Responses

Allen Ginsberg
Cezanne’s Ports

This poem helped me to appreciate the painting a little bit more, then if I was just looking at the painting by itself. The references to heaven beyond the mountains and life within the town made the landscape scene that much more whimsical and magical. I picture Cezanne thinking this way while he was painting the scene.

The Parable of the Blind
William Carlos Williams

I am having trouble understanding this poem. As of right now, it simply reads as a description to me of the painting. Maybe if I knew what the parable was that the painting is trying to portray, I could better understand. I also wonder about the last line and how the one is “triumphant to disaster”. To me it looks like they are all heading for imminent disaster.

Ghost in the Land of Skeletons
Christopher Kennedy

I like to picture someone reading this poem aloud, it flowed so nicely in my head while reading it. Maybe it is the structure of the poem and that it looks and reads more like a paragraph then a poem with stanzas.
I enjoy the message of this poem and the way it presents it, with a sense of dark humor. It seems like a more modern poem to me, and I enjoy all the visuals that he conjures for the audience.

Matisse: The Red Studio
W.D. Snodgrass

I loved this poem. I enjoyed the image of the room swallowing up it’s owner and that is why the walls are such a vibrant red. The descriptions of the room give it so much life and energy to it, then the last line compliments that perfectly by saying “But there is no one here.” I thought that was a perfect ending. The poem and the painting compliment each other beautifully they both are full of passion and life.