1943 He might have been pretentious but he was also a genius who read more than almost anyone else in the 20th century with the exception of Joyce and Bloom.
Wow this was such a fantastic analysis and perspective on Crane. Thank you for just saying how difficult he is to get through.
I believe Hart Crane was one of the most unbelievable talents to ever touch language. i just wish he wasn’t so tormented and lived out a long life. imagine the poetry he would’ve gone on to write…
For me, no matter whether a Crane poem might be called negative or pessimistic, because of his lyric and inventive gift I find most of his work invigorating and "uplifting." You've given us a fine introduction to him. Crane teaches us a new language made of words we already know--or thought we did. You show us how his sometime opaque difficulty is inseparable from what makes him invaluable to us. And you present this paradox, I guess it is, in an often personal and moving way, even at its most abstract and cerebral moments. Sorry, but after this review you can no longer say with Knausgaard that you "don't get poetry." Gracias for all the work you did here.
Wow! finding this review right before Paul Skenes' debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, banner day for a Saturday. Hart Crane is superb!
Gettin' into some Harold Bloom sh*t here. Cool. Looking forward to watching.
Am running through Harry Crosby’s Shadows of the sun, might be my favorite of the year so far, thanks for the tip.
welp if you ever visit cleveland where he is from be sure to visit hart crane park in the flats.
i enjoyed your thoughts and so will leave you with my fav (and unlike hart very clear) poem -- it's by richard brautigan 1967:
All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace
I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.
I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.
I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.
Mien spiritual vater, my friend, Hart Crane, So. I was first exposed to him in 1999 and bought the book in 2001. I've been intrigued ever since and never looked back; lost at sea when 8 bells sounded noon. He haunts me. I try to map his way. Byron said, "My Verse, The Strict Map of My Misery." (edit: I really enjoyed this. I wish more would talk about Crane and his existential verse. Thank you, friend.)
Beautiful, Cliff. Incredible review
That Rimbaud reference at 0:09
Crazy that wasn’t even intentional. That’s the Gulf of Mexico that Crane jumped into.
Nice review, love Hart Crane since i've first discovered him only a year ago. Ever thought about reviewing R.M.Rilke? Particular his Duino Elegies? Love
Yes , that would be great.His book of hours is also a great option.
Fascinating poet, Crane. And a friend of Lovecraft's through Samuel Loveman, into the bargain. I have that same edition.
A quite wonderful and excellent appreciation of Crane, Cliff, thanks very much. You're thoroughgoing engagement belies any description of yourself as a "poetic novice". Some other poets I think you might be interested in and/or I'd be interested in your thoughts on: Charles Olson, JH Prynne, Jay Wright, John Peck, Jorie Graham, Simon Jarvis, Paul Celan, Cavafy, Elytis, Seferis, Papatsonis, Gerard de Nerval, Victor Segalen, Saint-John Perse, Kathleen Raine, Geoffrey Hill, and David Jones (perhaps the one of these that means the most to me but that is a hard, if not impossible call).
Seeing the poets you’ve reviewed in the past, I feel you’re not far off from coming across Philip Larkin if you haven’t already
Thanks, Cliff. This was beautiful! Eternal.
Nothing is sexier than a man who is so moved by poetry.
Unfortunately a lot of the poetry fraternity is burdened with a kind of eitist obsession with intellectual difficulty, rather than for beauty or emotional and humanitarian impact. Anyone who tells you that The Waste Land is their favourite poetic sequence is immediately suspect of not actually reading or understanding poetry. Poetry is not a puzzle to decipher. Most good poems should open up to you like a good song. It shouldn’t require a lecture or an equation. More than anything else, a good poem should be felt and experienced. It should make you see a part of human life from a new, enlightening perspective.
What’s even crazier is that people who have no experience whatsoever with reading poetry decide to start with Eliot because he’s so famous. So they immediately think that good poetry must be difficult or obscure. Completely wrong.
Ted Kooser is a FANTASTIC starting point. His poems are wonderful, filled with little ‘Waw’ moments, like little fireworks in your imagination. I recommend most beginners to start there. It’s written in straightforward, modern vernacular, is relatable to everyone, and fulfills the poetic purpose perfectly.
Kind of a silly assertion to be honest but you are welcome to it. A poem like the Wasteland can be appreciated for the beauty and pathos of its imagery before the breadth of its reference in terms of cultural history or such was my experience as young reader. It is something like a phantasmagoria in my mind. The fragmentary style suited me just fine. I don’t think it is the most profound or complex poem ever. Personally I think he was surpassed by Stevens. But whatever. It the element of mysteriousness, of ‘truth told aslant’ that gives good writing its real and lasting life in the imagination of meaning.
