In California (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Louis Simpson
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: History, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Authors or writers, Nineteenth century, New York City, Literature, Poetry or poets, American Dream, California, West, U.S., Novelists, Frontier or pioneer life
The Poem
“In California” consists of six unrhymed stanzas of four lines each, with irregular line lengths, in which the speaker reflects on his geographical and historical situation. Louis Simpson, though born in Jamaica, settled in New York City in 1940—hence, the reference to his protagonist’s “New York face” in line 2 of the poem. He begins the poem on the California coast (“the dream coast”), having come from New York and finding himself among business and outdoor types (“realtors/ And tennis-players”). He feels out of place on this western edge of the...
[The entire page is 1546 words long]
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