Comments on: The Poetry of Franz Wright and Fanny Howe http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/ Christopher Lydon in conversation on arts, ideas and politics Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:23:24 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: katemcshane http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-19638 katemcshane Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:34:26 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-19638 Franz Wright will be reading his poetry at Boston University, MUG Richards-Roosevelt Room, 1st floor, 771 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston on Tuesday, 9/26/06, at 5:30 p.m. It's free. Franz Wright will be reading his poetry at Boston University, MUG Richards-Roosevelt Room, 1st floor, 771 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston on Tuesday, 9/26/06, at 5:30 p.m. It’s free.

]]> By: Sherry Chandler » Catching Up at Open Source http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-14620 Sherry Chandler » Catching Up at Open Source Wed, 09 Aug 2006 09:03:06 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-14620 [...] d several great programs lately that you can download as podcasts or listen to streaming. The Poetry of Franz Wright aired on July 20. It features Wright himsel [...] [...] d several great programs lately that you can download as podcasts or listen to streaming. The Poetry of Franz Wright aired on July 20. It features Wright himsel [...]

]]> By: JerseyCityFrank http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-14512 JerseyCityFrank Mon, 07 Aug 2006 17:23:11 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-14512 I've listened to dozens of these shows...and I consider myself an "old time" fan of Lydon's from The Connection days in boston. I'm finally moved to write in today because of the extraordinary power of Wright's words. I'm a big fan of Herbert and Hopkins (and i highly recommend Buechner's treatmetn of the latter in Speak what we mean, not what we ought to say). Wright's an inheritor of that tradition. He takes us further than the conflicted, symbolist Hart Crane, further even than the privileged/tortured Lowell. "The only animal" poem resonates so well with Szymborska's "In Praise of Feeling Bad about Yourself", available at https://notes.utk.edu/Bio/greenberg.nsf/94dc73267f34ed8285256b410034bcc8/55be6d41dd7a95f285256b43002ff1b3?OpenDocument I’ve listened to dozens of these shows…and I consider myself an “old time” fan of Lydon’s from The Connection days in boston.

I’m finally moved to write in today because of the extraordinary power of Wright’s words. I’m a big fan of Herbert and Hopkins (and i highly recommend Buechner’s treatmetn of the latter in Speak what we mean, not what we ought to say). Wright’s an inheritor of that tradition. He takes us further than the conflicted, symbolist Hart Crane, further even than the privileged/tortured Lowell.

“The only animal” poem resonates so well with Szymborska’s “In Praise of Feeling Bad about Yourself”, available at

https://notes.utk.edu/Bio/greenberg.nsf/94dc73267f34ed8285256b410034bcc8/55be6d41dd7a95f285256b43002ff1b3?OpenDocument

]]> By: January O'Neil http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-14241 January O'Neil Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:15:59 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-14241 I was on vacation last week and missed the show. But I've downloaded the podcast and will listen to it on my commute to work. Thanks for keeping poetry relevant. I was on vacation last week and missed the show. But I’ve downloaded the podcast and will listen to it on my commute to work. Thanks for keeping poetry relevant.

]]> By: Barako Café » Blog Archive » Spiritual poetry, 2 http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-13826 Barako Café » Blog Archive » Spiritual poetry, 2 Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:00:57 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-13826 [...] Spiritual poetry, 2 Thanks to dumbfoundry for this link to The poetry of Franz Wright and Fannie Howe. Th [...] [...]

Spiritual poetry, 2

Thanks to dumbfoundry for this link to The poetry of Franz Wright and Fannie Howe. Th [...]

]]> By: Sara http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-13771 Sara Fri, 21 Jul 2006 01:12:57 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-13771 I'd never been aware of Mr. Wright's work. I'm listening now, and 15 minutes in I'm already completely touched and so greatful to have been introduced to his work. Thank you. I’d never been aware of Mr. Wright’s work.

I’m listening now, and 15 minutes in I’m already completely touched and so greatful to have been introduced to his work.

Thank you.

]]> By: lsampson@110.net http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-13768 lsampson@110.net Thu, 20 Jul 2006 23:46:57 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-13768 Well, a question really. I recently heard Franz Wright speak informally about poets and poetry that informed his work and his love of the art. Could he say more about that on this show? Well, a question really. I recently heard Franz Wright speak informally about poets and poetry that informed his work and his love of the art. Could he say more about that on this show?