You mistake my meaning. I never said it wasn’t accomplished or meaningful. I said that anyone who claims that the Wasteland is their favourite poem should be regarded with suspicion when it comes to their insights of poetry. The actual number of people qualified enough to hold that position are few and far between, and I’ve never heard any published poet or otherwise make that claim. But I HAVE heard posers and other charlatans claim it.
Art is mostly subjective, and poetry is no different. But there are certain red flags for certain types of people. It’s not a rule, but certainly a n indicator.
i share the sentiment but your perspective allows solipsism a ruthless rule.
who you are is what determines what you can resonate with way more than people are willing to admit.
queer stream of consciousness indulgence will never resonate with heterosexual males that appreciate T.S. Eliot.
at the same time pretentious puzzles might simply be poetry not directed at your sentiments.
it is bcs of this strong subjective engagement that poetry raced to the bottom and lost all credibility and integrity it once had. (under hegemonic cultural conditions.)
This video did not feel like fifty minutes wow. And theres absolutely no reason to feel embarrassed about getting emotional. Its authentic and that's why I love your videos. I was thinking the other day about critics, and I thought of this channel which i do not at all think of as critique. your foundation of what you do is the love of literature and expressing it. It's an opposite angle from the critic, Who's concern with the stature of their own opinions is their foundation.
I wanted to put that out there because I'm tired of people lumping the latter with the former.
About poetry, I'm totally going to read Crane now. I'm not at all saying I understand poetry, but I have written a bit of it over the years, And i like that you talked about poetry as a language of the unconscious. When writing it I go into a trance and the words just come to me. They emerge from the unconscious like strange fish from the murky depths (to use a metaphor David Lynch made on his writings Catching The Big Fish).
And what's more eerie is that often I don't even realize what I wrote down until later
I can't even decipher my own writing at first and wonder if it's pretentious word salad (sometimes it is!) but I come back and I fucking discover the meaning of my own poems. It's so clear now. Because I didn't write them, my unconscious did
I take as much credit as creating my dreams. Even our own dreams are a mystery to us yet they emerged from ourselves. Poetry is just our dreams being channeled into the word. It's the exact same realm. Our unconscious knows things and articulates things to us foreign to our very own conscious. Poetry is about being a bridge to that.
Thank you so much for talking about Crane, this will be right up my alley and I'm totally reading this shit
Loving literature and expressing it is the opposite of the critic's role? Huh?
@@huugosorsselsson4122 I've seen these two approaches of critique, they are completely different. Ive heard a lot of people over time who have very low regard for critics and I get why, but the point I was attempting to make is that I feel the approach Cliff makes is like the most authentic way. But many critics have tarnished the name of their own position. People associate them with Ego, but the real ones I associate with genuine passion, fascination and love and they are quite different from the other ones. I've watched a lot of critics from different mediums of art and I believe this schism is fundamental enough that it's a shame it's all lumped under one word. Best I can put it but I'm kind of cringing at myself, I should have let this one sit longer
U should read Georg Trakl if you haven’t … think u will enjoy!
45:33 is a brilliant observation.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Borges on the impossibility of writing. This idea that writers are trying to write The Text, the perfect work, but the tools they have are inherently fallible. Still, there are some writers that come close. So close. Call it The Sublime, call it whatever, I don’t think it matters, and my experiences reading them is visceral however brief. I can’t really describe it. It’s like in those rare moments words aren’t needed.
As a reader I’m always on the hunt for those moments. Those Orphic ones that are the closest approximations to perfection.
Your observations about the Apollinian and Dionysian anent Crane cues me to question whether youd like another French poet, but of a stridently contrary character than the so-called Decadents, and a friend of the Crosby's; that's St.-John Perse.
Had to pause the video to support your urge to read The Savage God by Al Alvarez (R.I.P.).
Really interesting, albeit morbid, point about poets, the moment, and suicide. Had never made those connections before.
Looking like a disillusioned 1970s Los Angeles Detective or a P.I.👀
Beautiful review. Thank you
Paul Auster wrote a book about him. If I could recommend a book for you to review it would be the Invention of Solitude. It is very good. And it would be nice since Auster recently passed away. Also, if you decide to review more poetry, I would highly recommend Leaves of Grass by Whitman. Love Rimbaud as well.
I thought Auster wrote about Stephen Crane?
@@Cymonie1 Sorry. I got them confused!
