Barbara Guest, néeBarbara Ann Pinson (September 6, 1920 – February 15, 2006), was an American poet and prose stylist. Guest first gained recognition as a member of the first generation New York School of poetry.[1] Guest wrote more than 15 books of poetry spanning sixty years of writing. In 1999, she was awarded the Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Poetry Society of America. Guest also wrote art criticism, essays, and plays. Her collages appeared on the covers of several of her books of poetry. She was also well known for her biography of the poet H.D., Herself Defined: The Poet H.D. and Her World (1984).
Barbara Guest
Guest during the video taping of "Add-Verse", 2003
Barbara Guest wrote more than 15 books of poetry spanning sixty years of writing. "Her poems begin in the midst of action," wrote Peter Gizzi in his introduction to a collection of her work, "but their angle of perception is oblique."[3] Her poems are known for their abstract quality, vivid language, and intellectualism. She believed that the subject of the poem finds itself through the writing of the poem and through the poet's imagination. "Disturbing the conventional relations of subjects and objects, of reality and imagination, is one of Guest's signature gestures," noted Gizzi.[4]
Among her most well-known poems are "Parachutes, My Love, Could Carry Us Higher," (MP3) "Wild Gardens Overlooked by Night Lights, (MP3)" "Roses," and "Photographs."
Quotesedit
The subject matter finds itself...You find the subject as you proceed with (writing) the poem.
— Barbara Guest, Interview on LINEBreak with Charles Bernstein. 1995
Poetry is where the concrete object is bathed in a new atmosphere lifted out of itself to become a fiction. The poet is not there only to share a poetic communication but to stimulate an imaginative speculation on the nature of reality.
— Barbara Guest, Lecture titled "How I Got Out of Poetry and into Prose." 1992.
The poet wishes to align the contents of the poem with the vision which directs it. When this occurs, we say of a poem that it has wings. It is possible that words may occur in a fixed space and sequences so that they are called words of a poem. We say this poem is made of words. It is true many poems are constructed solely of words. These are the words that sit on paper without vision. We have all read these poems and we know after we have read them, we feel curiously bereft. Our expectations of enoblement by the poem have been disappointed by the lackluster condition of the poem. We decide that this poem is not very inspired. And what do we mean by this? We desired inspiration that the poem contained within it, the spirit of poetry. We have learned that words are only utensils. They are inorganic unless there is a spirit within the poem, to elevate it, to give it wings so that the poem may soar above the page and enter our consciousness where we may, if we wish, give it a long life.
— Barbara Guest, Lecture titled "How I Got Out of Poetry and into Prose." 1992.
(Imagination) is something fluid which can twist itself into a poem.
— Barbara Guest, Interview on LINEBreak with Charles Bernstein. 1995
Selected bibliographyedit
The Location of Things (Tibor de Nagy, 1960)
Poems: The Location of Things, Archaics, The Open Skies (Doubleday & Company, 1962)
The Open Skies (1962)
The Blue Stairs (Corinth Books, 1968)
I Ching, with lithographs by Sheila Isham (Mourlot Graphics, 1969).
The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2008)
"To speak with Barbara Guest about poetry was always to be in the presence of a fiercely uncompromised vision of the art and its obligations. Her insights continually astonished me. They were beholden to no one. And the work itself, of a lyric intelligence entirely her own. For whatever reasons, and I can sadly imagine many, it has not received its full due, but it will. The music insists."
'Weather and Cinnamon: Late Changes in Major Poems by Barbara Guest' Cordite Poetry Review
"EPC/Barbara Guest Author Home Page". Epc.buffalo.edu. from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
"Jacket author notes: Barbara Guest". Jacketmagazine.com. 2003-10-16. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
Fox, Margalit (2006-03-04). "Barbara Guest, Pioneering Poet of the New York School, Is Dead at 85 - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
Haven, Cynthia (1920-09-06). "PoetryFoundation.org: "When I Say The Word Home, I Almost Whisper It"". Lpl.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
Barbara Guest Memory Bank A gathering of brief memoirs and BG poems (selected by her readers) to honor the life and writing of Barbara Guest
Review of 'The Red Gaze' at poetry magazine "Intercapillary Space"
on Guest
"The gendered marvelous: Barbara Guest, surrealism, and feminist reception". Asu.edu. 1997-05-06. from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-05. - this is a link to "selections" from "The gendered marvelous...", an essay by Rachel Blau DuPlessis
Barbara Guest on Penn Sound. Extensive archive of recordings and interviews with Barbara Guest.
