The Poetry of William Carlos Williams of Rutherford

Praise for The Poetry of William Carlos Williams

“Generously quoting many of Williams’ best lines, tenderly confessing when he doesn’t understand Williams (e.g., Williams’ elusive “variable foot”), and referring to his own life and work to clarify what he thinks about Williams, Berry produces a work of aesthetics more than evaluation, of love more than critique.” —Booklist

“Berry’s superb study reminds us that Williams remains our contemporary not only for the lively cadences and fresh imagery that animate his poems, but for the ethical imperative of his example: to know ourselves as creatures of a particular place and, through that grounded knowledge, to develop the arts that will enable us to live in it over the long haul.” —The Sewanee Review


Praise for Wendell Berry

“Generously quoting many of Williams’ best lines, tenderly confessing when he doesn’t understand Williams (e.g., Williams’ elusive “variable foot”), and referring to his own life and work to clarify what he thinks about Williams, Berry produces a work of aesthetics more than evaluation, of love more than critique.” —Booklist

“He can be said to have returned American poetry to a Wordsworthian clarity of purpose.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Berry’s nonfiction soars because its language is guided by thrift and propriety, a literary illustration of just the values that his words espouse.” —San Francisco Chronicle