The first time I ever saw a poem written by e e cummings, I thought it was something created by an amateur middle schooler excited to use Tumblr for the first time. I learned that e e cummings liked lowercase letters. The second time I ever saw a poem written by e e cummings, I thought someone (or their cat) had fell on their keyboard. I learned that e e cummings didn't subscribe to society's expectations of formatting. The third time I ever saw a poem written by e e cummings, I thought it was a run-of-the-mill poet. I learned that e e cummings didn't always play by his own "rules."
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| "grasshopper" by e e cummings |
To me, e e cummings exemplifies the kind of poet whose poetry is loved by English teachers searching for meaning between lines, letters, and spaces, yet hated by the group of English students who believe symbolism is dead and literal meaning trumps all. "next to of course god america i" is still one of my favorite poems of his; the title itself can be picked apart, dissected, and analyzed until devoid of ink before readers even begin reading the body of the poem.
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| https://www.showme.com/sh/?h=1i5ztGS |
The body itself is a patchwork of various chunks of other works, including patriotic anthems and nonchalant remarks. Each patch can be broken down, raising questions of why Cummings chose that specific piece and why he placed it in its exact location. Together, Cummings crafts this beautifully pieced satirical poem that conveys meaning in every sentence, every word, and even every syllable.
Thus, Cumming's message is a dense one, one that could fill pages but instead is stuffed into a short poem. Poets like Cummings exhibit incredible skill in their ability to cram their message down, filling every letter with the potential to carry meaning and make a difference in the minds of the readers. e e cummings remains problematic for the words used in some poems, but in many others, talent drips from the page.
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