The Poet's Notebook: Excerpts from the Notebooks of Contemporary American Poets

by Stephen Kuusisto (Editor), Deborah Tall (Editor), David Weiss (Editor)

Brings together excerpts from the working notebooks of twenty-six American poets, sharing their personal observations, witticisms, wisdom, and early creations while offering a perspective on the writing and creative process.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Writing, Anthologies

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jee Koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pleasure of writing is that the mind does not wander, any more than it does in orgasm,--and writing takes longer than orgasm.

--Donald Hall


Aperçus like the one by Hall above made me read The Poet's Notebook with curiosity and joy. There is a real attempt by the editors Stephen Kuusisto, Deborah Tall and David Weiss to include a great variety of note-taking concerns and styles. I discovered what draws me, and what repels. I am drawn to the irreverent, earthy and child-like. I am repelled by the pretentious, earnest and showy. Both are self-presentations, of course, for if the poet started making the notes for herself, she selected these notes for others, for the readers of this anthology. The self-presentation that gave me most light and delight was that of Charles Simic. Reading his notes made me want to read more of his poetry. A sample of his notes below:

It's the desire for irreverence as much as anything else that brought me first to poetry. The need to make fun of authority, break taboos, celebrate the body and its functions, claim that one has seen angels in the same breath as one says that there is no god. Just thinking about the possibility of saying shit to everything made me roll on the floor with happiness.

Here's Octavio Paz at his best: "The poem will continue to be one of the few resources by which man go beyond himself to find out what he is profoundly and originally."

The lyric poem is often a scandalous assetion that the private is public, that the local is universal, that the ephemeral is eternal. And it happens. The poets turn out to be right. This is what the philosophers cannot forgive the poets.

I love Mina Loy's: "No man whose sex life was satisfactory ever became a moral censor."

Christ, like Sappho, challenges the tribe. Their message is, you have no tribal obligations, only the love for the Father in the first case and the love of your own solitude in the second case.

Imagination equals Eros. I want to experience what it's like to be inside someone else in the moment when that someone is being touched by me.

[Paul H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinatingly, wildly uneven; most of the entries confirmed my suspicions that third-rate American poets are just as clueless and pretentious as their poetry would seem to indicate. The entries from Mary Oliver, Donald Hall, and a couple others are definitely worthwhile, though.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful glimpse inside the scribblings of others. Stephen Dunn, Carolyn Forche, James Merrill, Lisel Mueller, Mary Oliver, Laurie Sheck, and Charles Simic. All, a yes. .

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this book in spurts and random order. The main attraction is observing how some poets move from their journals into poetry. I have a particular attachment to the selected journals of William Stafford and would suggest this section to anyone who can appreciate concise wisdom. Some excerpts are better than others, but if you are really into contemporary American poets, or are beginning to write poetry on a serious level, then I highly recommend that you check it out.

[Elly Sands · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not exactly what I thought it would be. I guess I expected the notebooks to be more "sketchy." A word here, an idea there, but it was more a collection of individual poet's favorite aphorisms. Maybe I've mixed up the way of approaching my artwork with many small sketches on napkins, ledger paper, etc. with how writers create their work. But still it is a fun book to peruse.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not as exciting as I'd hoped. [Insert mournful tuba noise here.:]

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading this and finding different bits that resonate. Still would like to see more of the notes that led to a particular poem or series of poems. Rita Dove's section illustrates this process well.