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Article: POETRY; To be taken in small doses: A sampling of James Wright.(ENTERTAINMENT)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- May 15, 2005
- Author:
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Byline: John Freeman
Special to the Star Tribune
Like dark chocolate or lager beer, the poems of James Wright are not designed to be consumed in large doses - even if you're a depressive. It's not that Wright's work doesn't reward the wallowing. It does; no other American poet of the 20th century cleaved the night quite like Wright. It's just that to read his poems all at once disrespects their singularity, the tiny nuances of their nihilism, not to mention the hard-won breakthroughs of their occasional light.
This summer affords us two chances to reconnect with Wright's oeuvre. Those who want the full banquet can pick through "A Wild ...