Charles Simic Criticism
Charles Simic, a Yugoslavian-born American poet, is esteemed for his distinctive capacity to elevate everyday objects to surreal or mystical status within his poetry. His work is characterized by a stark simplicity influenced by both his European roots and American experiences, which resonates with a unique blend of cultural perspectives. Critics such as Michael Benedikt laud Simic for achieving profound clarity and spiritual insight, while Diane Wakoski highlights the surreal and childlike qualities present in his work. In contrast, Geoffrey Thurley notes a metaphysical menace that can obscure the depth of his subjects.
Simic's poetry, deeply rooted in the folk traditions of his native Yugoslavia, often presents a dreamlike quality, reflecting a blend of simplicity and philosophical depth. This approach has led some, like Paul Breslin, to critique his later work as relying more on his established reputation than on new innovation. Nonetheless, Simic’s ability to transform the mundane into symbolic, complex themes continues to earn admiration, cementing his position as a significant voice in contemporary poetry.
Despite the varying critical perspectives, as analyzed by Robert Shaw, Simic's work persistently addresses themes of exile and belonging. He skillfully juxtaposes his European past with his American present, offering readers a nuanced exploration of identity and cultural intersection. His poetry's evocative and philosophical nature ensures its enduring influence and relevance, inviting ongoing discussion and interpretation.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Simic, Charles (Vol. 130)
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Here Today: A Poetry Chronicle
(summary)
In the following review, Carruth uses a poem by Simic to demonstrate what he considers to be wrong with contemporary poetry.
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Autobiography of the Present
(summary)
In the following review, Atlas praises Simic's ability to condense great meaning into single images in Return to a Place Lit by a Glass of Milk. Charles Simic's second collection draws on the practices of Surrealism, but his work owes more to East European poetry, with its emphasis on a condensed, sombre, even ballad-like language. Simic has ideas about the phenomenal world, and a marvellous capacity for locating the luminous objects which evoke (and invoke) those ideas.
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Charles Simic and Mark Strand: The Presence of Absence
(summary)
In the following essay, Jackson discusses Heideggerian meaning in the poetry of Simic and Mark Strand.
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White: Charles Simic's Thumbnail Epic
(summary)
In the following essay, Schmidt analyzes White, finding elements that strongly liken the series to the tradition of Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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Poems Magical, Poems Mordant
(summary)
In the following excerpted review, Bennett admires the spareness and clarity of poems that make up Austerities.
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An Interview with Charles Simic
(summary)
In the following interview, Simic discusses the impact of his experiences in war-torn Eastern Europe and his subsequent life in the United States on his poetry, highlighting influences from jazz, surrealism, and blues, and expressing his views on political repression and the nature of poetry itself.
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A review of Selected Poems 1963-1983
(summary)
In the following review, Funsten provides an overview of Selected Poems 1963-1983, finding that Simic's later work is neither as startling nor as evocative as his earlier poems.
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The Whirlpool of Image and Narrative Flow
(summary)
In the following review, Stitt traces the evolution of Simic's poetry from dark and terrifying to lighter and gentler in his volume Unending Blues.
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The Secret World of Charles Simic
(summary)
In the following review, Janas explores the major mythological and philosophical themes in Simic's The Book of Gods and Devils.
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A review of Selected Poems 1963-1983 and The Book of Gods and Devils
(summary)
In the following review, Cramer examines elements of Simic's poetry throughout his career that effectively distinguish him from other poets of his generation.
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The Poet on a Roll: Charles Simic's ‘The Tomb of Stéphane Mallarmé’
(summary)
In the following essay, Orlich analyzes Simic's connection to the Surrealists, particularly their respective ideas about chance in their writings.
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Joseph Cornell: Naked in Arcadia
(summary)
In the following excerpted review, Hirsch praises Simic's musings on the artist Joseph Cornell in Dime-Store Alchemy.
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Empty Beds, Empty Nests, Empty Cities
(summary)
In the following review, Zeidner finds Insomniac Hotel occasionally redundant but many of the individual poems “breathtaking.”
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In a Room Where We Are Absent
(summary)
In the following review, Neville notes the painful subject matter but eloquent writing in The Horse Has Six Legs, edited and translated by Simic.
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Simic's ‘Cabbage’
(summary)
In the following essay, Miller analyzes similarities between Simic's poem “Cabbage,” Andrew Marvell's “To His Coy Mistress,” and John Donne's “The Flea.”
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A review of Hotel Insomniac and Dime-Store Alchemy
(summary)
In the following review, Anderson explains how the poems in Hotel Insomniac and the prose observations in Dime-Store Alchemy compliment each other, noting in particular Simic's interest in the meaning and purpose of art.
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A Wedding in Hell
(summary)
In the following review, Kitchen discusses Simic's political poetry in A Wedding in Hell. One way poets have handled political material is to release it from its historical ties, creating a kind of imaginative transmutation. Charles Simic's latest book, A Wedding in Hell, does just this. The poems are vintage “Simic”—cool, surprising, an odd mix of images that disturb as often as they satisfy.
