I Wanted to Write a Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet (New Directions Paperbook) - Softcover

Williams, William Carlos

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811207072 ISBN 13: 9780811207072

Publisher: New Directions, 1977

Synopsis

“I Wanted to Write a Poem is an engrossing book; in its verity and at the same time in having the attraction of fiction––certain fiction.” ―Marianne Moore

Subtitled "The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet," this unique volume was the result of a series of informal conversations in the mid-1950s between Dr. Williams, his wife, and Edith Heal, then a student at Columbia University. In the relaxed atmosphere of the Williams home in Rutherford, New Jersey, the three discussed, chronologically, the poet's works as collected on his very own library shelves. "There was an air of discovery about the whole procedure," Miss Heal writes in her introduction, "the poet's excited 'Why I'd forgotten this dedication,' the unexpected appearance of reviews that had been tucked away in the pages of the books, pencilled corrections in the text, scrawled first drafts on prescription blanks." I Wanted to Write a Poem is, then, a brief "talking" bibliography, alive with the Williamses' memories of the circumstances in which the books were brought into being––in Miss Heal's words, "a nostalgic review of the early twentieth-century literary world."

About this title

About the Author

Besides being a practicing physician, William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) was a poet, short-story writer, novelist, translator, playwright, and essayist whose contribution to the development of modern American poetry grew out of his commitment to recording the "local" experience of Rutherford, New Jersey, and its environs.

From the Back Cover

'I Wanted to Write a Poem' is, then, a brief 'talking' bibliography, alive with the Williamses' memories of the circumstances in which the books were brought into being-in Miss Heal's words, 'a nostalgic review of the early twentieth-century literary world.'

Edition details

• Publisher: New Directions
• Publication date: 1977
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811207072
• ISBN 13: 9780811207072
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 132