Detail
Title: Selected Poems, 1923-1958 ISBN:Published August 8th 1977 by Faber & Faber (first published 1960) · Paperback 128 pages
Genre: Poetry, Classics, Literature, 20th Century, American, Reference, The United States Of America, Anthologies, Collections, English Literature, Fiction
Must be read
User Reviews
Kirsty
Selected Poems 1923-1958 was a reread for me. I adore cummings' poetry; it feels fresh and experimental, even reading it in the twenty-first century. The selections for this particular volume were made by cummings himself, from eleven of his previous bodies of work. I wrote out an extensive list of favourite quotes, and have selected five to accompany this review.
- 'the little / lone balloonman // whistles far and wee'
- 'and it's / spring // when the world is puddle-wonderful'
- ' - before leaving my room / i turn, and (stooping / through the morning) kiss / this pillow, dear / where our heads lived and were.'
- 'and dark beginnings are his luminous ends'
- 'death (having lost) put on his universe / and yawned'
Rachel Louise Atkin
Cummings is my favourite poet. I love going back to this collection (handpicked by Cummings himself) whenever I feel confused, emotional, needy and in want of comfort. His poems are about infatuation, devotion, spring, war and our human desire for love. Truly one of the most inspired and deeply compassionate poets.
-
One of my favourite poets to read. His work is heavily inspired by the DADA movement and the surrealists, and his writing about love and it's connection to spring and nature is very enlightening.
Eilidh Fyfe
((delightful !))
Mary
I am not much of a reader of poetry and even with e.e.Cummings that is true. BUT, even if you do not like entire poems--he has lines that stand out , shine and make you smile. This is one of those poetry books that I have lying around to read when I have just a short time. The special (to me) lines that can be full of satire, sometimes serious and very humorous is why I rated it 4 stars.
ciel
je l'adoreee. "eternity being so sans until/ twice i have lived forever in a smile." this made me smile and witness some smiles. aw.
so much about timelessness and being in time that heidegger's lens could be interesting. cumming's 'in love' analogue to 'in time', while timelessness translates to unlove.
"since feeling is first/ who pays any attention/ to the syntax of things." the breaks with syntax elevate the said as allowing to overcome at least some language cages. isn't "t,a,p,s" so much more tapping than 'taps'? joy for a neuro-atypical brain. things make more sense when feeling rules syntax and not the other way around. poems richer and words fuller with meaning.
lots of themes: april/ time/ america/ eternity/ violets/ christ/ death/ yes/ sex/ sky/ ...
lots of favourites.
Laura
Wow. Echt intens verliefd op deze bundel.
--
for whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea'
--
we doctors know
a hopeless case if-listen: there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
--
death(having lost)put on his universe
and yawned: it looks like rain
Emily
One of my favorites:
in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how
in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)
in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes
in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)
and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me
Gijs Grob
A fine collection of hundred poems by the idiosyncratic American poet, selected by himself.
Cummings uses no capitals, has quite an original use of punctuation and syntax, and makes frequent use of parentheses. Yet, the poems are at times less modern than they first look - they're clearly well structured, and they often rhyme.
The poems range from easy to follow to incomprehensible, but most of them celebrate love, life, nature and the universe. Thus, the poems are often ecstatic in nature, and filled with a rather mystic sense of God, without ever becoming overtly religious. Spring clearly has a special place in Cummings' heart, for many poems are devoted to this particular season.
Despite the recycling of these themes, Cummings never becomes cheap or repetitive. Even better, he can also be satirical, and there's even a sarcastic, angry poem ignited by the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, and the lack of response from the Western countries.
Some of Cummings' poems are real beauties, and certainly invite to read aloud.
Daisy Douglas
This is one of my favourite books. Ever. e e cummings is my favourite poet because of the way he can just express normal things with such originality. It's his short phrases like "hips pumping pleasure into hips" and "you open always petal by petal myself" that do it for me everytime. I love the way he neglects to use titles for his poems and I love the sensuality that he embodies for me.
What I love most about this collection of poems selected by e e cummings himself is the wide variety and the varying themes within each poem. This makes the book perfect to read as you can pick it up at any page and read. Each poem is a snapshot in itself. That, for me, is what makes this book so beautiful.
Mat
This is an absolutely stellar selection of 100 poems by the 20th century mastery of poetry, e. e. cummings (yes, all lower case, as he liked it). This selection was made by the poet himself.
While Cummings does try to cover his best poems from each book over his career, you can see clearly which books he thought 'aged' better than others - in particular, the volumes is 5 and 1 x 1 were the two volumes from which he drew most poems, and I must say that that was a good choice as that is when cummings was probably at the height of his powers.
Think of this book as a 'primer' of e. e. cummings of sorts. Prepare to have your mind gently blown. You will encounter unusual typography and deliberately mangled syntax, which will at times remind you of Gertrude Stein, without Gertie's annoying persistence to monotonous repetition.