Barbara Guest Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Referencesedit
^"Jacket author notes: Barbara Guest". Jacketmagazine.com. 2003-10-16. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
^Guest, Hadley Haden (2008). The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. p. xviii. ISBN978-0-8195-6860-1.
^Haven, Cynthia (1920-09-06). "PoetryFoundation.org: "When I Say The Word Home, I Almost Whisper It"". Lpl.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
November 27, 2023
barbara, guest, née, barbara, pinson, september, 1920, february, 2006, american, poet, prose, stylist, guest, first, gained, recognition, member, first, generation, york, school, poetry, guest, wrote, more, than, books, poetry, spanning, sixty, years, writing,. Barbara Guest nee Barbara Ann Pinson September 6 1920 February 15 2006 was an American poet and prose stylist Guest first gained recognition as a member of the first generation New York School of poetry 1 Guest wrote more than 15 books of poetry spanning sixty years of writing In 1999 she was awarded the Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Poetry Society of America Guest also wrote art criticism essays and plays Her collages appeared on the covers of several of her books of poetry She was also well known for her biography of the poet H D Herself Defined The Poet H D and Her World 1984 Barbara GuestGuest during the video taping of Add Verse 2003Born 1920 09 06 6 September 1920Wilmington North Carolina United StatesDied15 February 2006 2006 02 15 aged 85 Berkeley California United StatesOccupationPoetGenrePoetry proseLiterary movementNew York SchoolNotable works Herself Defined Fair Realism Forces of Imagination Notable awardsRobert Frost Medal 1999 Born in Wilmington North Carolina and raised in California Guest attended UCLA 2 and then earned a B A in General Curriculum Humanities in 1943 at UC Berkeley She worked as an editorial associate at ARTnews magazine from 1951 to 1959 Contents 1 Poetry 2 Quotes 3 Selected bibliography 4 External links 5 ReferencesPoetry editBarbara Guest wrote more than 15 books of poetry spanning sixty years of writing Her poems begin in the midst of action wrote Peter Gizzi in his introduction to a collection of her work but their angle of perception is oblique 3 Her poems are known for their abstract quality vivid language and intellectualism She believed that the subject of the poem finds itself through the writing of the poem and through the poet s imagination Disturbing the conventional relations of subjects and objects of reality and imagination is one of Guest s signature gestures noted Gizzi 4 Among her most well known poems are Parachutes My Love Could Carry Us Higher MP3 Wild Gardens Overlooked by Night Lights MP3 Roses and Photographs Quotes editThe subject matter finds itself You find the subject as you proceed with writing the poem Barbara Guest Interview on LINEBreak with Charles Bernstein 1995 Poetry is where the concrete object is bathed in a new atmosphere lifted out of itself to become a fiction The poet is not there only to share a poetic communication but to stimulate an imaginative speculation on the nature of reality Barbara Guest Lecture titled How I Got Out of Poetry and into Prose 1992 The poet wishes to align the contents of the poem with the vision which directs it When this occurs we say of a poem that it has wings It is possible that words may occur in a fixed space and sequences so that they are called words of a poem We say this poem is made of words It is true many poems are constructed solely of words These are the words that sit on paper without vision We have all read these poems and we know after we have read them we feel curiously bereft Our expectations of enoblement by the poem have been disappointed by the lackluster condition of the poem We decide that this poem is not very inspired And what do we mean by this We desired inspiration that the poem contained within it the spirit of poetry We have learned that words are only utensils They are inorganic unless there is a spirit within the poem to elevate it to give it wings so that the poem may soar above the page and enter our consciousness where we may if we wish give it a long life Barbara Guest Lecture titled How I Got Out of Poetry and into Prose 1992 Imagination is something fluid which can twist itself into a poem Barbara Guest