Miriam Waddington Criticism
Miriam Waddington is a prominent Canadian poet known for her eclectic style and adaptable poetic forms. While she holds a deep respect for formal poets like W. H. Auden and Hart Crane, Waddington's own work eschews strict adherence to any particular style, viewing poetry as a "bridging of the inner and the outer." Her debut collection, Green World (1945), introduces themes that recur throughout her career, notably her relationship with nature and its restorative powers, contrasted against the challenges of industrial society. This theme is further explored in Into My Green World: The Poetry of Miriam Waddington.
Waddington's background as a social worker informs much of her early poetry, as seen in The Second Silence (1955), which addresses social issues and personal suffering. Her political consciousness is rooted in her childhood, influenced by her Russian-Jewish parents. Despite a shift in focus from social and political themes in her later works, her collections like The Price of Gold (1976) and The Visitants (1981) delve into more universal topics such as loss, aging, and death, while celebrating the fundamental joy of life. As noted by Mark Abley, this period in her poetry is marked by a fearless exploration of complex emotions and a melding of personal with cultural history.
Critics have noted the evolution in Waddington's thematic and stylistic choices. While Desmond Pacey praises her sincerity and skillful observation, he points out a need for more forceful ideas in her work. Similarly, Marvin Bell critiques her collection The Glass Trumpet for its struggle with abstraction and sentimentality. In contrast, D. G. Jones highlights her use of lyricism in Say Yes to illuminate themes of darkness and survival. Her later work, according to Tom Wayman, reveals a maturity through authentic explorations of personal and social themes.
Contents
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Modern Canadian Poetry (1920–1950)
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In the following essay, Desmond Pacey examines Miriam Waddington's poetry, praising her sincerity and observational skill while critiquing the lack of forceful ideas in her work, noting a progression in her thematic exploration of nature, love, and social issues across her volumes, alongside her evolving poetic techniques from free verse to more structured forms.
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Nine Canadian Poets
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In the following essay, Marvin Bell critiques Miriam Waddington's collection The Glass Trumpet for its battle against prose, noting that while her poems express urgency and emotional depth, they falter with overuse of abstraction and sentimentality, and lack exploitation of potent metaphors.
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Voices in the Dark
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In the following essay, D. G. Jones argues that Miriam Waddington's poetry in Say Yes employs a fresh and illuminating lyricism to confront themes of darkness, loss, and survival, using a distinctive baroque, run-on form to transform the alien dark into a familiar realm enriched with imaginative imagery and enduring language.
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Miriam Waddington's New Talent
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In the following essay, Tom Wayman critiques Miriam Waddington's poetry collection Driving Home, arguing that while her earlier work often succumbs to outdated styles, her recent poems offer a more vivid and authentic exploration of personal and social themes, marking her emergence as a mature poet.
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Into My Green World: The Poetry of Miriam Waddington
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In the following essay, Ricou explores Miriam Waddington's poetry, highlighting her ability to fuse personal experience with a naturalistic, "green world" vision, and suggesting that her work, marked by a rejection of rigid poetic forms and a preference for metaphoric totality, reflects a unique blend of lyrical innocence and social consciousness.
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Mark Abley
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In the following essay, Mark Abley argues that Miriam Waddington's "The Visitants" is characterized by its fearless exploration of themes like death and solitude, employing a rich and lyrical language that combines simple rhymes with complex emotions, while maintaining a narrative quality that connects personal and cultural history.