All in all, a stunning collection for anyone who wants to have a basic knowledge of cummings' poetry. If you wish to go the whole hog, and join the (moveable but not entirely portable) feast, then I recommend checking out The Collected Poems of E. E. Cummings.
Ned Gill
A very enjoyable collection. Slightly hindered in enjoyment by Cummings' allergy to any punctuation or many titles. So not for the casual reader for sure. Personally felt that Cummings was more comfortable in the poems centred around love but most were lovely.
Personal favourites in collection:
- The greatest advantage of being alive
- No time ago
- Now all the fingers of this tree (darling) have
- In time of daffodils (who know
- Stand with your lover on the ending earth
- unlove's the heaven less hell and homeless home
- I carry your heart with me
Sydney
This was originally published on March 31st, 2020 on my blog about the intersection of books and life (www.readingintolife.com):
ee cummings Selected Poems and slowing down
Reading ee cummings’ poetry cover-to-cover has the overall effect of turning your brain into soup. The words twist and dance and slip into crevices where you don’t expect them to fit. And just when you think you’ve truly lost your mind, you find a nugget of tangible wisdom that opens your heart and makes you realize it was all so very worth it.
"For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea"
- Cummings, p. 97
ee cummings is one of my favorite poets for exactly that reason.
This particular selection of poems intercepted my attention in a Waterstones while I was on the hunt for some Mary Oliver poetry. While I found both authors irresistibly calling out to me from the shelf, Oliver’s works happened to be (inexplicably) stupid expensive. So I left her behind for now.
cummings writes primarily about love, spring, nature, freedom, and war, and the intersections therein. He is a flagrant and deliberate rule-breaker. His work is stormy, sarcastic, crude and wily just as much as it is lyric, sweet and feely. You have to slow way down when you read it so as not to miss something.
I was unsure how his poetry would land with me considering all that’s happening right now. Romance and nature and freedom just seem like far away, intangible things that aren’t able to touch my life right now. So, would any of this really resonate?
But, of course, this turned out to be the perfect manual for remembering how to slow down and take in all the details of this life, especially when it feels like our snug, little snow-globe has been so rudely shaken.
"all the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky
all the little fish climb through the mind of the sea
(all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)""
- Cummings, p. 94
I’m currently isolated in my flat, doing my best to stop the spread of Coronavirus as it rampages through London. Meanwhile, I’m feeling so much love pour into and out of my heart through the connectivity and support that the internet (thank GOD) offers me.
"love is a deeper season
than reason;"
- Cummings, p. 79
"it is most mad and moonly"
- Cummings, p. 62
While I’m missing the smells and sounds and feels of spring blossoming outside, I’m watching it unfurl through my window and also through the swelling buds of an orchid (the slowest of creatures) that I’m babysitting.
"when faces called flowers float out of the ground"
- Cummings, p. 94
cummings reminded me of the endless gratitude I already have for the natural world and that I can keep it in my heart even if I can’t be in it quite yet…
"i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes"
- Cummings, p. 92
I started making a point to read one poem each morning – first thing when I woke up, instead of looking at my phone or checking the news. In that way, ee shaped my intention and focus for every day in a positive, if not dreamy and still somehow grounded way.
"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance"
- Cummings, p. 50
cummings has a way of touching and illuminating some of the most meaningful whispers in my heart. He has words for the things that ignite the fires behind the choices I make about how to live and love and be and care. I was silly to think that this latest adventure in reading his work would be any different. So, thank you, mr. cummings, for writing your magic and sharing your joy and reminding me of my most always self.
References and links can be found in the original post
Francisca
originally, i had picked up No Thanks as my first foray into the poetry of cummings. when i decided to find the wikipedia page of that book, just in case, i read it was considered one of his most challenging collections. so, i quickly changed my mind and picked an anthology. i believe i made the right decision. unlike the few poems i got to look in my original selection, the ones in here are challenging (most of the time although not all of the time) ina more syntactical level. wikipedia told me this was the usual. the ones in "no thanks" were simply too baffling for me, as a neophyte of his work, to dip my toes in. the good news is, this collection was quite comfortable and i want to pick up more of his anthologies in the future. the bad news, i don't think "no thanks" will be in the cards any time soon.
Alexandra Pinzaru
Reading Cummings' poetry feels like entering a surreal playground.
He's playful, spontaneous, experimental, wrenching and reshaping poetical form to meet his vision.
My first thought while reading him was: are you playing with my mind?
Overall, although i found some of the poems annoying and tiresome, he does have brilliant "paint strokes" that stand out and provoke you to go back and read the whole poem again only to discover that you weren't quite paying attention before you were awaken.
Abbi
A beautiful and bizarre collection of poems. I found that often I loved individual lines, but barely understood the rest of the poem.
Favourites:
my sweet old et cetera (26)
in spite of everything (28)
if there are any heavens my mother will (all by herself) have (33)
yes is a pleasant country: (79)
"sweet spring is your (82)
when serpents bargain for the right to squirm (86)
when faces called flowers float out of the ground (94)
in time of daffodils(who know (100)
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in (115)
being to timelessness as it's to time, (117)