Ogden Nash - Salem Press

Critical Survey of Poetry Nemerov, Howard
closest to being an intercessor between God and man,
and this link is the theme of Sentences. Here Nemerov
applies his belief that “in the highest range the theory of
poetry would be the theory of the Incarnation, which
seeks to explain how the Word became Flesh.” In a letter
to Robert D. Harvey, he wrote,
Poetry is a kind of spiritual exercise,
a (generally doomed but stoical) attempt
to pray one’s humanity back into the universe;
and conversely an attempt to read, to derive anew,
one’s humanity from nature ...Inthedarkness
of this search, patience and good humour are
useful qualities. Also: the serious and the funny
are one. The purpose of poetry is to persuade,
fool or compel God into speaking.
Indeed, the main theme of Sentences is the coherence
art gives to life’s randomness. In accordance with his
theory of connecting through the power of art, the book
is divided into sections titled “Beneath,” “Above,” and
“Beyond”; these sections correspond to sex and power
(beneath), metaphysics and poetry (above), and human
destiny (beyond). The first section is ironic, the middle
is speculative, and the last is moving. Critics generally
disliked the first part of Sentences, but applauded the
other two sections.
Inside the Onion and War Stories
After Sentences, Nemerov published another stunning
poetry collection, Inside the Onion. The title wryly
implies his subjective-objective, romantic-realist nature.
In this book Nemerov blends the homely and the humorous
into poems that avoid the dramatic and highlight the
commonplace, making it arresting.
War Stories contains forty-six poems grouped into
three parts: “The War in the Streets,” “The War in the
Air,” and “The War in the Heavens.” This volume is
Nemerov at his metaphysical best, grounding his spiritual
musings in everyday experience. His interest in science
and modern events is linked to literature—for example,
the advent of Halley’s Comet is hailed in the
language of the speech in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf
that compares man’s life to a swallow’s brief flight
through a mead hall. These poems range from an elegy
for a student to explorations of subtle psychological insights
to profound spiritual observations: “Though God
be dead, he lived so far away/ His sourceless light continues
to fall on us” (“The Celestial Emperor”).
Other major works
long fiction: The Melodramatists, 1949; Federigo:
Or, The Power of Love, 1954; The Homecoming
Game, 1957.
short fiction: A Commodity of Dreams and
Other Stories, 1959; Stories, Fables, and Other Diversions,
1971.
nonfiction: Poetry and Fiction: Essays, 1963;
Journal of the Fictive Life, 1965; Reflexions on Poetry
and Poetics, 1972; Figures of Thought: Speculations
on the Meaning of Poetry and Other Essays,
1978; New and Selected Essays, 1985; The Oak in
the Acorn: On “Remembrance of Things Past” and
on Teaching Proust, Who Will Never Learn, 1987.
edited text: Poets on Poetry, 1965.
miscellaneous: A Howard Nemerov Reader, 1991.
Bibliography
Bartholomay, Julia A. The Shield of Perseus: The Vision
and Imagination of Howard Nemerov. Gainesville:
University of Florida Press, 1972. This book discusses
Nemerov’s use of multivalent images and
other poetic techniques, and his poetry’s recurrent
themes. There is detailed information about the poet
drawn from his letters and conversations. For the
reader seeking a hypothesis about Nemerov’s “religious”
outlook and a careful examination of his artistic
techniques, this book is an excellent source.
Knock, Stanley F., Jr. “Renewal of Illusion.” The Christian
Century. January 16, 1962, 85-86. In this review
of Nemerov’s verse drama Endor, Knock shows how
Nemerov transports an Old Testament story into the
context of existentialism and the Cold War. Rather
than “see ourselves as others see us,” as Robert
Burns advised, Nemerov finds hope not in the stripping
of illusion, but in its renewal.
Meinke, Peter. Howard Nemerov. Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press, 1968. One of the most comprehensive
books on Nemerov insofar as general
knowledge is concerned. It covers not only biographical
data but also the effect some life incidents
had on his work. There are brief comments on Nem-
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