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13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” appeared originally in 1917 and was subsequently published in his first book, Harmonium, in 1923. In a letter, Stevens once wrote that “this group of poems is not meant to be a collection of epigrams or of ideas, but of sensations.” If this is indeed the poet’s intent, the poem provides readers with no fewer than thirteen perspectives or observances about blackbirds, but in those “thirteen ways” is the immeasurable culmination of sensations. Just as the poet’s imagination invites readers to discover the infinite mysteries of the world and how these unify us in unexpected ways, Corinne Jones’ new visual interpretation of Stevens’ poem invites us, again, to re-explore the multiplicity of observation and subsequent knowledge.
This new trade edition, a 10x10 reprint of the original fine arts book, juxtaposes Jones’s beautiful and sensual prints of blackbirds against Stevens’s poetic text. The result is that the life and power inherent in each artwork is increased wonderfully and vibrantly when taken as a whole.
This new trade edition, a 10x10 reprint of the original fine arts book, juxtaposes Jones’s beautiful and sensual prints of blackbirds against Stevens’s poetic text. The result is that the life and power inherent in each artwork is increased wonderfully and vibrantly when taken as a whole.
60 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2012
1 person is currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Wallace Stevens
195 books487 followersWallace Stevens is a rare example of a poet whose main output came at a fairly advanced age. His first major publication (four poems from a sequence entitled "Phases" in the November 1914 edition of Poetry Magazine) was written at the age of thirty-five, although as an undergraduate at Harvard, Stevens had written poetry and exchanged sonnets with George Santayana, with whom he was close through much of his life. Many of his canonical works were written well after he turned fifty. According to the literary critic Harold Bloom, who called Stevens the "best and most representative" American poet of the time, no Western writer since Sophocles has had such a late flowering of artistic genius.
Stevens attended Harvard as a non-degree special student, after which he moved to New York City and briefly worked as a journalist. He then attended New York Law School, graduating in 1903. On a trip back to Reading in 1904 Stevens met Elsie Viola Kachel; after a long courtship, he married her in 1909. In 1913, the young couple rented a New York City apartment from sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, who made a bust of Elsie.
A daughter, Holly, was born in 1924. She later edited her father's letters and a collection of his poems.
After working for several New York law firms from 1904 to 1907, he was hired on January 13, 1908 as a lawyer for the American Bonding Company. By 1914 he had become the vice-president of the New York Office of the Equitable Surety Company of St. Louis, Missouri. When this job was abolished as a result of mergers in 1916, he joined the home office of Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company and left New York City to live in Hartford, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
Stevens attended Harvard as a non-degree special student, after which he moved to New York City and briefly worked as a journalist. He then attended New York Law School, graduating in 1903. On a trip back to Reading in 1904 Stevens met Elsie Viola Kachel; after a long courtship, he married her in 1909. In 1913, the young couple rented a New York City apartment from sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, who made a bust of Elsie.
A daughter, Holly, was born in 1924. She later edited her father's letters and a collection of his poems.
After working for several New York law firms from 1904 to 1907, he was hired on January 13, 1908 as a lawyer for the American Bonding Company. By 1914 he had become the vice-president of the New York Office of the Equitable Surety Company of St. Louis, Missouri. When this job was abolished as a result of mergers in 1916, he joined the home office of Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company and left New York City to live in Hartford, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
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April 9, 2018Çeviri şiir okumama kararlılığımdan anadilimin dışında şiir okuyamadığımın kabulüyle vazgeçtim. Aslında her iki seçiminde de şiirde bir şeyden feragat etmiş oluyorsun. Wallace Stevens’a şairlerin şairi demiş Enis Batur. Mürekkebe su katmadan yazdığını, koyu, yoğun yeğin bir iç poetik duruşu olduğunu yazmış. Ben ismini ilk Adam Philips’in kitaplarında duymuştum. “Bakalım şiirden uzak düşen, şiirle ahengini yitiren gözlerim Stevens’la (GökçeNur Ç.çevirisinden çok övgüyle bahsediliyor) tuttura/tutuşabilecek mi “sorusuyla başlamıştım bu kitaba. İngilizce/Türkçe karşılaştırmalı okudum bazı şiirlerini. Anlama inadından vazgeçince orijinal sesine kulak verdim. Anlama arzusu öne geçip Türkçe’ye döndüğümde ise duyduğum ses kimin sesi sorusu yanı başımda. GökçeNur Ç.’nin sesi de şiirli.
Harold Bloom, Güz Şafakları isimli şiirini uzun uzadıya derslerinde incelemiş. Bu şiiri bu kitapta çevrilmemiş. Ama Güz Şafak’ları kitabından şiirler var. New Haven’da Sıradan Bir Akşam’da Bloom’un işaret ettikleri arasında yer alıyordu. Zorlu bir okumaydı. İmgeler, gerçeklik, düşlemek bu kavramları düşünceyle şiirleştirmiş. Şiir üzerine, imge üzerine upuzun şiirler yazmış. İçine doğru, doğadaki uzun yürüyüşlerinden aldığı esin, dinginlik, imgeler, gerçeklik şiirlerinin merkezine yerleşmiş.
