Ralph Waldo Emerson

Criticism

Review of Emphatically Emerson. Frank Crocitto. Candlepower, 2003.

Emerson always wanted to be a poet, but he recognized that his lines did not "sing" as they should. Many readers have suggested that his essays are his best poetry. But Frank Crocitto has another, rather novel take--Emerson's best poetry may be found in his journals. This book is a presentation of selected sentences from Emerson's journals, centered on the page with line breaks. The effect is arresting. For example, at age 54 Emerson wrote these words--but not in this format:

Yesterday,
the best day of the year,
we spent in the afternoon on the river.
A sky of Calcutta;
light,
air
clouds,
water,
banks,
birds,
grass,
pads,
lilies,
were in perfection,
and it was delicious to live.

Some are much shorter:

All
the thoughts
of a turtle
are turtle.

There's a very brief introduction to the book, but the focus is on each "poem," centered on its own page. The selections are clearly chosen with care, and they range throughout his life. Crocitto's intent is to "emphasize" Emerson's words, and that does happen. For this reader, it means that I will read his journal passages with much more care, imagining them as "poems." It's a unique book which assumes that poetry is a matter of line breaks, and perhaps that is true.

Ann Woodlief