The Blue Estuaries: Poems: 1923-1968

When you compare the mysterious lyricism of her poetry in _Blue Estuaries_ to her clearly-stated letters to Edmund Wilson or Theodore Roethke and others in _A Poet’s Prose_, you might get the impression that two different women are writing, however, there is a tone of loss or reflection in her prose that’s there in her poetry. We can never know what kind of poetry or prose will come from a complex person; whatever the case may be, Bogan’s poems are so individual that no one else could “see” the way she did. Many people will find Bogan too vague, too personal, too psychological. Truly, this is not Yusef Komunyakaa or Luci Tapahonso, but Bogan is powerful indeed. Allow me to explain.Throughout this volume, Bogan’s poetry has the tone of late autumn, a slow burn presaging the bite of winter. Every line smolders in this slow burn, this season of reflection; every experience is turned over, observing self and others. It’s frightening to cling to every moment as Bogan does, to have every image burn. See “Come, Sleep . . .”: “Do the shadows of these forms and appetites / Repeat, when these lives give over, / In sleep, the rôle of the selfish devourer, / The selfless lover?” (108).Bogan’s poetry covers much of the same territory as an Existentialist philosopher--before Sartre and Beauvoir; of course, the ideas about existence were in society at large and Bogan lived a lot. See “Evening in the Sanitarium”: “The period of the wildest weeping, the fiercest delusion, is over. / The women rest their tired half-healed hearts; they are almost well” ( 111). Life should not mean so much that a person has a nervous breakdown; but if so, then one should make the most beautiful writing from it.Bogan also adopts other personae, as in “After the Persian” and “Juan’s Song.” See “Cassandra”: “To me, one silly task is like another. / I bare the shambling tricks of lust and pride. / Song, like a wing, tears through my breast, my side, / And madness chooses out my voice again, / Again. I am the chosen no hand saves: / The shrieking heaven lifted over men, / Not the dumb earth, wherein they set their graves” (33). Wisdom comes to Bogan at last: “Goodbye, goodbye! / There was so much to love, I could not love it all; / I could not love it enough” (117).In finishing this review, I must say goodbye to _Blue Estuaries_. It’s like saying goodbye to a very old friend, well-known, much appreciated--but a visionary and wise woman whose spirit will endure.Do look at _A Poet’s Prose_, a book one can never be done with, and compare it to _Blue Estuaries_ and see what a complex mind she had. She certainly knew how to read others. And her letters to other writers show that her evaluation of the writing art was accurate in every instance.

This short book contains every poem that Bogan wished preserved, This is less than 130 short lyrics, some of them only a single stanza, the longest only about 3 pages. Bogan's output seems to be inversely related to the intensity of her work. After reading one of these poems, its hard to imagine that they could have been written any other way. You get the sense that altering a single word would be disfiguring. Some are a bit obscure but definitely repay careful reading. Several poems have great power and many others contain striking language. Bogan deserves to be more widely read.

Louise Bogan was a relatively new discovery for me. In some cases she takes us back, in others, she hands us treasure from the past that moves into us today.

By many forgotten, but magnificent still: meter, metaphor, mystery, rhyme, and lyric power.Bogan deserves a Bishop-like status.

By writing with a unique depth, clarity, and simplicity , Bogan elucidates the "mystery of being" in a way that is rare for even the best modern poets but is what poetry is really for.

I tripped over a a phenomena. Compact, within definite rhyme scheme, nuanced thought and meaning. The woman digs down deep.

A wonderful book fullof fabulous poems by this superb writer!

Louise Bogan’s poems are masterful.

wonderful work

This book requires work, which is fine. One I will return to for years.