]]> By: scottg http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-13763 scottg Thu, 20 Jul 2006 22:29:42 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-13763 I'm happy to see a show featuring Mr. Wright. In his work, Franz Wright has perfected the art of emotional silence with the kind of staccato line breaks that one might expect from a voice mired alternately in crisis and awe. The reader walks through an excrutiatingly intimate threshold in a Franz Wright poem, where ones most private whispers, whether in suffering or bewilderment, come through in pristine waves. His poems are like brief bursts of starlight, sometimes feeling so rushed out into the world that there is no time for capitalization or grammatical rigor. Mr. Wright need not take on dramatic personas or mythical identities as a Sylvia Plath, for his own life has carried enough fire and ice and large sweeping solitudes to form its own mythical structure. It is a structure in which the narrative voice strives for redemption, salvation from a higher power while he seeks it in the Keatsian beauty of earthly presence, realities, concerns. Wright's poetry proves Robert Creeley's idea that "form is never more than an extension of content" with ferocity and humility. Early in his career, just as with his father's, it appears as if his poems were more groomed, formal, less subject to the winds that might force a phrase into the netherworld of the right margin. Once he began to allow in raw emotional gusts, poignant irregularities of the "diamond-starved" life, and work with silence (in my opinion, like no other poet has worked with it) as carefully as one works with utterance, he reached a profound new realm. And maybe mirrored in living too. His newest book is aptly named, for Mr. Wright has recognized silence's power to draw the reader into a timeless suspension between life and death: the life of speech via the poem's words vs. the death of its ending and its margins, the entirety of the silence that surrounds it. Wright recreates that "one insular Tahiti" in man that Melville spoke of and fills it with a rush of piety, gratitude, and sometimes, suspicion and mistrust-- for it does seem that we are carried more by the uncontrollable river than we feel. Wright's poems are best when the reader feels that tension between restraint and confession, awe and misery, where silence plunges us into the incertitude of pain-pleasure dichotomy, darkness and light-- the man can turn on a dime better than anyone out there. And in this respect Walking to Martha's Vineyard is a triumph of method meeting suffering as its perfect complement, ally, and ultimately expurgating force. I'll be listening tonight to the show with great interest. It would be interesting to hear about how Mr. Wright's relationship with his father has affected his work, along with mental illness, and any changes in style over the years as a result. Can poetry be ones salvation? Perhaps not by itself. But I'm willing to bet Mr. Wright has felt this beast of poetry, this lyrical transfusion of self-sung nightmares and reveries, as all he had at times to get himself through to the other side. I’m happy to see a show featuring Mr. Wright. In his work, Franz Wright has perfected the art of emotional silence with the kind of staccato line breaks that one might expect from a voice mired alternately in crisis and awe. The reader walks through an excrutiatingly intimate threshold in a Franz Wright poem, where ones most private whispers, whether in suffering or bewilderment, come through in pristine waves. His poems are like brief bursts of starlight, sometimes feeling so rushed out into the world that there is no time for capitalization or grammatical rigor. Mr. Wright need not take on dramatic personas or mythical identities as a Sylvia Plath, for his own life has carried enough fire and ice and large sweeping solitudes to form its own mythical structure. It is a structure in which the narrative voice strives for redemption, salvation from a higher power while he seeks it in the Keatsian beauty of earthly presence, realities, concerns. Wright’s poetry proves Robert Creeley’s idea that “form is never more than an extension of content” with ferocity and humility. Early in his career, just as with his father’s, it appears as if his poems were more groomed, formal, less subject to the winds that might force a phrase into the netherworld of the right margin. Once he began to allow in raw emotional gusts, poignant irregularities of the “diamond-starved” life, and work with silence (in my opinion, like no other poet has worked with it) as carefully as one works with utterance, he reached a profound new realm. And maybe mirrored in living too. His newest book is aptly named, for Mr. Wright has recognized silence’s power to draw the reader into a timeless suspension between life and death: the life of speech via the poem’s words vs. the death of its ending and its margins, the entirety of the silence that surrounds it. Wright recreates that “one insular Tahiti” in man that Melville spoke of and fills it with a rush of piety, gratitude, and sometimes, suspicion and mistrust– for it does seem that we are carried more by the uncontrollable river than we feel. Wright’s poems are best when the reader feels that tension between restraint and confession, awe and misery, where silence plunges us into the incertitude of pain-pleasure dichotomy, darkness and light– the man can turn on a dime better than anyone out there. And in this respect Walking to Martha’s Vineyard is a triumph of method meeting suffering as its perfect complement, ally, and ultimately expurgating force.

