Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Poem Discussion: "next to of course god america i" by e.e. cummings (Featuring Literary Enthusiast Kelsea Rowan)

Josh

During the Modernist era, literature was drastically altered. From 1914 to 1945, Modernist literature turned into something that was so unique that one would have a difficult time coming together with a pinpoint for its overall theme. Writers like T.S. Eliot were inspired by the past, but wrote for the present. At the same time, there were those, like e.e. cummings, that wrote in a way that was so unique that it created something extraordinary for its time. I will be discuss his untitled poem that we know as "next to of course god america i." In the event that a poem is untitled, it is usually routine to name the poem after its first line. Readers of Emily Dickinson are quite familiar with this.

However, I will not be discussing this alone. I am conducting my third collaboration with a favorite literary friend of mine. She is an intelligent librarian who is going to college for library science and for studies in LGBTQ literature. At the same time, she is an enthusiast for the work of e.e. cummings. If you watch Literary Gladiators, she will be on board during the upcoming season. I am speaking of Kelsea Rowan. Thank you for joining me!


Kelsea

Thank you for having me Josh! And for those kind words!


Josh

It is my pleasure.

Kelsea allegedly convinced me to do my senior thesis on e.e. cummings in one of my dreams. It turns out that I could have come up with a thesis for The Enormous Room, since the theme of the seminar was Literature & War. So I think about Kelsea when I think about cummings.

Anyway, let's talk about "next to of course god america i."

 
Kelsea

The association between myself and cummings is always flattering of course. "next to of course god america i" is a short but opinionated poem. This poem addresses the topic of patriotism in America, which can become a controversial topic at times and cummings makes it a point to fully exemplify the controversial bits of this patriotism in his poem. On the surface, the poem can be seen as a fun comment on patriotism, but a closer look will have one taken back by the true subject: the blind patriotism that the speaker is here to discuss sarcastically.

I wanted to begin with the style of the poem, how cummings uses the placement of the words to fully captures the hurried talk of someone who is blindly patriotic. cummings always has an apt command of words and can use them to their full potential in order to get his point across, so this poem is no exception.


Josh

I cannot agree with you more. This is of course a sarcastic rant about American patriotism. At the same time, it is almost reminiscent of Samuel Beckett with the way that it is executed. When I first heard it, I thought the poet WAS the overall speaker. When I read it, the poet is talking about the speaker and how he concludes that he "drank rapidly a glass of water" in that way that the simple action speaks wonders (line 14).

I am also aware about how the most important part about understanding cummings is not just the words he uses, but how and where he places them.

 
Kelsea

I didn't think of it initially but I can certainly see the Samuel Beckett element, it has the same dialogue to it that "Waiting for Godot" has! Nice catch there. While I can see the poem as one speaker or a speaker talking about another person, there are also many voices present. I believe that each segment (not necessarily lines) sounds almost like a different person who's contributing to this blind patriotism.

 
Josh

I would say it is quite reasonable. Not only in how they are from a different area of the country, but also a different generation. There is the pilgrim coming to America, the guy singing praises as if he is Sam the Eagle, the southerner, and the soldier. The speaker is mocking the fact that these people are engaging in these actions and yet they really do not contribute to anything.

I saw a bit of "Krapp's Last Tape "as well, where attention is paid to Krapp's actions... not just what he says, but also how he says it and then how he eats the banana now and then. There is definitely an element of absurdity.

 
Kelsea

I'm glad that you were able to almost come up with "names" for them, clever. I can see those voices there. Perhaps the speaker is a man (or woman!) mocking these "voices" and imitating them, which would explain the ending. The speaker got so heated and enthused in his imitations of them that at the end he must gulp down some water to catch his breath! This again goes back to the structure though, how there are no periods and each fragment runs into the next, leaving only the line breaks to signify, perhaps, the speaker catching his breath. This also contributes to making the people he is imitating seem stupid because they can only speak in short, incomplete sentences that at times don't even make sense. Especially the voice that can only say "by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum" (line 8). Although this voice is stupid but is still important enough to include because his mindless babbling is all a part of that blind patriotism. Even though this voice cannot do anything, it is still patriotic and that is ultimately damaging to patriotism itself.

