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 Reviewed by: The Rev 1st Mar 2004 
 


White

Charles Simic
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I have quite quickly become convinced that Charles Simic's books belong on the same short shelf that holds Carruth, Sadoff, Robert Lowell, and a few other American poets. Seems like everything I pick up by the guy is wonderful. This early piece ( a collection? A long poem? Can't tell) continues the trend.

It's either a collection of short, untitled pieces (which the acknowledgments section would seem to indicate) or a longer work called “White” with a postscript. Either way, it's classic Simic and well worth the trouble it will take to hunt down. It's more classically surreal than his later works, but with the same tone of understated wit, the same veneration of the odd ins-and-outs of quirky beauty, the same engaging, and distinct, diction.

If you're not yet familiar with the work of Charles Simic, the only reason not to start with this one is that it will take you way too long to find, probably. If you're already an established fan, or stumble across a copy in your local library, by all means give it a read.



See also
A Fly in the Soup by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
A Wedding in Hell by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Another Republic by Charles Simic & Mark Strand reviewed by The Rev
Charon's Cosmology by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Classic Ballroom Dances by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Jackstraws by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
My Noiseless Entourage by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Nine Poems by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Return to a Place Lit by a Glass of Milk by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
The Horse Has Six Legs by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
The Voice at 3:00 A.M. by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
The World Doesn't End by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Unending Blues by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Walking the Black Cat by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
Weather Forecast for Utopia and Vicinity by Charles Simic reviewed by The Rev
From Snow and Rock, from Chaos by Hayden Carruth reviewed by The Rev
If You Call This Cry a Song by Hayden Carruth reviewed by The Rev
North Winter by Hayden Carruth reviewed by The Rev
The Bloomingdale Papers by Hayden Carruth reviewed by The Rev
The Sleeping Beauty by Hayden Carruth reviewed by The Rev
A Northern Calendar by Ira Sadoff reviewed by The Rev
Emotional Traffic by Ira Sadoff reviewed by The Rev
Palm Reading in Winter by Ira Sadoff reviewed by The Rev