April 11, 2012: Poems I Love, Part Three

[I’m spending much of my blog-time this week working on a new writing project, about which more to come soon (when details become more finalized). So in honor of National Poetry Month, I’m going to highlight one amazing American poem per day this week, say one thing about why I love it, and then hope that you’ll a) read and enjoy; and b) share your own nominations in comments!]

Stephen Crane’s

“I saw a man pursuing the horizon” (1898)

At once both deeply cynical about the core of human existence (and the speaker/poet’s ability to change it) and yet somehow humanistic and hopeful as well, an uneasy and important balance in all of Crane’s works.

Next poem tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Favorite American poems, por favor!

4/11 Memory Day nominee: Jane Bolin, whose pioneering life of firsts culminated with her appointment as the first African American woman judge, and whose critical and impassioned perspectives on the core historical issues of the 20^th century are just as inspiring as her professional trailblazing.