Feel like I needed to watch this, thank you!
This review was masterful. Damn.
I read him in HS. I loved his poetry.
Cliff I’m sure you’re receiving no shortage of poet recommendations after this but please read some Frank O’Hara.
Welcome to the party, Cliff.
Anyone here reading this : find Samuel Delany’s long essay (80+ pages) on Hart Crane entitled “Atlantis Rose,” it can be found in the collection “Longer Views.” Not only will it give you unbelievable insight into Crane, but it is some of the best literary criticism I’ve ever read in terms of its research.
Found that book from my library. I'm going to check that out (in both senses), thanks for the tip.
A small correction: the title of the essay is ‘Atlantis Rose . . .’ (Delany's ellipsis)
@@huugosorsselsson4122 Oops you are right! thanks, been a minute since I read it. correction added to initial comment
Have you read anything by Iain Sinclair, especially his London books?
Great question, Iain Sinclair is one of my favourites.
I hope you keep doing poetry
I'm reading Crush by Richard Siken and I highly recommend it.
it did knock me out into a mumbling mass of tears at least once
as does my favorite poem: Celebration for June 24 by Thomas McGrath
👍🏻
Amazing
Thank you!
Funny you should read Hart Crane after Tennessee Williams; TW ADORED Crane, wanted to be buried at sea where Crane killed himself so their bones could be together (a wish that Tennessee's jerk brother Dakin ignored). Here he is reading one of his poems (a little pickled, but still charming and wonderful as always). czcams.com/video/FScWlr5qZUY/video.html
Saw that Harry Crosby’s black sun press published one of Bukowskis first poems to see the light of day, 20 tanks from Kasseldown, and Charles’ Black Sparrow press published Crosby’s diary, surly a way of repaying the favor long after Harry had passed, there also is a common interest of horse-betting between the two.
Crane died on a cruise. That’s poetic in itself.
Great review, man!
Fuckin’ great video, always good to see poets get some light.
Thank you for this review Cliff.
Will you ever review The Catcher in the Rye?
I believe the Wasteland deliberately obtuse, whereas Eliot's Four Quartets are far more enjoyable. Why punish yourself reading what everyone has confabulated as his Magnum Opus? Crane while difficult is worth the extra effort. Thank you for this.
Damn this is awesome. Makes me want to break out in recs. Only Eliot, read everything Eliot. There's a reason Crane sought to depose Eliot. He did not. No one will.
Very good video, Thank you. Have you read Emily Brontë’s poetry? It is really good too.
A real poet who embraced the same apotheosis as Empedocles, who threw himself into the crater of Etna. Crane did the same in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, plunging into that eternal abyss, into its boundless depths, the final affirmation of his self-realization as a poet.
I don’t think a poem that can be fully understood is any good, it should not be some sort of puzzle, more like a snapshot of something atmospheric which the author has felt.
thanks for this video
Have you ever reviewed any of the latest youtuber books? Im just curious because some new ones were published recently and many are being sold on amazon.
They’re shite.
Wallace Stevens
I've come to relate to Pablo Neruda's work far more than I used to relate to Crane, and I used to really adore the glorious car crash that is Crane's work. On the other hand, I enjoy music with vocals, most of which consists of crap poetry which shackles the music, less and less.
Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn,
and moreover my mother told me as a boy
(repeatingly) ‘Ever to confess you’re bored
means you have no
Inner Resources.’ I conclude now I have no
inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
Peoples bore me,
literature bores me, especially great literature,
Henry bores me, with his plights & gripes
as bad as achilles,
who loves people and valiant art, which bores me.
And the tranquil hills, & gin, look like a drag
and somehow a dog
has taken itself & its tail considerably away
into mountains or sea or sky, leaving
behind: me, wag.
- John Berryman’s “Dream Song #14”
* Another master poet, alcohol, and suicide.
One of the best modernist poets, man
Sometimes it feels like Nothing can be so humbling and yet infuriating as poetry. I have discovered this in a year of reading it seriously for the first time.
superb. A great lecture.
CZcams needs more poetry jokes.
The coffee doesn't seem to stimulate him at all.
Sweat and tears...
Having to wear a hairnet to talk about Crane is a tad extreme.
He’s not a baker. He just appears as one.
Is it me or is it daft to rhyme in certain instances? Almost offensive. I think it is nicer and more to the point to say what you mean without using that format? Like a haiku or death poem? It just seems more sensible. But if you can rhyme and it works -- more power to you! Thanks!
❤
О какое превью! Чувак. Ты взрослеешь😂
Beautiful review, thank you.