In the Winter of Cities: Collected Poems

by Tennessee Williams

Few writers achieve success in more than one genre, and yet if Tennessee Williams had never written a single play he would still be known as a distinguished poet. The excitement, compassion, lyricism, and humor that epitomize his writing for the theater are all present in his poetry.
Tennessee Williams's fame as a playwright has unjustly overshadowed his accomplishment in poetry. This paperback edition of In The Winter of Cities-his collected poems to 1962-permits a wider audience to know Williams the poet. The poems in this volume range from songs and short lyrics to personal statements of the greatest intensity and power. They are rich in imagery and illuminated by the psychological intuition which we know so well from Williams's plays.

Genres: Poetry

117 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1964

About the author

Thomas Lanier Williams III, better known by the nickname Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright of the twentieth century who received many of the top theatrical awards for his work. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee," the state of his father's birth.

Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after years of obscurity, at age 33 he became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. This play closely reflected his own unhappy family background. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, he attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of the finest American plays of the 20th century, alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

Much of Williams' most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

There a certain charm to this collection, like listening to Satie during a morning rain. I was dazzled a few times, especially imagining Tennessee and dear Carson sitting in a beachside cottage. Forgiving Dr. Johnson but I think there was something incandescent in Mr Williams, though he was too concerned with reviews and receipts to make the best use of such.

[Akylina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can also see my review here.

'In the Winter of Cities' is a selection of some of Tennessee Williams' poetry. Since I was unaware of his having written any poetry whatsoever, I was delighted and really excited when I saw this book in my University library. It seems to be a really hard to find book, so I'm glad I had the chance to read it.

First of all, I was initially attracted by the title of this collection. Since I adore winter and wintry things, I mentally prepared myself to love this book. However, most of the poems included here have nothing to do with the season. The only connection with the title I could think of was the ominous and depressing atmosphere that is very often associated with wintertime. But this doesn't mean the poems are less beautiful or enjoyable at all.

Most of the poems, thus, are quite sad and harrowing and the atmosphere they create in the reader's mind is definitely bleak and daunting. What I really liked about these poems was that they didn't resemble one another. There wasn't a consistent pattern of rhyming, format or length. Others rhymed, but others didn't. Some were very short, occupying half a page and some were really long and even organized in chapters that extended to several pages. Some were composed according to the conventional norms of poetry, while others resembled more the form of prose and that,I think, helped in keeping the interest of the reader since there was this intriguing exchange from one form to the other and you never knew what would come next.

I also like the fact that Williams had dedicated some of these poems to some people I presume he was close to. So, throughout the collection we see poems like "The Jockeys at Hialeah" with the note underneath For J., "Which is my little boy?" For Carson McCullers, "A Wreath for Alexandra Molostova" For Maria Brit-Neva, and "The Eyes" For Oliver. I really enjoy discovering more things about the authors I like (I admit I know close to nothing about Tennessee Williams but I will tend to that as soon as possible), and dedications to specific people in their lives is such a precious indication for the people surrounding the author and food for thought or research about the relationships between them. It made me wonder who J. or Oliver might have been and discover that Williams was in fact acquainted with Carson McCullers, a fact which I was unaware of.

The lyricism and the images created in these poems are so vivid and Williams definitely managed to make the reader feel the exact desperate emotions he describes in some of his poems. Some of my favourites were "Lady Anemone", "Covenant", "Life Story" (what an unexpected ending to this one!), "The Soft City" and "Pulse". Despite most of these poems being utterly depressing, I would love to read them again some day and if I am lucky enough, add a copy of this book to my collection as well.

[David Sterritt]

Poetry is only a small part of Tennessee Williams’s large body of work, but his beautifully titled collection “In the Winter of Cities” confirms his place as a major American poet. His lyric sensibility, sensuous and sensual style, and deftly suggested metaphysical insights make him worthy to stand alongside all but the very greatest. He impresses me more with every passing year. Recommended without reservation.

[Bina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never read T.W.'s poetry. It's beautiful.

His lament for dead moths struck me...I'm thinking about the sadness, the carnage laid in closets and carpets of fallen moths.

But he has a sense of humor, and a few of his pieces foreshadow the punchy, absurdist trips of poets I've come to love like Charles Simic. Others are more ruminative, hero-tragic, wrenching of major organs.

The characters in these poems, like "The Dangerous Painters" and "Those Who Ignore the Appropriate Time of Their Going," (the latter poem contains the verse from which the collection's title emerges) are timeless, archetypal without being cliché.

This is good poetry for late hours of the night.

Some shrapnel that I like:

"Those that go on through time not meant to admit them
are the most valiant explorers,
twisting crabwise on their bellies under crisscrossed barbed wire
frontiers,
constantly higher, into more breathless country,
onto vast snowy plateaus."

"he was locked inside the airless box of his skull
with only the perceptual members of his body,
such as the eyes, the mouth, the fingers
and very briefly, the sex..."

"the freaks of the cosmic circus are men."

"i do not think that i ought to appear in public
below the shoulders."

[Claire Bogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really surprised to discover that Tennessee Williams, whose plays I've read a good number of, published a book of poetry! I found this 1964 paperback edition in a used bookstore in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and I consider it a great find! I really enjoy the unusual syntax Williams uses in his poetry.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice poetry!

[Dylanjc93 Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book it is baased off a story.