Selected Poems (1938-1958): Summer Knowledge

Delmore Schwartz

New Directions Publishing, 1967 - Poetry - 240 pages

When this book was first published (as Summer Knowledge) in 1959. Delmore Schwartz was still riding a crest, the golden boy of the literary scene--a position he had commanded ever since the appearance of his first collection of stories and poems in 1938. Summer Knowledge won for him both the prestigious Bollingen Prize in Poetry and the Poetry Society of America's Shelley Memorial Award. lronically, indeed tragically, the praise and prizes Schwartz's poems received did not forestall his decline, and this, his poetic testament, proved to be a final one as well. Overcome by mental illness, alienated from his friends and supporters, he disappeared from the literary scene, in the end to die in 1966 in an obscure Broadway hotel. The tragedy of his life pales before the triumph of his art and craft. Selected Poems clearly places him among the foremost poets of his generation.

Contents

• In the Naked Bed in Platos Cave: 25
• Far Rockaway: 34
• Concerning the Synthetic Unity of Apperception: 40
• A Young Child and His Pregnant Mother: 43
• Faust in Old Age: 49
• For the One Who Would Not Take His Life in His Hands: 55
• 2: 61
• Dogs Are Shakespearean Children Are Strangers: 68
• The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me: 74
• O Mel Make You a Sword of Me: 81
• Narcissus: 88
• Pleasure: 92
• Justice: 103
• There Was a City: 116
• Choose: 123
• He Is a Person: 131
• At a Solemn Musick: 147
• The Fulfillment: 150
• Summer Knowledge: 157
• The TrueBlue American: 163
• 6: 171
• Sterne: 180
• The Kingdom of Poetry: 187
• The World Was Warm and White When I Was Born: 199
• All of the Fruits Had Fallen: 205
• Waken to a Calling: 211
• During Decembers Death: 217
• Cupids Chant: 223
• Abraham: 230
• Lincoln: 236

About the author

Delmore Schwartz was born on December 8, 1913 in Brooklyn, New York. He later attended the University of Wisconsin, New York University and Harvard University. He was considered one of the most influential Jewish writers during World War II. He wrote poems, short stories, and literary criticism. His works include In Dreams Begin Responsibilities, The Imitation of Life, The World Is a Wedding, and Successful Love and Other Stories. In 1959, he received the Bollingen Prize for Summer Knowledge: New and Selected Poems. He was an editor for the Partisan Review and The New Republic. He also taught creative writing at several universities including Harvard University, Syracuse University, Princeton University and Kenyon College. He suffered from alcohol addiction and mental illness later in life. He died of a heart attack on July 11, 1966 at the age of 52.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Selected Poems (1938-1958): Summer Knowledge; Volume 241 of New Directions paperbook
• Author: Delmore Schwartz
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing, 1967
• ISBN: 0811201910, 9780811201919
• Length: 240 pages
• Subjects: Poetry / American / General; Poetry / General