I’ll be listening tonight to the show with great interest. It would be interesting to hear about how Mr. Wright’s relationship with his father has affected his work, along with mental illness, and any changes in style over the years as a result. Can poetry be ones salvation? Perhaps not by itself. But I’m willing to bet Mr. Wright has felt this beast of poetry, this lyrical transfusion of self-sung nightmares and reveries, as all he had at times to get himself through to the other side.

]]> By: katemcshane http://www.radioopensource.org/the-poetry-of-franz-wright-and-fannie-howe/comment-page-1/#comment-13756 katemcshane Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:05:56 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=618#comment-13756 I heard Franz Wright read from WALKING TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD before it won the Pulitzer. His voice was one the truest voices I'd ever heard. It took courage to write the poems and I was heartened to see work like this coming out of a major publishing house. I don't have anything profound to say. I'm a poet, just beginning to be published (at a late age - I'm 58). I believe my work is good. Franz Wright is one of a handful of living poets in the country who matters to me. (Li-Young Lee is someone else to be aware of, and he's beginning to say in interviews that he's coming out of the closet with a belief that writing poetry is a spiritual experience, that it's connected to God.) I didn't come through an academic program, which probably makes me fortunate. I think the fact that Franz went through hellilsh experiences brought him to a place where he can be centered and be in communication with his soul. As long as he maintains this connection, he speaks in the truest voice. I've been through some pretty rough times and I began to have some of these experiences that might be called ecstasy last year when I was out of work (and eventually homeless). I have an impression that more and more people are having these experiences. Maybe that sounds strange to you. I'm not a kook. I'm intelligent and well educated and I've been teaching myself to write poetry for 30 years. Franz Wright's work gives me hope, that there is a way to speak in your most inner voice and write wonderful poetry. It was a surprise to me, to find this voice, to have these experiences, after decades of the idea of God being connected with the Religious Right, which in my view, has nothing to do with God or anyone's soul. Also, I really like your show. I liked the series on race/class and the shows on election fraud, in particular. I loved the show about the guy who roasted Bush, when Chris talked to the press (who in my opinion couldn't handle it at all) and he kept trying to break through all the posturing). I loved the show with the teacher who experimented with kids and racism. I love the intelligence of the show. I love the way Chris articulates ideas. I love his enthusiasm. I've listened for only the last several months. Once I found a place to live, I decided not to have a TV and listen to jazz on the radio in the evening. I found your show by accident and now I listen as soon as I get home from work. Anyway, thanks. I can't wait to hear this show tonight. Kate I heard Franz Wright read from WALKING TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD before it won the Pulitzer. His voice was one the truest voices I’d ever heard. It took courage to write the poems and I was heartened to see work like this coming out of a major publishing house.

I don’t have anything profound to say. I’m a poet, just beginning to be published (at a late age – I’m 58). I believe my work is good. Franz Wright is one of a handful of living poets in the country who matters to me. (Li-Young Lee is someone else to be aware of, and he’s beginning to say in interviews that he’s coming out of the closet with a belief that writing poetry is a spiritual experience, that it’s connected to God.)

I didn’t come through an academic program, which probably makes me fortunate. I think the fact that Franz went through hellilsh experiences brought him to a place where he can be centered and be in communication with his soul. As long as he maintains this connection, he speaks in the truest voice. I’ve been through some pretty rough times and I began to have some of these experiences that might be called ecstasy last year when I was out of work (and eventually homeless). I have an impression that more and more people are having these experiences. Maybe that sounds strange to you. I’m not a kook. I’m intelligent and well educated and I’ve been teaching myself to write poetry for 30 years. Franz Wright’s work gives me hope, that there is a way to speak in your most inner voice and write wonderful poetry. It was a surprise to me, to find this voice, to have these experiences, after decades of the idea of God being connected with the Religious Right, which in my view, has nothing to do with God or anyone’s soul.

Also, I really like your show. I liked the series on race/class and the shows on election fraud, in particular. I loved the show about the guy who roasted Bush, when Chris talked to the press (who in my opinion couldn’t handle it at all) and he kept trying to break through all the posturing). I loved the show with the teacher who experimented with kids and racism. I love the intelligence of the show. I love the way Chris articulates ideas. I love his enthusiasm. I’ve listened for only the last several months. Once I found a place to live, I decided not to have a TV and listen to jazz on the radio in the evening. I found your show by accident and now I listen as soon as I get home from work.

Anyway, thanks. I can’t wait to hear this show tonight.
Kate

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