Final Paper

Michael Vavrek: John Ashbery "Some Trees"

Appearing at Poetry's 19th Annual Poetry Day, WFMT Chicago, November 17, 1973

Here is the link to my recordings I listened to by John Ashbery: Click_Here

Some Trees

            Although poetry is not my forte by any means I decided to try it out and listen to one of John Ashbery’s most famous poem collections, “Some Trees”.  After doing some brief research on him I discovered he is a multi-award winning poet of a very high caliber.  This excited me because I was going to be analyzing some prestigious work and gaining plenty of knowledge along the way.  I chose “Some Trees” because it seemed the most relatable to me and was his first work.  I think it is interesting to analyze this collection because this is his very early work which is sort of the stage I am currently at as a beginner with sound recording.   

            Two Scenes is an interesting poem from “Some Trees” because it compares two objects or ideas with rhymes.  It’s as if the poem is talking about two different lives, or ideas.  He talks about an old man is compared to machinery.  The poem almost acts as if it is flipping between two different stories, two ways of seeing something.  One might look at an object and see something completely different than the other.  But it’s not always seeing something; you can also hear something differently.  For example there is one line when he rhymes “news” and “noise”.  Obviously you cannot physically see noise, but it can be interpreted many different ways.  To me, that is what I think Two Scenes is really about.

            The actual recordings of the ones I listened to our quite unique.  What I mean by that is, when he is reading his poems he seems almost nervous.  He either will say “ah” a lot or repeat himself when he is first introducing the actual poem.  Also, it seems like he is making a mistake when it comes to the part when he says the word “sparks” in Two Scenes.  It sounds like at first he says starts but then quickly corrects himself and says the word “sparks”.  I think it was an interesting place to set the microphone as well, because you get a very interesting noise when he is moving either the book or paper from what he is reading the poem from.  You can also identify he is moving instead of sitting still because he seems restless in his chair from all the different levels of the microphone.  I really did enjoy the recordings and I believe they did a particular good job with the “Two Trees” collection.

            Ashbery is said to have a surrealist style.  John had been writing poems since he was eight and his work at that time all seemed to rhyme.  Later in his life he decided to write poems that didn’t rhyme and didn’t even make much sense so that even critics couldn’t understand it.  This caused much controversy, and made it difficult for the casual reader to pick up and understand.  I believe he had this strategy throughout his work because he wanted everyone to get a different meaning out of it.  This all links back to the surrealist style he has which is a style of art that is unique due to its surprising features.  Essentially, everyone will interpret his work differently; no one will think the same.  This is also why I chose his collection of “Some Trees” because it really is a confusing piece to identify his message. 

            I think his style of surrealism with being confusing can really be seen when he is reading his poems in the recordings.  In the recordings of “Some Trees” he is very nervous and takes his time.  Even as I said before he has trouble reading some of the poems.  This could be because they are confusing and you wouldn’t expect for sentences like those to be produced.  This relates with surrealism because that style has many surprises involved with it.  It is clear that this style really influenced John Ashbery and that is why his work is so relatable to surrealism and very controversial. 

            It is clear to me that John Ashbery’s work can be linked to a surrealist style after listening and researching his poems.  He is a very enjoyable artist because his work can be interpreted so many different ways and there is never a right or wrong with it.  I think that is very unique and that is why he has won so many awards affiliated with poetry.  His work of “Some Trees” is a great collection and very interesting to listen to.  You can tell his early work really set him in the right direction for his different style. 

Works Cited

"John Ashbery- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More." Poets.org. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/238>.

"How to Read John Ashbery." Slate Magazine. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_highbrow/2005/03/the_instruction_manual.html>.

"John Ashbery." : The Poetry Foundation. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/john-ashbery>.