Bibliography

McLeod, James Richard. Theodore Roethke: A Bibliography. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1973, 241 p.

Provides a comprehensive listing of Roethke's works, including primary sources, contributions to periodicals, translations of his works, film and musical adaptations, and critical sources about Roethke.

Criticism

Beaman, Darlene. "Roethke's Travels: An Overview of His Poetry." Green River Review XIV, No. 2 (1983): 79-90.

Explores the inner journey motif and quest for transcendence in Roethke's poetry.

Blessing, Richard Allen. "The Dying Man." In Theodore Roethke's Dynamic Vision, pp. 161-70. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1974.

Offers analysis of Roethke's use of language in "The Dying Man."

Davis, William V. "Fishing an Old Wound: Theodore Roethke's Search for Sonship." The Antigonish Review, No. 20 (Winter, 1974): 29-41.

Examines the development and significance of Roethke's relationship with his father as revealed in his poetry.

Gunn, Thom. Review of Words for the Wind. The Yale Review XLVIII, No. 4 (Summer 1959): 623-6.

A generally unfavorable review of Words for the Wind. Gunn cites shortcomings in examples of Roethke's nonsense verse and admonishes the obvious influence of William Butler Yeats in this volume.

Hoey, Allen. "Some Metrical And Rhythmical Strategies in the Early Poems of Roethke." Concerning Poetry 15, No. 1 (Spring 1982): 49-58.

Examines Roethke's characteristic free verse form, meter, and use of sonic device in poems from The Open House and The Lost Son and Other Poems.

Johnson, Julie M. "'Dance On, Dance On, Dance On': Dance as Image in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke." Massachusetts Studies in English IX, No. 1 (1983): 64-76.

Explores the significance of dance motifs in Roethke's poetry, particularly as such imagery reveals Roethke's poor self-image and longing for unity in physical, psychological, and mystical terms.

Kalaidjian, Walter B. "Understanding Theodore Roethke." In Understanding Theodore Roethke, pp. 1-28. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1987.

Provides an overview of Roethke's life and major works.

La Belle, Jenijoy. "Archetypes of Tradition." In The Echoing Wood of Theodore Roethke, pp. 84-103. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976.

Examines the influence and synthesis of literary tradition and Jungian archetypes in Roethke's poetry.

Mazzaro, Jerome. "The Failure of Language: Theodore Roethke." In Postmodern American Poetry, pp. 59-84. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1980.

Examines Roethke's effort to establish his own poetic voice through imitation and innovation, reflecting both the necessity and burden of his artistic influences.

Molesworth, Charles. "Songs of the Happy Man: Theodore Roethke and Contemporary Poetry." John Berryman Studies II, No. 3 (Summer 1976): 32-51.

Discusses the characteristic qualities of Roethke's poetry, particularly form, imagery, and aspects of self-analysis, noting his influence on subsequent American poets.

Parini, Jay. "Theodore Roethke: The Poetics of Expression." Ball State University Forum XXI, No. 1 (Winter 1980): 5-11.

Examines Roethke's idea of poetry and the poet, noting his relationship to the Romantic tradition.

Pearce, Roy Harvey. "Theodore Roethke: The Power of Sympathy." In Historicism Once More: Problems & Occasions for the American Scholar, pp. 294-326. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969.

Examines Roethke's identification with and expression of sympathy, violence, power, and control.

Pinsker, Sanford. "An Urge to Wrestle / A Need to Dance: The Poetry of Theodore Roethke." CEA Critic XLI, No. 4, pp. 12-7.

Discusses Roethke's mystical fascination with the joy of life and rebirth.

Ramakrishnan, E. V. "The Confessional Mode in Theodore Roethke: A Reading of 'The Lost Son.'" Indian Journal of American Studies 11, No. 1 (January, 1981): 58-65.

Explores Roethke's struggle with personal experience and self-consciousness in "The Lost Son," particularly as expressed in the dynamics of perception and harmony.

Rohrkemper, John. "'When the Mind Remembers All': Dream and Memory in Theodore Roethke's 'North American Sequence.'" Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 21, No. 1 (Spring 1988): 28-37.

Offers interpretation of the "North American Sequence" as a meditative reconciliation of past and present, noting Roethke's painful childhood memories and the psychic fragmentation caused by mental illness in his adult life.

Scott, Nathan A., Jr. "The Example of Roethke." In The Wild Prayer of Longing: Poetry and the Sacred, pp. 76-119. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1971.

Examines Roethke's sacramental voice and ecstatic vision, especially as expressed by appeals to wonder, instinct, and the sense of "otherness" in reality.

Smith, R. T. "Critical Introduction to the Poetry of Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)." Green River Review XIV, No. 2 (1983): 11-6.

Provides a summary of major themes and symbolism in Roethke's poetry.

Stein, Arnold. "Introduction." In Theodore Roethke: Essays on the Poetry, edited by Arnold Stein, pp. ix-xx. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1965.

Provides a laudatory overview of Roethke's creative life and poetry.

Sundahl, Daniel James. "Theodore Roethke's 'The Lost Son': Solipsism and The Private Language Problem." Essays in Arts and Science XVII (May 1988) 41-61.

Explores self-referential allusions in Roethke's "The Lost Son," especially as related to Ludwig Wittengstein's conception of language and the limits of expression.

Thurley, Geoffrey. "Theodore Roethke: Lost Son." In The American Moment: American Poetry in the Mid-Century, pp. 91-105. London: Edward Arnold, 1977.

Provides a reassessment of Roethke's literary career, noting the effect of uncritical public sympathy for Roethke and the academic and imitative qualities of his poetry.