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Moments Frozen in Time
(summary)
In the following review, Merrill praises Simic's historical sense in A Wedding in Hell and The Unemployed Fortune-Teller.
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A World of Foreboding: Charles Simic
(summary)
In the following essay, Vendler presents an overview of Simic's major themes and techniques.
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Real America: An Interview with Charles Simic
(summary)
In the following essay, Charles Simic, in conversation with Molly McQuade, reflects on his formative years in Chicago as an immigrant, detailing how the city shaped his understanding of America through its cultural diversity, intellectual environment, and vibrant literary scene, which influenced his development as a poet and writer.
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A Wedding in Hell
(summary)
In the following review, Sofield offers a mixed assessment of A Wedding in Hell.
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On Restraint
(summary)
In the following review, Bafer compares the works of Ted Kooser to Simic's A Wedding in Hell, finding Simic's poetry taut and evocative.
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Four and a Half Books
(summary)
In the following review, Breslin asserts that Simic relies on his reputation in Walking the Black Cat rather than breaking new poetic ground.
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Here Today: A Poetry Chronicle
(summary)
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Simic, Charles (Vol. 6)
(summary)
In the following essay, the critic discusses Charles Simic's poetry, highlighting his ability to imbue homely objects with a sense of strangeness and magic, while employing a folk model that blends simplicity with complexity, though some critics argue his work lacks concentration and commitment compared to other irrationalist poetry.
- Simic, Charles (Vol. 9)
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Simic, Charles (Vol. 22)
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The Shapes of Nature
(summary)
In the following essay, Michael Benedikt contends that Charles Simic's poetry in What the Grass Says achieves a profound clarity and spiritual simplicity by transforming modest subjects into gateways to deeper insights, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to inwardness and consistently high quality.
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Songs & Notes
(summary)
In the following essay, Diane Wakoski explores the multifaceted nature of Charles Simic's poetry, noting its cryptic and fascinating qualities that blend surrealism, religious imagery, and childlike simplicity, ultimately arguing that such poems restore faith in poetry's power beyond mere analysis.
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Devices among Words: Kinnell, Bly, Simic
(summary)
In the following essay, Geoffrey Thurley argues that while Charles Simic's poetry demonstrates a brilliant fluency of invention, it lacks depth and substance, as Simic de-materializes the mystery of the European and rural world he evokes, embedding it with a metaphysical sense of menace rather than American urbanity.
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Three Poets
(summary)
In the following essay, David Ignatow examines how Charles Simic's use of symbolist and surrealist techniques in "Charon's Cosmology" communicates personal and urgent anxieties without directly confronting the reader, achieving a unique exploration of contemplation and suffering through poetic writing.
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'Fool', Said My Muse to Me
(summary)
In the following essay, Alan Williamson critiques Charles Simic's collection "Charon's Cosmology" for its challenges in intention and execution, noting that while Simic explores themes of pre-civilized humanity and childhood memories, the work suffers from clichéd language and unresolved poetic transitions, risking the poet's potential to articulate the ineffable.
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Fondled Memories
(summary)
In the following essay, Molesworth critiques Charles Simic's use of surrealist parables, arguing that while his style is often praised for its freshness, it frequently devolves into triviality and false profundity, with Simic's poetry sometimes relying too heavily on clichéd imagery and habitual stylization.
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Of Lyricism, Verbal Energy, the Sonnet, and Gallows Humor
(summary)
In the following essay, Stanley Plumly explores Charles Simic's unique position as an immigrant poet whose work, like Classic Ballroom Dances, fuses American sensibility with European roots, employing a rare existential discipline that renders archetypal themes contemporarily relevant through irony, humor, and profound imagination.
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Life among the Cockroaches
(summary)
In the following essay, Shaw examines Charles Simic's ability to balance change and continuity in his poetry, highlighting his unique approach to language and objects, his exploration of exile and belonging, and his successful revisions of earlier works, while also critiquing some less successful experiments in his recent collections.
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The Light Is Dark Enough
(summary)
In the following essay, Vernon Young explores how Charles Simic's poetry, steeped in surreal and historical elements reflective of his Yugoslav past, contrasts with American fears of the future, as he navigates through new poetic forms while maintaining an ironic, albeit sometimes impersonal, lens.
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The Mind Afoot
(summary)
In the following essay, William Doreski explores how Charles Simic's poetic style, influenced by Vasco Popa and W.S. Merwin, combines imaginative vision with a dramatic self, achieving a unique blend of language, vision, and aesthetic accomplishment that is particularly evident in his collection Classic Ballroom Dances.
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Figures in the Landscape
(summary)
In the following essay, J. D. McClatchy criticizes Charles Simic's Classic Ballroom Dances for failing to live up to the poet's earlier work, suggesting that Simic's renowned surrealist style has become stale and lacks the vibrancy and innovation of his initial successes.
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The Shapes of Nature
(summary)
- Further Reading