Critic's clumsy review lacks the poet's touch
John Freeman's April 23 News & Record review of Claudia Emerson's poetry collection, "Late Wife," berates the volume partly on grounds of its style. Emerson's lines, he says, "are prosy, full of airy extras, their single posture a dogged upward glance." He refers to a phrase only 21 words long as a "symphony." He complains of feeling "claustrophobic, bullied into a pretzel of sympathy."
Those who criticize the language usage of others ought themselves to demonstrate at least some primitive level of skill. Freeman couldn't mix his metaphors more thoroughly with a Cuisinart.
I urge readers to try "Late Wife" for themselves. To accept Freeman's judgment is like taking piano lessons from a tone-deaf spot welder.
Fred Chappell
Greensboro
The writer is a former poet laureate of North Carolina and a former professor of Claudia Emerson at UNCG.
Comments (5)
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You have made the matrix of the poem manifest!
Godspeed, Fred Chappell.
Translation for several of the usual suspects:
"Atta boy there, Fred. You done told 'em. Good luck goin' where you's goin".
Posted on May 1, 2006 9:05 AM
I especially liked "taking piano lessons from a tone-deaf spotwelder."
Don't hold back, Fred, tell us how you really feel!
Posted on May 1, 2006 9:16 AM
I guess we should all bow to the infinite wisdom of the poet laureate. I'm surprised that Fred didn't adhere to the first rule of literature. Some like certain things and some don't. The critic is entitled to his opinion as is Fred. However, I see more of a bias coming from the former instructor of the poet than I do coming from critic. I like the way he berates the critics word choice because the critic didn't like the poet's word choice. Tit for tat!
Posted on May 1, 2006 9:45 AM
Joe,
I agree with what you said. However, there is no way I'm getting trapped into being the critic of a critic of a critic of a poet.
Posted on May 1, 2006 5:29 PM
Like Fred Chappell, I urge readers to read the original and form their own opinions. John Freeman's review deserves the same courtesy. "John Freeman" + review + "Claudia Emerson" to Google will get the reader there. There you might find, as I did, that John Freeman's review is perfectly literate and graceful, and Fred Chappell's comments "without merit." I read Ms. Emerson's book with no preconceptions, and agree with John Freeman. Claudia Emerson's observations are lucid and well-expressed, but I found her obsession with her second husband's first wife's death, well, creepy.
Posted on July 26, 2006 9:14 PM