Phillis Levin

I admit with guilt that I find this book substantially disappointing.

Perhaps it is the inevitable curse of allowing a poet, rather than an academic, to take the lead on a major anthology. Levin's choices for sonnets are somewhat bewildering. She often makes adventurous picks for the recognised older poets, while most of her mid-to-late 20th century poems seem to be a deliberate avant-garde view of how much the sonnet can be destabilised, if some of them even are arguably sonnets at all. (The introduction does not convince one.) When I consider some of the great poems to be found in other collections, such as Bender and Squier's magnificent [b:The Sonnet: An Anthology: A Comprehensive Selection Of British And American Sonnets From The Renaissance To The Present|1539038|The Sonnet An Anthology A Comprehensive Selection Of British And American Sonnets From The Renaissance To The Present|Charlers L. Squier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1305484601l/1539038._SX50_.jpg|1531193], it leaves me rather bereft. (It's telling that Levin leaves the aforementioned book out of her extensive section of reading recommendations; clearly there are two traditions and I am far down one end of the spectrum.)

Not that I want this anthology to be like all the others, to be clear. But it rather seems as if Levin wanted to create an idiosyncratic, almost ideological text, which to me is the antithesis of the purpose of a "Penguin Book of". I appreciate that she would see it differently, arguing that this can be a once-in-a-generation anthology that makes a poetic point, rather than being merely an introduction for the plebs. But at every turn, Levin makes the opposing choice from my preference. Should one include on-page critical apparatus? I say yes; Levin says no, but instead leaves gross amounts of white space. Should poets be introduced with a brief summary? I say yes, as newer readers often cannot gauge historical or contextual details otherwise; Levin says no, viewing poems as works that should stand alone, and thus includes exceedingly brief bios in the back. Should cultural references or obscure words be glossed for the reader? I say yes; Levin says no, providing in her endnotes only clarifications of, for example, a sonnet's alternative titles or its numerical place in a broader sequence. This latter choice is galling throughout: historical poems rendered in Middle English without translations; Renaissance poems without any explanation of archaic words or the conceit when they come from a larger sequence; limited notes on Romantic and Modern poetry that surprise - such as a startlingly feminist sonnet from the turn-of-the-century with no accompanying explanation; and of course a great challenge for contemporary poems which abound in cultural or linguistic references outside of an individual reader's knowledge.

There's no denying that a Penguin Book can be individual - when it's done right. Adam Kern's recent [b:The Penguin Book of Haiku|25852993|The Penguin Book of Haiku|Adam L. Kern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467643394l/25852993._SY75_.jpg|45720932] could only have been edited by him, and will clearly drive some traditionalists mad, and yet it's a work of genius. Yet the choices I have listed in this case seem aggressively ideological on this editor's part, and left me cold.

I mean, it's fine. There will surely be another anthology to come along one day. Levin clearly knows her stuff, as indicated by the introduction and the appendix on sonnet forms. It's just a shame she chose poems which - to my mind - drain the joy and life from the experience.… (más)

Quick review.

At the start, there was nothing I liked about this collection. I felt as though the poet was trying too hard to give me that "deep" and "dark" poetry and I was just not having it. Personally, I don't like that style, though others may.

The collection did prevail, as I carried on, with several moving, uplifting, and engaging pieces. The images clearer, the story to the point.

My favorite piece from this collection would be, Boy With a Book Bag which deals with bullying. Here are a few lines:

I don't remember the face of the girl
Who took me aside one day and said
That I killed Jesus, relaying the news
Matter-of-factly, without prologue
Or proof, the verdict clear.
....
If I could be accused of killing Christ
Couldn't I be the person the police
Were in hot pursuit of for robbing
A bank at gunpoint in Paterson?
You may ask how a six-year-old
Imagines such a thing, but why not:
What is holding up a bank
Next to murdering Jesus?


Another one of my top pieces being X-Radiograph holds this stanza:

The plunder has begun:it is bringing
Various people to their knees.
That is what a naked eye
Sees (a mother and child in flight
Were partially lost when another side
Of the panel was cut down).
As for the faded pair of socks
In the snow, the are
A faded pair of socks in the snow.

For me, this book was a half hit and half miss with the poetry. Some selections fell flat while others held my attention and a bit of my heart with them, from line to line. Do I recommend it? Yes. It is a quick read, not much of a waste of your time and if you are a person who is confused by poetry, there are many pieces, like my two favorites, that are easier to read and feel. Would I buy the book? No. This is a library copy and will remain that way. In the future, I may consider picking up another book by the author but, as it stands, I can allow her poetry to remain on the shelves.

… (más)

This book is an anthology that celebrates that most vigorous of literary forms, the Sonnet.
The earliest sonnets record the unceasing conflict between the law of reason and the law of love, the need to solve a problem that cannot be resolved by an act of will, yet finds its fulfillment, if not its solution, only in the poem. Thematically and structurally this tension plays itself out in the relationship between a fixed formal pattern and the endless flow of feeling. The poet experiences the illusion of control and the illusion of freedom and from the meeting of those illusions creates the reality off the poem.
The sonnet is one of the only poetic forms with predetermined lengths, specific though flexible set of possibilities for arranging patterns of meaning and sound but it is also a blueprint for building a structure that remains open to the unknown, ready to lodge an unexpected guest.
A sonnet is a fourteen line poem that composes a single stanza, called a quatorzain. When a sonnet is true to its nature, it encompasses contradiction and arrives at resolution or revelation.
The reader of this book can follow the sonnets evolution over time, experiencing firsthand how historical, political, and structural pressures engender innovation, subversion and renewal.
Many sonnets are included with dates. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it.… (más)