Van Duyn, Mona (Vol. 3) | Van Duyn, Mona 1921–
Van Duyn, Mona 1921–
Ms. Van Duyn is an accomplished American poet. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)
Despite its breathless title, To See, To Take is a collection of remarkably tough-minded lyrics. As a matter of fact, I can think of no contemporary poet who looks at the world with a steadier eye than does Mona Van Duyn. Not only does she fail to flinch in the face of what is distasteful or awry, but more importantly she never has visions. I have the feeling that she could wring a chicken's neck or kill a hog with a degree of equanimity….
I do not wish anyone to think that she is callous or insensitive to the hardships and nuances of human existence. On the contrary, her chief province is the world of everyday experience, of birthdays and minor illnesses, of the pantry and the zoo—a world of feeling which she sees as subtle and various. Yet the feeling she treats is always related to events which are...
[The entire page is 1670 words long]
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