I'm not familiar with "Krapp's Last Tape," but I agree on the absurdity, yet again.

 
Josh

cummings is known for his short, lower-cased sentences without the punctuation. This only capitalizes what he is known best for in this particular poem. The "by gosh by gum" part mentioned in the eighth line is supposed to be a bit of mockery, but perhaps it is a part of the speaker's language. The person who speaks this particular bit is definitely male, because he is referred to as "he" in the last line. If you are talking about the many voices that are contributors to his rant, they can be representatives of different genders. I still feel that this is all one person babbling about the same thing, but with an inability stay on one topic for too long.


Kelsea

I can see the one speaker who has an inability to stay on topic but I can also see a man imitating multiple voices, not necessarily being those voices himself. I think this is what makes this poem so great, the different ways to take it and all the voices that can be present.


Josh

I would find it more believable that this is one man imitating multiple voices, for it only builds onto the great sarcasm that is being conveyed about his feelings about America. I agree that this poem is remarkable in the way that it points out the ironies of what many see as being strengths about America. I would say that this is quite a way to exercise the first amendment!


Kelsea

Yeah that point of view really amplifies the sarcasm. Yes, what a better way to use the first amendment to its fullest than to criticize not only Americans but what makes America, America: the blind patriotism of its citizens. This is an important poem in that it addresses a very important issue, patriotism is no problem but it should certainly be informed and even a patriotism that can admit its own faults. The patriotism in this poem certainly cannot admit its own faults. This lack of fault is fully realized in the poem by the lines "who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter / they did not stop to think they died instead" (lines 11-12).


Josh

That last part of the poem really brings about the irony about those dying for their cause and how "the voice of liberty be mute" by those that are making the loudest statement about patriotism (line 13). At the same time, the ones that speak for patriotism are the outspoken patriots. That's it, nothing extraordinary, no crucial experience, just the idea of being outspoken.

An intense political debate can definitely come out of this poem. Two people can realize that there is a problem, but there is a good chance that one is going to have a different solution than the other.

As for the first amendment, as much as cummings criticizes the angle that it is being used to promote blind patriotism, the first amendment allowed cummings to write this poem without too much of a struggle from authorities.

 
Kelsea

I'm trying to understand what you're saying about the last bit. It sounds as if you agree that patriotism is all about being outspoken but not about what is being said? Which is the current state of things as cummings writes his poem. It's a battle of who can be the loudest, not who has the most important or intelligent thing to say.

I'm not sure an intense political debate can come out of this poem, except the line that lightly criticizes fighting in war. Other than that, I believe any party can agree that bind patriotism is not conducive to anything. The only debate I can see arising is with someone who believes that anything these voices are saying has merit. I believe that what really drives the point of the poem home is the reference to the national anthem and how it highlights that being patriotic involves so much more than just knowing the words to some song that is supposed to exemplify American patriotism.

I can agree that the criticism of the first amendment is easily flipped back onto cummings and this transcends the poem. This is still present today, in a world where everyone is criticizing everyone for using their right to the first amendment with the notion that their use of it is better but now it is just more widespread.


Josh

The last bit of the rant flips on the idea that the people that truly know the most about patriotism are the ones that do not have the opportunity to speak about it, for they are the ones dying in war. This leaves everything else to figure out whether or not one of them can be louder than the other. The debate would come in when both sides are trying to figure out what truly defines patriotism. Knowing the words to the national anthem or to another patriotic song only garners so much intelligence per se, but that's the same thing as knowing your country because you know the capital of your home state or that George Washington was the first president of the United States (for the record, one should know this). This does not automatically mean that you are the cookie cutout American patriot.

