Theodore Roethke was a poet haunted by his inner demons, just as he strove to reach "a new level of reality" with his exploration of words and language. As Roethke wrote, "we must permit poetry to extend consciousness as far, as deeply, as particular as it can." In this new collection of Theodore Roethke, Edward Hirsch explores the range of Roethke's poetic vision, as his style metamorphosized through time in mystical and sometimes surreal realms of the imagination.
The Up-and-Down of a Literary Imagination
As Edward Hirsch writes in his introduction to this poetry collection, "Roethke's life was characterized by a series of highs and lows, recurring cycles of manic episodes and mental breakdowns." his first episode was apparently brought on by his attempt to reach that "new level of reality" for which he would be so well know. He would write: "I practice at walking the void." Through all the struggles in his life--from his father's early death to his struggle with manic depression--Roethke determined to become a poet.
Words filled him with intense pleasure, and he wrote: "I am overwhelmed by the beautiful disorder of poetry, the eternal virginity of words." He wanted to transform that disorder. Firmly rooted in the soil, Roethke seems to be forever moving toward the light at the end of the chaos, perhaps toward some renewal in a semi-hypnotic state of being and knowing.
As Edward Hirsch writes in his introduction to this poetry collection, "Roethke's life was characterized by a series of highs and lows, recurring cycles of manic episodes and mental breakdowns." his first episode was apparently brought on by his attempt to reach that "new level of reality" for which he would be so well know. He would write: "I practice at walking the void." Through all the struggles in his life--from his father's early death to his struggle with manic depression--Roethke determined to become a poet.
Words filled him with intense pleasure, and he wrote: "I am overwhelmed by the beautiful disorder of poetry, the eternal virginity of words." He wanted to transform that disorder. Firmly rooted in the soil, Roethke seems to be forever moving toward the light at the end of the chaos, perhaps toward some renewal in a semi-hypnotic state of being and knowing.
Original and Astonishing
Perhaps John Berryman sums up his power and range best, as he described Roethke as: Teutonic, irregular, botanical, psychological, irreligious, personal... witty, savage, and willing to astonish." Even as we see the influences upon his poetry and how his poetry evolved in originality, we are still sometimes enamored by his words: the turn of a phrase, the way the lines flow together in an inexplicable fashion, perhaps even the fierce fashion of his poetics.
In his uncollected phrases--drawn from his notebooks--he writes, "It is well to keep in touch with chaos." Perhaps that's what Roethke helps us to do: teaching us to swim through the murky waters of his mind, to be aware of the "intolerable sadness," to "possess or be possessed by one's own identity." And, he writes:
"Now I must go beyond:
Who else knows where I am? I'm
A fish lurking close to a boat, a child holding the net,
I live through my black tears, a child of the light."
Perhaps John Berryman sums up his power and range best, as he described Roethke as: Teutonic, irregular, botanical, psychological, irreligious, personal... witty, savage, and willing to astonish." Even as we see the influences upon his poetry and how his poetry evolved in originality, we are still sometimes enamored by his words: the turn of a phrase, the way the lines flow together in an inexplicable fashion, perhaps even the fierce fashion of his poetics.
In his uncollected phrases--drawn from his notebooks--he writes, "It is well to keep in touch with chaos." Perhaps that's what Roethke helps us to do: teaching us to swim through the murky waters of his mind, to be aware of the "intolerable sadness," to "possess or be possessed by one's own identity." And, he writes:
"Now I must go beyond:
Who else knows where I am? I'm
A fish lurking close to a boat, a child holding the net,
I live through my black tears, a child of the light."
