James Wright (1)Besprekingen
Auteur van Poems
Voor andere auteurs genaamd James Wright, zie de verduidelijkingspagina.
James Wright (1) via een alias veranderd in James Arlington Wright.
20+ Werken 1,361 Leden 12 Besprekingen Favoriet van 9 leden
Besprekingen
Poems door Hermann Hesse
Gemarkeerd
Kiramke | 5 andere besprekingen | Aug 31, 2023 | These are not the best poems you will ever read. They are repetitive, juvenile, and excessively obsessed with flowers and death. I find such vulnerability appealing, but even I had to chuckle a bit at the third or fourth nature allegory to the impermanence of a man's life. Hesse is a long-time favorite of mine, and I bought this book mainly to help complete my collection of his works, but this book is way down on the bottom of my list of Hesse favorites.
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woolgathering | 5 andere besprekingen | Jun 24, 2020 | 2 Bände
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Fredo68 | 5 andere besprekingen | May 18, 2020 | Gemarkeerd
kvschnitzer | 2 andere besprekingen | Dec 8, 2019 | Starting with the disclaimer that I have absolutely no interest in dissecting poems with respect to rhyme, structure, symbolism, whether the author was suffering from a headache when he/she wrote it, and what-not. A poem either speaks to me (on whatever level) or it doesn't.
With Hesse, I was curious to see how his poetry compared to his novels and how his poetry reflected the themes of his novels, because to my mind Hesse's novels are works of beauty but they are also very complex. I've been trying to write a review of Steppenwolf for several months now and just don't know where to start...
Anyway, the great thing about this collection is that it is a complete collection of all of the poems that Hesse wanted to publish. I have not counted but there seem to be 700 of them and they are in chronological order. The order helps to relate the poems to different events in Hesse's life (if you want to do that) and to his novels.
What is stark with Hesse is there is not just the expected change in the themes and complexity of his work if you compare the early works with the later ones, but there is a marked differentiation of his approach to dealing with themes of darkness and isolation which interchange with other themes. The poems that tend to be on the "existential" side are the ones that draw me in most, simply because it seems Hesse doesn't need to try to compose them, they just seem to flow. It is this seemingly effortless expression of doubt, anger, frustration, anxiety and the simplicity in which he expresses them that are captivating.
By comparison, his love poetry (especially the early ones) kinda fail to persuade me that they were anything but writing exercises.
3.5*
With Hesse, I was curious to see how his poetry compared to his novels and how his poetry reflected the themes of his novels, because to my mind Hesse's novels are works of beauty but they are also very complex. I've been trying to write a review of Steppenwolf for several months now and just don't know where to start...
Anyway, the great thing about this collection is that it is a complete collection of all of the poems that Hesse wanted to publish. I have not counted but there seem to be 700 of them and they are in chronological order. The order helps to relate the poems to different events in Hesse's life (if you want to do that) and to his novels.
What is stark with Hesse is there is not just the expected change in the themes and complexity of his work if you compare the early works with the later ones, but there is a marked differentiation of his approach to dealing with themes of darkness and isolation which interchange with other themes. The poems that tend to be on the "existential" side are the ones that draw me in most, simply because it seems Hesse doesn't need to try to compose them, they just seem to flow. It is this seemingly effortless expression of doubt, anger, frustration, anxiety and the simplicity in which he expresses them that are captivating.
By comparison, his love poetry (especially the early ones) kinda fail to persuade me that they were anything but writing exercises.
3.5*
Gemarkeerd
BrokenTune | 5 andere besprekingen | Aug 21, 2016 | I'm not the hugest fan of poetry, but I'm taking a poetry class and this was one of the collections we're reading. I read through it in about twenty minutes, mostly because the author is from around where I live and I wanted to see what he wrote about. That said, I actually liked it. I'm not the best at deciphering what is being said in poetry, but this collection was pretty easy to breeze through and I didn't have too much difficulty with it. I found several of the poems to be quite beautiful. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.
1
Gemarkeerd
lilysreads | Mar 23, 2014 | James Wright has done the world a service in translating this slight but potent volume of Hesse's verse. The dreamy tone and fantasy of Hesse's poems are well-reserved, and his lyricism shines brightly as ever through the translation. While some will find these poems to be simplistic, even juvenile, I think that seeming naivety and emotional honesty is exactly what gives them power. Where his novels explore the heights and depths of the mind and spirit, his poetry is pure, heartfelt and impulsive. My only disappointment is the meager size of the offering. I've no doubt that Wright chose well when selecting which poems to translate, but it would be nice to see a new talent take the baton and translate ALL of Hesse's poetry for an English audience.
"The Lake has died down,
The reed, black in its sleep,
Whispers in a dream.
Expanding immensely into the countryside,
The mountains look, outspread.
They are not resting.
They breathe deeply, and hold themselves,
Pressed tightly to one another.
Deeply breathing,
Laden with mute forces,
Caught in a wasting passion."
Gemarkeerd
ApollosCrow | 5 andere besprekingen | Apr 3, 2013 | While some of the poems drifted by without gaining my interest, I enjoyed most of this, and there were enough gems here that deserved second reading to make it a book I'll go back to.
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whitewavedarling | 2 andere besprekingen | Jun 15, 2007 | Gemarkeerd
Poemblaze | Jan 2, 2007 | xxx, 83, 119, 122, 292
Gemarkeerd
trott | Dec 27, 2006 | As I step over a puddle at the end of winter, I think of an ancient Chinese governor.
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simonaries | 2 andere besprekingen | Aug 18, 2008 | Onze site gebruikt cookies om diensten te leveren, prestaties te verbeteren, voor analyse en (indien je niet ingelogd bent) voor advertenties. Door LibraryThing te gebruiken erken je dat je onze Servicevoorwaarden en Privacybeleid gelezen en begrepen hebt. Je gebruik van de site en diensten is onderhevig aan dit beleid en deze voorwaarden.