Thomson's book most readily points at the world in its descriptive poems. He readily references the Inca, bees, plants, cartoons, endless birds, Christianity and the Bible, Pizarro, Metaphor. Many poems are rich in imagery, like "Birdwatching in Wartime" or "Landscape with Flooded Forest" which are clear depictions of the rain forest. However, there are poems that do not fall so easily into this category, such as "Landscape with Footnotes." The piece is comprised solely of footnotes which discuss bits of rain forest lore, native animals, South American history. while these footnotes are quite blatantly references to the world, the piece is of such a unique structure that it immediately calls attention tot he placement and wording of the footnotes, and their juxtaposition.
I did enjoy Birdwatching in Wartime for its rich descriptions and the unique anecdotes, but the work as a whole was not as united as I expected it to be. I think that with our recent readings, i have become accustomed to reading books where the poems follow a clear theme; the holistic purpose of the work are easily perceived. In some ways Birdwatching in Wartime read as more as some of Thomson's complied work than as a unified collection. While some themes carried throughout, there were poems that just plain stuck out, such as "American Pastoral" in the first section of the book; I felt it was entirely out of place with a message/intent that was quite different from much of the book. In this way, I was somewhat dissatisfied with the work as a whole, though the poems individually did not disappoint.
I enjoyed your post, Kelsey, but I didn't agree with your take on the work as a whole. Hope that's all right.
ReplyDeleteI found the construction of the book to be rather refreshing (especially after reading something like Spahr's This Connection of Everybody with Lungs where you, as the reader, are completely committed to the work as a whole). Thomson's book was one in which I could find many meanings throughout the book without having to be bashed repeatedly over the head with something like Spahr's frying pan of a point. This, I think, makes the work more effective. In something like Thomson's Birdwatching in Wartime, because each of the poems, for the most part, is able to stand on its own and so the poet is able to eke out as many possible meanings from as many possible poems to give to the reader. Rather than all poems being about one thing--as we saw in Alice Notley's Descent of Alette and Juliana Spahr's This Connection of Everyone with Lungs-- the poet is more effectively able to run the reader through the gamut of emotions and human experience. This is not to say that other books like what Spahr and Notley write aren't able to do this, they just do it through a much smaller and more concise scope rather than the sprawling rainforest-like way in which Thomson does it.
Like Kelsey I really enjoyed Thomson's Poem, "Landscape With Footnotes." I thought it was very original and I learned a lot about the poem's purpose when Thomson came to speak. His explanation that it was an outline of footnotes basically for the book made so much sense & really helped enhance the book as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the book as a whole was pretty disjointed. I didn't really enjoy it because I wasn't really able to piece it together and grasp it's meaning as a whole. It seemed like a bunch of random poems in a book. Also I really didn't get the point of the title, I may have just missed it but it didn't make any sense to me.