Jul 212013
The Poetry of Solitude: A Tribute to Edward Hopper
This volume, collected and introduced by Gail Levin, combines for the first time classic pictures by Edward Hopper and the poems they inspired. His much-loved Nighthawks and House by the Railroad are gathered along with many other favorites that have captured poets’ imagination. The wide range of poets whose writings pay tribute to this great artist:
William Carpenter
Anne Babson Carter
Stephen Dunn
W.R. Elton
Edward Hirsch
John Hollander
Larry Levis
Robert Mezey
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List Price: $ 16.95
Price: $ 26.31
Solid,
I am neither a poet, nor a visual artist, so I will provide for you the layman’s review: I find this book to be a charming text, based on a very good idea (ask writers to create poetry inspired by the Hopper paintings reproduced herein). Like all books of poetry, I’m quite sure that – like me – you will find that some of the poetry speaks to you, and some of it does not, but you will find all of it to be of a very high quality. Likewise, one of the aspects I enjoy most about this book is the quality of the reproductions, which, perhaps because of the book’s rather small physical size, shows off the richness and clarity of Hopper’s work better than most other books that present his oils. I have given this book as a gift twice now, and the recipients have been very impressed…
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|All the lonely people / Where do they all belong?,
First let me say the title of this review is “stolen” from the lyrics of “Eleanor Rigby”, a song written by Paul Mccartney & John Lennon.
We all have favourite writers, favourite sportpersons or favourite painters. For a long time, Edward Hopper has been a favourite of mine and what is certainly interesting is that I do not think Mr Hopper was very good technically. I am using technically in the sense that, for instance, Salvador Dali was very good. Some times I think his human figures look a bit awkward. However, in my opinion, no one portrays in a better way the loneliness that surrounds us all or the emptiness that pervades our lives most of the time.
The first time I came across this book by Ms Levin was when a very good friend of mine, for a reason I cannot think of at the moment, offered me her own copy. It was a very delicate gift indeed, a collection of poems related to some Hopper paintings, namely some very famous ones such as “Early Sunday Morning” or “Nighthawks”.
Though I am very interested in poetry I am not familiar with american poetry and, to be honest, the only author I had heard of before was Joyce Carol Oates. That did not prevent me from recognizing that most poems that are included are great poetry. Two in particular stand out, other people would perhaps choose different ones: “Inventing my parents” by Susan Ludvigson and “Early Sunday Morning” by John Stone. I quote a small fragment from each poem
“and she’s laughing, light
as summer rain when it begins.”
“Somewhere in the next block
someone may be practicing the flute
but not here”
More than once I have offered copies of this book. The reaction has always been, “Where did you find such a beautiful book?” or some similar sentence.
Ms Levin is the author of other books on Hopper. This “Poetry of solitude” may be a nice introduction to Hopper’s thick biography or Hopper’s places.
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