The University of Queensland Abstract Questions to Answers by Yaron Lifschitz The thesis, Questions to Answers, comprises two parts: a book-length collection of poems by the same title and a critical essay entitled “Behind the Verse: the Critical Prose of Poets” which examines critical prose written by three contemporary poets – Louise Glück, Anne Carson and Derek Walcott. The collection of poems is a series of lyrical digressions – oscillating between intimate reflections and intellectual musings. It aims to interrogate and undermine the known with pertinent (and sometimes impertinent) questions. The title suggests that rather than beginning with questions and moving to answers; the opposite journey is undertaken – the poems begin with the answers – received wisdoms, commonplace observations – and move towards uncertainty and curiosity. The poems range from short, lyrics to extended sequences. Being highly personal and eclectic statements of my sensibility, I aimed to create a free-flowing structure that reflects the curious digressions of this sensibility. There are several categories of poems that run through the work. These include poems of love and loss; short, lyrical odes to heroes of mine (mainly composers and poets); poems about reading the classics; poems about abstract philosophical musings; and poems about family – including my young son and my recently deceased sister. The placement of these poems aims to give a sense that these subjects are not distinct; reflecting my belief that one no more leaves the world of the heart to read the Odyssey than one forgoes one’s fascination with Kant to fall in love. The critical essay explores the relationship between the poetry and critical prose of three poets I admire – Derek Walcott, Louise Glück and Anne Carson. It proposes that the critical prose of poets is a neglected genre – full of delight and insight into the minds of the poets in question. The first chapter focuses on how a small observation in an essay by Walcott reveals a key feature of his poetics. The second explores the functioning of Glück’s stylistic reticence as she admires the sparse works of George Oppen. The third chapter looks at Carson’s radical troubling of the line between poetry and prose and seeks to explore it using digressive techniques borrowed from Carson herself. I begin the essay by exploring how the imperative to write a prose component to complement my poetry gave rise to this subject and finish the essay by analyzing what I learnt from its writing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/254043 |
| Creators | Yaron Lifschitz |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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