Imaginary Gardens

...Imaginary Gardens Marianne Moore* An Introduction to the Poetry By George W Nitchie Columbia Vniveisity 205 pp $7 50 Reviewed by Norman Wiltsie George W Nitchie certainly makes no picnic excursion of this tour through Marianne Moore's "imaginary gardens with real toads in them " His Introduction to the Poetiv is, in fact, so exhaustive an outing that it may tempt the reader to steal away to some restful glade, accompanied only by a volume of Miss Moore's verses And "the best woman poet in English," as Robert Lowell has called her, would be the last to disapprove, since she believes that "poetry should not be an assignment but a joy " That the average reader will encounter some difficulty in interpreting her poems is perhaps sufficient reason for the publication of a helpful guide But I wonder if Nitchie has given us that guide His study's seven chapters, or lectures, span the more than 60 years of Miss Moore's productivity But by an excessively technical, classroom-like approach to his subject, Nitchie risks losing those whom he might have led to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the poetry Though not mtended as a definitive work, this "introduction" draws upon practically everything ever written about Miss Moore (An imposing "List of Works Consulted" and "Notes" to the individual chapters, appended at the rear of the book although probably of greatest interest to those bibhographically inclined, seem worthwhile ) Nitchie appeals especially fascinated by Miss Moore's revisions of earlier poems, and takes considerable pains to probe the phenomenon "Tinkering" is the rather whimsical word he and John Un-terecker (who supplied the Foreword to this book) choose to describe the alterations Unterecker writes that "for the living poet who sees his work as indigenously part of himself, the poem is likely to continue to change whenever the poet changes When he no longer wants to tinker with it, it may be dead " Nitchie's discussion demonstrates that Miss Moore's work is very much alive, and that it shows every sign of continuing durability, "tmk-enngs" notwithstanding He offers tor our profit and pleasure the practical values and ideas with which Miss Moore has inimitably worked her "imaginary gardens " Her values are based m selt-disciphne, and her ideas in a profound respect for the "real" world (Elizabeth Bishop termed her "the World's Greatest Living Observer") Yet ideas and values are not poetry Poems are made of artfully selected words, and the selection is a product of the poet's particular genius When Emily Dickinson was asked the meaning of "genius," she replied that "none ha[s] known" That its definition remams elusive is confirmed by Nitchie's study He wntes that "Miss Moore as poet persistently manifests certain tensions, certain opposed impulses that m large measure determine both her successes and her failures " He goes on to say that "the impulse to generalize, to reduce particularities m the interests of the Johnsonian 'great thought,' is constantly involved with the counterimpulse to note particularities despite, or even because of, their refusal to lend themselves to be generalized" Is this not piecisely the impulse that produced such a statement, and such a book9 And is the consequent reduction of poetic process to Nitichie-an thought ("great" or otherwise) not a denial of genius9 Miss Moore, in an early poem, "Those Various Scalpels," writes whetted to brilliance/ by the hard majesty of that sophistication which is superior to opportunity,/ these things are rich instruments with which to experiment But why dissect with instruments/ more highly specialized than components of destiny itself9" Reading "poetry" tor "destiny" in these lmes, we see how futile it is to count "successes" and "failures" by clinical scrutiny A poem cannot be dissected like a cadaver, it is a living thing And examination of the disembodied parts readily reveals that the whole of a poem is more than the sum of its parts—its life, its genius, remams mysterious Analyzing another of Miss Moore's poems, "Peter," Nitchie observes "More explicit in its mor-ahsm "Peter" exhibits the same praise ot an instinctive naturalness that does what it must with a minimum of wasted effort and a min-mum of fuss " Nitchie's book, however, exemplifies a maximum of effort and fuss, and can be only reservedly recommended to the general reader To the reader with more academic interests, it will offer a comprehensive itinerary of Miss Moore's "gardens," which, like her "Sun," "insurgent feet" (metrical or critical) "shall not outrun...