Steven M. Critelli – Page 4 – AGAINST INTERPRETATION

by Steven M. Critelli June 26, 2012 1

The Casual Perfect by Lavinia Greenlaw

Science has also shown that our sense of being “in love” is the product of the hormonal activities of phenylethylamine, norepinephrine and dopamine. In The Casual Perfect, Ms. Greenlaw has found a way to tap these hormones so that receptive readers experience a sense of love’s intoxication, its joy and pain, as if “jacked-in” to its Matrix. Indeed, this may be the greatest book of poetry about being in love since Elizabeth Barrett’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, for like that great work Ms. Greenlaw has made the trajectory of a personal love story the heartbeat of this volume.

by Steven M. Critelli June 21, 2012 0

Literary Criticism

Mark Levine’s “Unemployment” Poems

The July/August ’12 issue of POETRY features three new poems by Mark Levine, each entitled “Unemployment.” These poems are essentiallyContinue Reading

by Steven M. Critelli June 15, 2012 2

Literary Criticism

A Note on Stevens’ “Re-statement of Romance” and the ALI’s Restatement of the Law

My essay on Stevens’ “Re-statement of Romance” is now avialable through JSTOR and may be read on-line for free. It’s alsoContinue Reading

by Steven M. Critelli June 12, 2012

Poems

Surf’s Up On Wall Street

Dean Rader selected my poem, “Surf’s Up On Wall Street” for inclusion in the anthology, 99 Poems for the 99Continue Reading

by Steven M. Critelli June 9, 2012 8

Literary Criticism

Keston Sutherland – The Next Great One

While those with an ear to the ground upon which contemporary poetry is written might be familiar with Keston Sutherland’sContinue Reading

by Steven M. Critelli May 30, 2012 0

Literary Criticism

Wallace Stevens – The “Emperor” Disrobed – The Fortress of Irony in “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

Unlike previous interpretations which generally hold that “Emperor” exhorts us to “seize the day” (carpe diem), here the speaker is exorcising his demons in a way that simultaneously captures his abject despair, sarcasm and remorse. This follows the long tradition of the rejected poet who pours verbal abuse on the perfidious amour, his muse. The poem does not merely stand as a lament on the illusive nature of love and life, but bitter commentary on the poet’s status.