“Of
course a poem is a two-way street. No poem is any good if it doesn't suggest to
the reader things from his own mind and recollection that he will read into it,
and will add to what the poet has suggested.” – James Laughlin
Laughlin, born in 1914, was founder of
New Directions Publishing, which became a preeminent publisher of modernist
literature.
Laughlin's poetic writing (more than
1,200 poems) often focused on everyday experiences, love, and life and was
highly regarded by fellow poets. In his
honor, the “James Laughlin Award” is given annually by The Academy of American
Poets to recognize and support a second book of poetry forthcoming
in the next calendar year. For Saturday’s Poem, exerpted from New
Direction’s wonderful book The Collected Poems
of James Laughlin is,
What The Pencil Writes
Often when I go out I
put in my coat pocket
put in my coat pocket
some paper and a pencil
in case I want to
in case I want to
write something down
well there they are
well there they are
wherever I go and as
my coat moves the pencil
my coat moves the pencil
writes by itself
a kind of gibberish
a kind of gibberish
hieroglyphic which I
often think as I undress
often think as I undress
at night & take
out those papers with
out those papers with
nothing written on
them but strange and
them but strange and
meaningless marks is
the story of my life.
the story of my life.
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