Franz Wright

Posted on September 26, 2007
Filed Under Poetry |

Helen Vendler, writing in the NYRB, [subscription required], doesn’t think much of the poetry Franz Wright (son of the poet James Wright)  has written after coming back from alcoholism & psychosis & converting to Catholicism. I think the problems she identifies were there before the conversion, which is to say that I can’t blame religion for ruining Franz Wright.

Comments

One Response to “Franz Wright”

  1. edward mycue on January 25th, 2008 1:26 am

    narcissus you find in your mirror & learn to live with

    you don’t have to be sober to be free of your self-addiction.
    what’s oppositional makes for a wide circle.
    there may be many things you can’t envision.

    make a finger novena.
    i invented the finger novena: you make a wish on 9 fingers nine times imploring the BVM or Siddartha or dead friends to channel something you are sticking on.
    then you do a clog-like dance-step, go all forgetting & blank, and hope you wake up with an answer –as if waiting for the daily mail to bring you news of an unknown endowment or some other kind of groovy-cool inheritance(along with a release from joint ache, a head of hair, pecs, abs, ability to sing and play the piano).

    you never can ‘no’
    but sometimes yes
    you have to proceed
    by darn and by guess.

    learn to love, your itchy, twitchy, goofy self-image.
    accept your shadow-self without feeling a martyr.

    if the heat goes off just put on more clothes.
    when it gets too cold it’s time to smash the mirror.

    edward mycue