Take My Poems
A recent essay titled "A Deeper Consideration" by the poet, essayist and journalist, Clive James explores the virtues of concision, reflection, and thought in poetry as opposed to mere wordy surface glitter or confessional self-expression. James discusses the works of the American poet Samuel Menashe (b. 1925( to illustrate his claims of what is valuable in poetry. Here is a short poem by Menashe titled "Beachhead" that James carefully discusses.
"The tide ebbs
From a helmet
Wet sand embeds"
Menashe served as an infantryman during WW II at the Battle of the Bulge. Other than this poem, Menashe wrote little about his war experiences. Yet. James properly observes that "there is a whole war" in these tight three lines. James continues: "[The poet] makes his war a nation's war. The deeper consideration is that he was one among many, and, unlike too many, he lived to speak. That he speaks so concisely is a condition of his testament: consecration and concentration are the same thing. This is a world away from the expression of the self. This is bedrock."
Born to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Menashe described his poetical influences as the short poems of William Blake and the Hebrew Bible. He was an obscure figure in American poetry until the Poetry Foundation established a "Neglected Masters Award" for Menashe on the occasion of his 80th birthday. At the same time, the American Poets Project, part of the Library of America, published this volume of Menashe's "New and Selected Poems" in 2005, with a short essay by Menashe, quotations from various poets on his work, and an introduction by Christopher Ricks. In 2008, the American Poets Project edition was expanded to include ten additional poems. I am using the 2008 edition in this review.
Menashe's poetry is short, deeply thought through, and filled with meaning. It doesn't categorize well as either modernist or traditional. The poems are generally in brief lines with every word, and the form, telling. The poems often rhyme in part and make great use of alliteration, homynyms,and suggestion. Some of the poems celebrate the everyday. They frequently are set in New York City where Menashe has lived in the same unpretentious walk-up flat since the early 1950s. But many of the poems are rural, set in woods, fields, or near the water. Death, including the poet's pending death (Menashe is still active), his friends, and his mother's is a preoccupation. Love and love affairs are described, if only elliptically. Some of the poems are whimsical. Most of poetry reaches out beyond its few words to show a concern for spiritual questions.
Here is a poem titled "Windows: Old Widow" which several contributors to the American Poets Project volume use to illustrate the character of Menashe's art.
"There is a pillow
On the window sill --
Her elbow room --
In the twin window
Enclosed by a grill
Plants in pots bloom
On the window sill"
I want to quote two poems out of many that I particularly liked that I have not seen referred to by other writers on Menashe. The first, set in New York City, as is the above poem, is titled "Tenement Spring".
"Blue month of May, make us
Light as laundry on lines
Wind we do not see, mind us
Early in the morning"
The second poem is untitled and is part of a series of little poems that comment upon Biblical passages.
"Leah bribed Jacob
With mandrake roots
To make him
Lie with her
Take my poems"
Menashe's poems reminded me of the short poetry of Charles Reznikoff (1894 -- 1976). Like Menashe, Reznikoff was born to immigrants from Eastern Europe. Reznikoff wrote in obscurity for years in a style that was both concentrated and highly personal. Like Menashe, Reznikoff lived in New York City, and many of his poems have an urban setting. And both writers show a strong Jewish influence even though neither appears traditionally religious.
Readers interested in modern poetry that is slightly off the beaten path will love this collection of Menashe's poems. As with much else, the Library of America is to be commended for publishing this volume and making Menashe's work available.
The essay by Clive James discussed in this review is taken from the September 2010 issue of "Poetry" magazine.
Samuel Menashe died on August 22, 2011.
Robin Friedman