Birçok şiirinden alıntılar yapmak istiyorum, kavrayamadıklarımı dokunup kaçanları tutmak için belki de...Adam Philips’in Kaçırdıklarımız’ındaki Kavrayamamak Üstüne bölümünü anımsadım. Benim için bu anlamda epey değerli bir deneyim oldu. Kavrayamadığımla kalmak, anlamamaya tahammül etmek.
...”güneşin bir adı olmamalı,
Işıklarını altın bir takı gibi taşımalı, ama
Bir adı olmadan olmanın sıkıntısı içinde olmalı”
“Şiirin varlığını kanıtlayamayız biz.
Bu daha zayıf şiirlerde görülen bir şeydir.
Şiir,devdir, azar azar duyulan bir
Yüksek uyum, ansızın,
Başka bir sezgiyle anlaşılan. Şiir budur
Ve bu değildir, tam da bu yüzden, budur. Konuşmanın
Anlıksallığında, ivmelenen devinimlerde,
Oluşun tutsaklığında genişler-ve ordadır.”
Harold Bloom, Güz Şafakları isimli şiirini uzun uzadıya derslerinde incelemiş. Bu şiiri bu kitapta çevrilmemiş. Ama Güz Şafak’ları kitabından şiirler var. New Haven’da Sıradan Bir Akşam’da Bloom’un işaret ettikleri arasında yer alıyordu. Zorlu bir okumaydı. İmgeler, gerçeklik, düşlemek bu kavramları düşünceyle şiirleştirmiş. Şiir üzerine, imge üzerine upuzun şiirler yazmış. İçine doğru, doğadaki uzun yürüyüşlerinden aldığı esin, dinginlik, imgeler, gerçeklik şiirlerinin merkezine yerleşmiş.
Birçok şiirinden alıntılar yapmak istiyorum, kavrayamadıklarımı dokunup kaçanları tutmak için belki de...Adam Philips’in Kaçırdıklarımız’ındaki Kavrayamamak Üstüne bölümünü anımsadım. Benim için bu anlamda epey değerli bir deneyim oldu. Kavrayamadığımla kalmak, anlamamaya tahammül etmek.
...”güneşin bir adı olmamalı,
Işıklarını altın bir takı gibi taşımalı, ama
Bir adı olmadan olmanın sıkıntısı içinde olmalı”
“Şiirin varlığını kanıtlayamayız biz.
Bu daha zayıf şiirlerde görülen bir şeydir.
Şiir,devdir, azar azar duyulan bir
Yüksek uyum, ansızın,
Başka bir sezgiyle anlaşılan. Şiir budur
Ve bu değildir, tam da bu yüzden, budur. Konuşmanın
Anlıksallığında, ivmelenen devinimlerde,
Oluşun tutsaklığında genişler-ve ordadır.”
March 22, 2023
The difference between the object and the observer is playfully intertwined.
May 25, 2017
Personal Response: When I read this poem, I wasn't exactly sure of what to think. It gives a lot of ideas of what a blackbird stands for, but I couldn't really tell what. Whether the poems were all in a literal sense, or just figurative poetry, I don't know. But I can say that the poems do give an idea of 13 Ways to Look at a Blackbird.
Plot Summary: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird is a collection of 13 poems that are about blackbirds, and what blackbirds sort of stand for. There's not really a plot as there are a bunch of vague poems about blackbirds. While there's very nice imagery used, there's no plot to the poems.
Characterization:
Blackbirds: In all of the poems, there are mentions of blackbirds. The blackbirds in the poems do one of two things: they're either flying, or standing still. Whenever a blackbird flies, the poem mentions the shadow of the blackbird. Did the author see this as mysterious? Dark? "Spooky?" Maybe it was just a literal sense: just a blackbird.
Recommendations: Now, I'm no poetry buff, but this poem has me stumped. I don't really know what to think of it. I marked it as "it was okay" (two stars) just because the poetry had very well written imagery (mostly about blackbirds) but aside from that, there's not much here. I'm not familiar with Wallace Stevens, and read it because it was here, but that might be the only reason to read these poems. If you like poetry (or blackbirds) this poem may be for you.
Plot Summary: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird is a collection of 13 poems that are about blackbirds, and what blackbirds sort of stand for. There's not really a plot as there are a bunch of vague poems about blackbirds. While there's very nice imagery used, there's no plot to the poems.
Characterization:
Blackbirds: In all of the poems, there are mentions of blackbirds. The blackbirds in the poems do one of two things: they're either flying, or standing still. Whenever a blackbird flies, the poem mentions the shadow of the blackbird. Did the author see this as mysterious? Dark? "Spooky?" Maybe it was just a literal sense: just a blackbird.
Recommendations: Now, I'm no poetry buff, but this poem has me stumped. I don't really know what to think of it. I marked it as "it was okay" (two stars) just because the poetry had very well written imagery (mostly about blackbirds) but aside from that, there's not much here. I'm not familiar with Wallace Stevens, and read it because it was here, but that might be the only reason to read these poems. If you like poetry (or blackbirds) this poem may be for you.
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December 24, 2021Wallace Stevens'a bayıldım. İmkanı olan kesinlikle orijinal dilinden okusun derim.
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