tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-723051723159673401.post6214640265164077698..comments2010-04-11T18:23:35.865-07:00Comments on Coming Up for Air: Reality is the Beginning, Not the EndN.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11445834626349775003noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-723051723159673401.post-80416586067387454662010-04-11T18:23:35.865-07:002010-04-11T18:23:35.865-07:00That's a great anecdote. To complement it, I r...That's a great anecdote. To complement it, I remember reading a profile of him a few years back about how he used to walk to work everyday with a small notepad and scratch his ideas down on paper. Once he got to work, he would have his secretary type up the poems. I don't know if this was a daily affair, but it's endearing either way.<br /><br />And yes, Stevens at time can be arcane for sure. But yes also, he is one the the great lions of twentieth century American poetry, and a great philosophical poet to boot. I find he hues to a central concept that informs all of his poetry, and I think it is captured best above, as well as in "Idea of Order at Key West", among select others.N.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11445834626349775003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-723051723159673401.post-51650674526228064692010-04-11T16:28:30.373-07:002010-04-11T16:28:30.373-07:00I think you'll appreciate this anecdote. One o...I think you'll appreciate this anecdote. One of my favorite educational moments from high school was when my senior year English teacher introduced us to Stevens (I think it was with "The Emperor of Ice Cream"). Mr. Heywood told us how Stevens had been an insurance agent in Connecticut for decades while also being an acclaimed poet. When he died, a reporter visited his insurance office to get reactions from his colleagues, but they were all mystified, repeatedly saying in disbelief "Wally? A poet?"<br /><br />I think Wally is probably the poet I like the most but feel most out of my depth with too.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14378054679144432371noreply@blogger.com