Americana: and Other Poems

by John Updike

John Updike's first collection of verse since his Collected Poems, 1953-1993 brings together fifty-eight poems, three of them of considerable length. The four sections take up, in America, its cities and airplanes; the poet's life, his childhood, birthdays, and ailments; foreign travel, to Europe and the tropics; and, beginning with the long "Song of Myself," daily life, its furniture and consolations. There is little of the light verse with which Mr. Updike began his writing career nearly fifty years ago, but a light touch can be felt in his nimble manipulation of the ghosts of metric order, in his caressing of the living textures of things, and in his reluctance to wave goodbye to it all.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2001

About the author

John Hoyer Updike was an American writer. Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered). Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest both won Pulitzer Prizes for Updike. Describing his subject as "the American small town, Protestant middle class," Updike is well known for his careful craftsmanship and prolific writing, having published 22 novels and more than a dozen short story collections as well as poetry, literary criticism and children's books. Hundreds of his stories, reviews, and poems have appeared in The New Yorker since the 1950s. His works often explore sex, faith, and death, and their inter-relationships.

He died of lung cancer at age 76.

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Committed readers of poetry would most likely give this collection three stars and that rating would be technically accurate.

And yet. . . for me, Americana and Other Poems still warrants four stars, if only for providing this Updike groupie with another window to stand and stare at the man.

As a poet, Mr. Updike isn't exactly Pablo Neruda. He stays too high in the head, doesn't travel often enough to the heart, and he doesn't take enough risks.

I don't know yet what his earlier poetry is like (sexier, I hope), but John was just shy of 70 when this particular collection was published, and he always thought his death was right around the corner, so this often reads as a farewell or a lament.

Mr. Updike was never as old as he felt, and it was fun for me to connect this habit of his in his fiction with the lines in his poetry that reflected this. In his poem Downtime he writes, “I have time at last to consider my life, this its stubby stale end--” And this sentiment is echoed over and over again.

I wanted to say, “Come on, John! You thought you had one foot in the grave at 38 and you lived 40 more years, dude!” It's a good reminder for us not to age ourselves prematurely.

This collection is divided into four parts: America, travel notes and observations on the changes he's seen in his country, The Poet's Life, nostalgia about his lost youth, Foreign Travel which includes the poem Two Cunts in Paris (Oh, John, you just couldn't resist), and Daily Life, which was my personal favorite—random reflections on life.

I didn't shriek or clasp my hands in ecstasy over any of the poems here, but I did get to mess around in John's monkey mind, and I also discovered this little gem:

CHICORY

Show me a piece of land that God forgot-
a strip between an unused sidewalk, say,
and a bulldozed lot, rich in broken glass-
and there, July on, will be chicory,

its leggy hollow stems staggering skyward,
its leaves rough-hairy and lanceolate,
like pointed shoes too cheap for elves to wear,
its button-blooms the tenderest mauve-blue.

How good of it to risk the roadside fumes,
the oil-soaked heat reflected from asphalt,
and wretched earth dun-colored like cement,
too packed for any other seed to probe.

It sends a deep taproot (delicious, boiled),
is relished by all livestock, lends its leaves
to salads and cooked greens, but will not thrive
in cultivated soil: it must be free.

[Johnvano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best poems in the collection:
Atlanta-Dallas/Fort Worth, 11:10 P.M.
Bad Night in New York State
Near Clifton, Perhaps
Before the Mirror
A Wound Posthumously Inflicted
Marine Hotel, North Berwick, Scotland, May 1998
Venetian Candy
Saying Goodbye to Very Young Children
A Sound Heard Early on the Morning of Christ's Nativity

[Alison Whiteman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

He could do it all. I miss him.

[ems · Rating 2 out of 5]

wonderful lines about a specific american experience that isn't very interesting to me.

[Brandon Montgomery · Rating 1 out of 5]

loaded with Bourgeois-ish WASP-ish superficiality and contempt for people not named John Updike.

[Casarah Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry is unique, you have authors like Dr. Seuss who make lines catchy and rhythmical and then you have poets who open a deep gash in their hearts and pour their blood into the pages, making their works personal and relatable. This was neither. John Updike features poems from a normal perspective using language in curious ways to describe as simple things as an airplane ride or chicory growing in the cracks of asphalt.

Not every poem was picture picture, not every poem is going to be enjoyed by everyone, but their is definitely talent in this poets pen and worth the read.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Section one deals with means of transportation and domestic cities. Then section two deals with the author's reflections on his home and upbringing. After that section three deals with international travel. He wraps this up with miscellanies poems. I chose this as a July 4th seasonal read.

[Lillyana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a hater.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not a big fan of poetry, I always find it's hit-and-miss with my tastes and with this one; I felt it was a good balance of those I just clicked with and those I didn't. The book is divided up in to four sections and they relate around, in order: America, its cities and aeroplanes; the poet's life, his childhood, birthdays, and ailments; foreign travel, to Europe and the tropics; and, beginning with the long Song of Myself, daily life, its furniture and consolations. It's a really full collection, which touches on most bases of life, everyday observations and human nature.

My favourite section had to be section III, simply because, personally, I felt that was the section that was most vivid - it was definitely the one that drew me in most. From Venetian Candy to Subtropical Night (and many before, after and inbetween) it was that section that was really beautiful to me - filled with colour and imagery (and some mentions of astronomy, which is always a sure way to make me interested). My favourite poem in the entire collection is probably Subtropical Night.

What I will say though, is I preferred the structured to the free verse (I believe that his earlier work is more free verse and as he got older he turned more to sonnets and structure) - but that's just me being pedantic because I loved this (and for someone who isn't very big on poetry, that's quite a feat).

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sat down to read a couple of poems to see what I thought. Next thing I knew, I was finished with the book. Loved. It. Somehow, unlike with most poetry collections, I found I could relate to almost every single one.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one can claim that John Updike doesn't know his way around words. This collection of his poetry is a skillful and wondrous reflection of America, traveling, growing up and growing older. My favorites: "Island Cities", "Religious Consolation", and "Saying Good-bye to Young Children".

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Sari Zweig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is collection of American poems. These poems are written well by Updike. They are modern type poems.

There were no illustrations.

[Kathryn Salek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my top poetry picks. I liked the style, flow and imagery, but not the content of the poems.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known Updike's work as a short story writer. I was mildly surprised at his poetic capabilities.