Interview on LINEBreak with Charles Bernstein 1995Selected bibliography editThe Location of Things Tibor de Nagy 1960 Poems The Location of Things Archaics The Open Skies Doubleday amp Company 1962 The Open Skies 1962 The Blue Stairs Corinth Books 1968 I Ching with lithographs by Sheila Isham Mourlot Graphics 1969 Moscow Mansions Viking 1973 The Countess from Minneapolis Burning Deck Press 1976 Seeking Air Black Sparrow 1977 reprint Los Angeles Sun amp Moon Press 1997 Grand Iota 2021 The Turler Losses Montreal Mansfield Book Mart 1979 Biography Burning Deck 1980 Quilts Vehicle Edition 1981 Herself Defined The Poet H D and Her World Doubleday amp Company 1984 Musicality with June Felter 1988 Fair Realism Sun amp Moon Press 1989 The Nude Warren Brandt Art Editions New York 1989 Defensive Rapture Sun amp Moon Press 1993 The Altos with artist Richard Tuttle San Francisco Hank Hine Publisher 1993 Selected Poems Sun amp Moon Press 1995 Stripped Tales featuring art by Anne Dunn Kelsey St Press 1995 Quill Solitary Apparition The Post Apollo Press 1996 Seeking Air Sun amp Moon Press 1997 Etruscan Reader VI with Robin Blaser and Lee Harwood 1998 Outside of This That is with illustration by Trevor Winkfield Z Press 1999 Strings with artist Ann Slacik Paris France 1999 The Luminous with artist Jane Moorman Palo Alto California 1999 Rocks on a Platter Wesleyan 1999 If So Tell Me Reality Street Editions UK 1999 The Confetti Trees Sun amp Moon 1999 Symbiosis with artist Laurie Reid Berkeley Kelsey Street Press 2000 Miniatures and Other Poems Wesleyan University Press 2002 Forces of Imagination Writing on Writing Kelsey Street Press 2003 Durer in the Window Reflexions on Art Roof Books 2003 The Red Gaze Wesleyan University Press 2005 Fallschirme Gebliebter Ausgewahlte Gedichte German Bilingual Edition luxbooks 2008 The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest Middletown CT Wesleyan University Press 2008 To speak with Barbara Guest about poetry was always to be in the presence of a fiercely uncompromised vision of the art and its obligations Her insights continually astonished me They were beholden to no one And the work itself of a lyric intelligence entirely her own For whatever reasons and I can sadly imagine many it has not received its full due but it will The music insists Michael Palmer 5 External links edit Weather and Cinnamon Late Changes in Major Poems by Barbara Guest Cordite Poetry Review EPC Barbara Guest Author Home Page Epc buffalo edu Archived from the original on 4 July 2011 Retrieved 2011 08 05 Jacket author notes Barbara Guest Jacketmagazine com 2003 10 16 Retrieved 2011 08 05 Fox Margalit 2006 03 04 Barbara Guest Pioneering Poet of the New York School Is Dead at 85 New York Times Nytimes com Retrieved 2011 08 05 Haven Cynthia 1920 09 06 PoetryFoundation org When I Say The Word Home I Almost Whisper It Lpl arizona edu Retrieved 2011 08 05 Barbara Guest Memory Bank A gathering of brief memoirs and BG poems selected by her readers to honor the life and writing of Barbara Guest Review of The Red Gaze at poetry magazine Intercapillary Space Chicago Review special issue on Guest Add Verse a poetry photo video project Guest participated in The gendered marvelous Barbara Guest surrealism and feminist reception Asu edu 1997 05 06 Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 Retrieved 2011 08 05 this is a link to selections from The gendered marvelous an essay by Rachel Blau DuPlessis Selfish Enchantments Barbara Guest and the Nature of Arrangement This essay by U S poet Ben Lerner first appeared in New American Writing number 27 Barbara Guest on Penn Sound Extensive archive of recordings and interviews with Barbara Guest Barbara Guest Papers Yale Collection of American Literature Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Yale University References edit Jacket author notes Barbara Guest Jacketmagazine com 2003 10 16 Retrieved 2011 08 05 Guest Hadley Haden 2008 The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest Middletown Connecticut Wesleyan University Press p xviii ISBN 978 0 8195 6860 1 Guest p xvii Guest p xviii Haven Cynthia 1920 09 06 PoetryFoundation org When I Say The Word Home I Almost Whisper It Lpl arizona edu Retrieved 2011 08 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barbara Guest amp oldid 1181202734, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
