Ignatow, David (Vol. 4) | Ignatow, David 1914–
Ignatow, David 1914–
Ignatow, an American poet, employs a deceptively simple poetic language to reveal the dreams and agonies of city-dwellers. Many of his poems are about New York, the city in which he has always lived. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)
Ignatow does almost completely without the traditional skills of English versification. He makes no effort to assure his lines rhetorical effectiveness; the import of each poem is thus far too dependent upon what is said, given in a low, gentle, spell-breaking murmur. At his best, however, Ignatow often seems a real primitive, with the small, serene vision of the Douanier Rousseau or of Bombois. His narrative gift appears to me to be worthy of encouragement, and I look forward, queerly, since concision and concentration are integral to Mr. Ignatow's successes here, to longer work….
Ignatow's poems … rank with the most authentic now being written. What...
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