{"id":2511,"date":"2012-05-10T15:55:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T19:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/?p=2511"},"modified":"2014-02-11T17:56:52","modified_gmt":"2014-02-11T21:56:52","slug":"mcnair-to-hall-march-3-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/mcnair-to-hall-march-3-1984\/","title":{"rendered":"McNair to Hall: March 3, 1984"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a><\/p>\n

[Click image to view]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

March 3, 1984<\/p>\n

Dear Don,<\/p>\n

It\u2019s great to see some of your new poems, about which I
\nnow write my opinions, worthwhile or not.<\/p>\n

I think there are two poems in \u201cThe Day I was Older\u201d (love
\nthat title) that are so good, they out to be taken out of the
\nsequence to stand on their own. One is \u201cThe Pond\u201d–a wonderful
\nthing. The other is \u201cThe Day\u201d–but not in the latest revision.
\nThe earlier poem, which I looked up in my file, is for me still
\nstunning–breathtaking<\/span>–and I think you ought to consider returning
\nto it. I believe the earlier revision is one of the best poems you
\never wrote. I like the other poems of the sequence–notably
\namong them, \u201cThe Clock\u201d–but I don\u2019t think they have the power
\nof the other two I\u2019ve mentioned.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix Naps in One Day\u201d is a good sequence all the way
\nthrough, I think, containing several arresting images which
\ndissolve into more<\/span> arresting images. I love that gibbon
\n\u201cin his gown of claws and hair\u201d; the raccoons (which
\nI recall from an earlier poem) with their stolen cargo; the
\nskulls \u201cas blue\/as the bones, etc\u201d (nice collision of dream–
\ndetail there at the end of that verse); and especially<\/span> the
\nbaby, \u201cLittle Joe Jesus\u201d! The only thing I\u2019d change is
\nin poem 4: the \u201clibrary smelling\/of Golden Bantam\u201d does<\/span><\/p>\n

2\/<\/p>\n

provide a transition of sorts from earlier poems, but does not seem
\nright for the poem. And the phrasing feels mannered. But I like
\nthe whole of it a lot.<\/p>\n

And I like \u201cNew Animals\u201d–the way \u201cwaking one morning\u201d
\nmoves to \u201cIn my dream\u201d and all that happens afterward,
\nexcepting the business about Jack, which for me intrudes upon
\nthe rest, reminding me too strongly that you are outside the
\ndream commenting about it, when I want to be drawn into
\nthe \u201creality\u201d of what happened. Perhaps the Jack part should
\ngo and the middle-to-end part could be compressed somewhat.
\nI very much like the ending with the \u201csheep dog ostrich\u201d
\nand \u201caiee<\/span> aiee<\/span>\u201d.<\/p>\n

I do not like \u201cAcorns\u201d so much. I think that\u2019s because I
\ncan\u2019t find the right link between the description of the climb,
\nand the intricate description of the acorn. Also because I
\ncan\u2019t find enough poetry in the description, it is so particular.
\nI like the idea<\/span> I sense of \u201cwriting acorns large\u201d with
\nthe short lines that spell out each detail of acorns–
\nbut I don\u2019t think what actually happens is complete yet.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think \u201cThe Granite State\u201d is ready yet, either.
\nIt is clear what you want the poem to do. But for me
\nthe poem strives to fulfill the thesis of the title, without<\/p>\n

3\/<\/p>\n

fully becoming poetry. I can try to write more about this if
\nyou think doing so would be helpful. For now, I\u2019ll leave
\nit there.<\/p>\n

I save \u201cAnother Elegy\u201d, the most interesting poem, til last.
\nMy delay in responding to you all this time results from
\nreading and rereading this verse. First, I like the poem very
\nmuch. I like it because it attempts so much in relation
\nto Wright: in addition to his life and death; the lives
\nof others in his generation (esp. you); of past
\npoets; of the<\/span> (generic) poet, burdened by vision and
\n\u201cambition.\u201d And I like it especially because of its many moving
\npassages–some of the best, I think, you\u2019ve written.<\/p>\n

These are the passages I mean: part 2, the part about
\nsitting beside Wright at Mt. Sinai; part 4, from the beginning
\nline to \u201cStripmines\u201d–and those last two lines!; part 5,
\nall; the last six lines of part 6; part 8, all; the
\nresolution, so sweeping, in part 10. Not to say I don\u2019t
\nlike other parts–but these are wonderful.<\/p>\n

And the poem is in all awfully good, intricate in its
\nimagery and large in its scope; yet there are still a few parts
\nI\u2019m not sure of. These are the parts about you–with you<\/p>\n

4\/<\/p>\n

in parentheses, questioning your own motives, wondering about
\nthe poem you are making as you are making it. I like
\nthe idea<\/span> of this–of what such a thing might do in the poem–
\nmore than I like what\u2019s been done somehow. I think the
\npoem would be stronger without the parenthetical parts\u2026.<\/p>\n

Then I think there are certain passages that might
\nbe tightened. It seems to me that part 4 is loose–
\ntoo close to prose–in the center. I find the same thing
\nin 6, to the name \u201cThomas\u201d (but then, that\u2019s another
\nsection about you<\/span> and Wright, which might be taken out?).
\nFor me, 7 needs tightening, too.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a wonderful project–and wonderfully \u201cambitious.\u201d
\nI like it very, very much.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ve perhaps noticed, the NHTimes<\/span><\/a> article has
\nhit the stands. Although the paper\u2019s photographer called
\nto line up an appointment for photos, the Times<\/span> ran
\nthe article without photos, I\u2019m not sure why. And
\nthere was not one word about Jane, the one terrible
\nomission for me. I can\u2019t complain about my<\/span> treatment
\nin it, but I do wish I had remembered to say<\/p>\n

5\/<\/p>\n

something in the first place, rather than writing to Begiebing
\nand hoping for the inclusion after the article was done.
\nI can\u2019t believe he wouldn\u2019t have tried to accommodate
\nmy request. I assume that anything more would have
\nmade the article too long.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, aside from the absense [sic] of Jane, I find
\nlittle to \u201ccringe\u201d about in the piece. Of course I basked
\nin it\u2019s [sic] praise of my poems. (I hope some of
\nthe good words actually apply.) In some cases, I
\ndidn\u2019t say exactly what Begiebing had me say (to
\nsave space, he occasionally<\/span> pieced together quotations [that about “form”, for instance]
\nfrom different parts of our conversation), but what he
\ntranscribed was almost always accurate, tics of speech
\nand all.<\/p>\n

In spite of all, I was pleased. Please tell me what
\nyou think.<\/p>\n

Love,<\/p>\n

Wes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n

Read the article in the New Hampshire Times: “Wesley McNair: Poet<\/strong>.<\/span><\/a><\/span>”<\/p>\n

Read The Day I Was Older<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n

Read Six Naps in One Day<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n

Read New Animals<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n

Read Acorns<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Click image to view] March 3, 1984 Dear Don, It\u2019s great to see some of your new poems, about which I now write my opinions, worthwhile or not. I think there are two poems in \u201cThe Day I was Older\u201d (love that title) that are so good, they out to be taken out of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60366,35504,77589,42963,293],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11718,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions\/11718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}