The Poetry of William Carlos Williams of Rutherford

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A superb study that reminds us that Williams remains our contemporary not only for the lively cadences and fresh imagery that animate his poems but for the ethical imperative of his example (The Sewanee Review). Acclaimed essayist and poet Wendell Berry was born and has always lived in a provincial part of the country without an established literary culture. In an effort to adapt his poetry to his place of Henry County Kentucky Berry discovered an enduringly useful example in the work of William Carlos Williams. In Williams commitment to his place of Rutherford New Jersey Berry found an inspiration that inevitably influenced the direction of his own writing. Both men would go on to establish themselves as respected American poets and here Berry sets forth his understanding of that evolution for Williams who in the course of his local membership and service became a poet indispensable to us all. Generously quoting many of Williams best lines . . . Berry produces a work of aesthetics more than evaluation of love more than critique. Booklist