The way the first amendment is being looked at today can get outrageous sometimes. Politics has become about whether or not you support the blue team or the red team in a game where all of the participants are breaking the rules.

How it relates to cummings is that there are so many ideas that "define" patriotism, when there is so much more to its meaning and execution.

 
Kelsea

Oh wow, I thought I had gotten that last bit but making the connection between the silence and those who are dying in war did not come to mind and I really enjoy that connection. But I do further understand what you were getting at now. At least with this poem we can begin to understand what cummings defines as patriotism and it is NOT knowing the words to the anthem or the first president of the states but something much more than that. I'm not sure if I can pull it from this particular poem, although I'm sure I could if I spent some time on it.

Ah yes, politics has become another great American sport!


Josh

Indeed. Politics has become nothing more than a great sport and there are so many lives at stake.

I definitely plan to read this poem time and time again. I probably read it about ten times before we had our discussion and I will probably read it a few more times so that I could come up with a conclusion. What I am seeing right now is that it is a poem about how a lot of people like to "talk a good game" and build themselves us as being patriots, when patriotism is so much more. It is also a satire about how this is the foundation America is built on.


Kelsea

It is certainly an easy poem to get through, understanding it is another ball game though. There's many layers here. I can see how the poem satirizes the foundation America is built on with the reference to the "land of the pilgrims'" (line 2) and the "centuries come and go" (line 4) line which adds to this blind patriotism transcending time.


Josh

Not only are these references overdone, but in a way they are not too accurate. The pilgrims did come over to America, but that is not where it all began.

What would you say about this poem overall? I do agree that it caught my attention quickly with its nature and its style and I would suggest checking out cummings' poetry and definitely include this in the equation.


Kelsea

I believe that he isn't alluding to when the continent of America began but when the idea of America itself began. The idea of it, the America "with a capital A" where all the overzealous patriotism began not necessarily just a few steps on soil or the forming of a continent.

I would say that I was pleasantly surprised by this poem and liked that with each read, as well as each step in our discussion, I was able to find something new about it. This is what I love about all of cummings' poetry though, they're often short and seem nonsensical but there are always a great number of layers to get through. I can never stop recommending cummings' poetry to others, even if you only get stuck on the oddities it is still enjoyable. It is not always about getting through to the "true meaning" because with cummings one can just enjoy the art of it.

 
Josh

The America named for Amerigo Vespucci began in the late 15th century upon what cummings argues is the beginning of this overzealous patriotism. The continent itself began as part of the greater land that was broken like every other continent and then inhabited by various indigenous groups for thousands of years. Of course, the latter information is just what has been historically concluded.

As for this poem, I cannot agree more that not only does the message become stronger, but I do get much more out of these works through other individuals that are willing to talk about them. I may very well pick up an e.e. cummings collection if I can find it at a reasonable price. I would not mind a $15-$20 collection, as long as I am getting a great bulk of his poetry and not a skinny collection of selected works. Nevertheless, it is about time I place cummings with the others, for his work is so fascinating!

 
Kelsea

Personally, my mom was lovely enough to get my cummings' collected works as a Christmas present a few years ago. It's hefty but I do enjoy it very much. She says that it wasn't too pricey. I'm glad you have become a fan of cummings' though, he is truly a great poet and will always hold a special place in my heart.


Josh

Kelsea, I want to thank you for taking the time to discuss this poem with me. You have brought a lot to my attention and I am positive that you brought a lot to the readers attention about such a magnificent poet and his work that has most definitely stood the test of time.

 
Kelsea

Thanks for having me Josh, it has been a pleasure as always and I'm glad that one of our literary discussions will finally be put to good use! Thank you for providing a new look at the poem for me, it has truly given me more to appreciate about it.

 
Josh

It is my pleasure. I am sure that this experience can be shared by those that read it. I strongly encourage all of you to check this out and see what you get out of it.

 
Kelsea will make her debut to Literary Gladiators on the episode being released on Friday, July 17th.

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment