Re: Hart Crane and the human audience
Posted by:
NightHalo (IP Logged)
Date: 12 August, 2009 02:27AM
You make an interesting point about how dynamic literary perceptions can be. I agree with you that time can bring about a renaissance for certain poets and certainly as we begin to lose our natural settings and rethink our philosophies, some discarded poets will be reevauluated for their unique interpretations. Sometimes, one does not even have to wait a hundred years to see varying perception; Edgar Allen Poe, whom you brought up, was scorned and under-appreciated by many American academics and critics alike throughout his life. Yet, for some reason, in France, he was praised as a genius (take Mallarmé's "tomb" tribute to him as a prime example). Now, I can attest many academics praise Poe for his role in the creation of the mystery genre and use him in their classes as a precursor to the "Modernist" novel. I've never heard anyone though, speak kindly of his poetry...so there is still a long ways to go, if ever fully.
With this topic, I should like to raise one point of consideration and caution and that regards the urge to create perfection. While being under-appreciated or even unread has taken a severe toll on so many writers, I seriously doubt that the ones who committed suicide did it out of just being unread or under-appreciated professionally. With the vision of writers, comes sensitivity and often, a plethora of psychological complexities and challenges, which certainly play their part. And while it is true that some writers should not be so harsh on themselves for not capturing a certain mood, it is often that very tension and frustration that creates the best work. Look at how many times Elizabeth Bishop rewrote and reworked "One Art" for instance.
Being unsatisfied, at least for art it seems, is part of the process of pushing towards new visions and those same perceptions that will one day open the eyes of others to reevaluating our own time and those that came before.