Proofs & Theories

by Gluck, Louise

• ISBN13: 9780880014427
• ISBN10: 0880014423
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Winner of the 1993 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Non-Fiction, "Proofs and Theories" is an illuminating collection of essays by Louise Gluck, whose most recent book of poems, "The Wild Iris, " was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Gluck brings to her prose the same precision of language, the same incisiveness and insight that distinguish her poetry. The force of her thought is evident everywhere in these essays, from her explorations of other poets' work to her skeptical contemplation of current literary critical notions such as "sincerety" and "courage." Here also are Gluck's revealing reflections on her own education and life as a poet, and a tribute to her teacher and mentor, Stanley Kunitz. "Proofs and Theories" is the testament of a major poet.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xi
Education of the Poet	3	(16)
On T. S. Eliot	19	(4)
The Idea of Courage	23	(6)
On George Oppen	29	(4)
Against Sincerity	33	(14)
On Hugh Seidman	47	(6)
The Forbidden	53	(12)
Obstinate Humanity	65	(8)
Disruption, Hesitation, Silence	73	(14)
Disinterestedness	87	(4)
The Best American Poetry 1993: Introduction	91	(8)
The Dreamer and the Watcher	99	(8)
On Stanley Kunitz	107	(6)
Invitation and Exclusion	113	(12)
Death and Absence	125	(4)
On Impoverishment	129