\nTo much besides a perception of ourselves
\nAs puny and audacious, caught in a monumental
\nUndertaking…<\/div>\n
The form is itself the \u201cmonumental undertaking,\u201d structurally symmetrical as the bridge itself. The end-words of the first 13 lines become the end-words for the final 13, though played in reverse. The middle (14th) line ends in the word \u201csummit.\u201d I\u2019ve discussed poems like this before (and have even written some), but this is among the earliest instances I\u2019ve encountered. In this way, Bradley is somewhat of a harbinger for the later school of \u201cneo-formalists,\u201d who did not simply revive traditional forms but sought (seek?) to create new forms, to bridge the river between medium and message. Bradley even dapples in concrete poetry. \u201cLife as We Know It\u201d is shaped like a circle on the page\u2014or more specifically, a sphere, which comes to represent not only our planet but the ideal or most efficient form of matter. \u201cThe Old Way of Telling Time\u201d assumes the shape of an hourglass. That in itself is not remarkable, but the genius in this poem lies at it\u2019s very heart, as the last word of the top part of the hourglass is broken to become also the first word of the bottom part. But wait, it gets better: the word is hyphenated\u2014and the hyphen occupies the midpoint of the hourglass. Wow.<\/p>\n
And speaking of Merrill, I was intrigued by an inscription on the title page, which seems to read, \u201cTo Priam, from James.\u201d Attached, as it is, to the \u201cForeword by James Merrill\u201d type, I can\u2019t help wondering whether I have stumbled across a book signed by Merrill. In comparing it to other signatures, there is a definite similarity, but unfortunately, no last name. I\u2019ll have to consult an expert. Regardless, I\u2019m delighted to have chanced upon Terms to Be Met,<\/i> which is definitely a book to be read. Again and again.<\/p>\n The title page of my book.<\/p><\/div>\n Samples of Merrill’s signature from about the same time period.<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" George Bradley: Terms to be Met I\u2019m not dead\u2014just busy. But I happened to steal a few minutes this past weekend to pop into a used bookstore (that is, the books are used. I presume the bookstore is, too) where … Continue reading ![\"book](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41jslEFgtcL._SY445_SX342_.jpg\")
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