Born in 1940 at Long Branch, New Jersey, Robert Pinsky is the eldest of three. During his formative years, his mother experienced a serious accident where she hit her head. The years after the accident deeply affected Robert's life. He refers to various family incidents that occurred in his poetry.
Often it is the expression and sharing of the common that gives Mr. Pinsky's poetry such universal appeal. The poet writes of the common trials and tribulations of life. The writing about family history expanded into the larger realm his community (as in the poem "At Pleasure Bay"), to society at large (as in the poem "The Shirt"), to even before this century and land as in "The Inferno of Dante". Robert Pinsky was appointed the ninth Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000).
From the poem "The Shirt"
The back, the yoke, the yardage. Lapped seams,
The nearly invisible stitches along the collar
Turned in a sweatshop by Koreans or Malaysians
Gossiping over tea and noodles on their break
Or talking money or politics while one fitted
This armpiece with its overseam to the band
Of cuff I button at my wrist. The presser, the cutter,
The wringer, the mangle. The needle, the union, The treadle, the bobbin. The code. The infamous blaze
At the Triangle Factory in nineteen-eleven.
One hundred and forty-six died in the flames
On the ninth floor, no hydrants, no fire escapes-
The buttonholes, the sizing, the facing, the characters
Printed in black on neckband and tail. The shape, The label, the labor, the color, the shade. The shirt.
For reading the poem in its entirety check out: http://www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prm...
Within all of his poetry, his use of fresh imagery provokes smiles, grunts, smirks, or ah ha from readers, and they return for more. It is not only the visual imagery that causes his poems to be so fundamentally exciting.
His adeptness of incorporating sounds highlights the real connection between the poem and reader. The poem "Ginza Samba" reverberates the sounds of living jazz.
Another poem that exemplifies the sounds of life is "The Tuning". Here are a few lines, which the poem can be read in whole at: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetr...
Leaking from the open window of an apartment Above us. Clean cotton, perfume, garlic, the sunset
Making the pavement red with expectation:
And now we are the city---the mighty avenues
Named for historic dates, the alleyways,
The brands of car and liquor, the soul, the stone
Along with utilization of visual and audio imagery, Pinsky deploys quotations. He successfully and surprisingly embeds quotes within his works. Respectfully, this connects the poetry to those poetic masters before him.
Often it is the expression and sharing of the common that gives Mr. Pinsky's poetry such universal appeal. The poet writes of the common trials and tribulations of life. The writing about family history expanded into the larger realm his community (as in the poem "At Pleasure Bay"), to society at large (as in the poem "The Shirt"), to even before this century and land as in "The Inferno of Dante". Robert Pinsky was appointed the ninth Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000).
From the poem "The Shirt"
The back, the yoke, the yardage. Lapped seams,
The nearly invisible stitches along the collar
Turned in a sweatshop by Koreans or Malaysians
Gossiping over tea and noodles on their break
Or talking money or politics while one fitted
This armpiece with its overseam to the band
Of cuff I button at my wrist. The presser, the cutter,
The wringer, the mangle. The needle, the union, The treadle, the bobbin. The code. The infamous blaze
At the Triangle Factory in nineteen-eleven.
One hundred and forty-six died in the flames
On the ninth floor, no hydrants, no fire escapes-
The buttonholes, the sizing, the facing, the characters
Printed in black on neckband and tail. The shape, The label, the labor, the color, the shade. The shirt.
For reading the poem in its entirety check out: http://www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prm...
Within all of his poetry, his use of fresh imagery provokes smiles, grunts, smirks, or ah ha from readers, and they return for more. It is not only the visual imagery that causes his poems to be so fundamentally exciting.
His adeptness of incorporating sounds highlights the real connection between the poem and reader. The poem "Ginza Samba" reverberates the sounds of living jazz.
Another poem that exemplifies the sounds of life is "The Tuning". Here are a few lines, which the poem can be read in whole at: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetr...
Leaking from the open window of an apartment Above us. Clean cotton, perfume, garlic, the sunset
Making the pavement red with expectation:
And now we are the city---the mighty avenues
Named for historic dates, the alleyways,
The brands of car and liquor, the soul, the stone
Along with utilization of visual and audio imagery, Pinsky deploys quotations. He successfully and surprisingly embeds quotes within his works. Respectfully, this connects the poetry to those poetic masters before him.
The copyright of the article Robert Pinsky: Improviser of Poetic Images, Sounds and Desires in American Poetry Review is owned by . Permission to republish Robert Pinsky: Improviser of Poetic Images, Sounds and Desires in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
