Faulkner
Three years ago I never would have thought William Faulkner would be one of my favorite authors. His name was one I avoided out of principle, without even knowing what he was all about. I have fucked up principles.
Reading Absalom, Absalom! in Professor Wyatt's class turned me around on Faulkner, to the point where, when I was in New Orleans in December, I felt compelled to visit the bookstore in the apartment where he once lived. While browsing the shelves, an older couple came in and asked to see all the Wallace Stevens books they had. The man was looking for a Wallace Stevens poem he had stuck in his head. I asked him if he knew any lines and he told "Call the roller of big cigars." After a few seconds scanning a table of contents, I realized the poem he was looking for was "The Emperor of Ice Cream".
I suppose Wallace Stevens is a pretty well known-poet, but I find it more than coincidental that the reason I was able to place the line is because Professor Wyatt focused significantly on Stevens' poetry. As usual, I'm pretty sure there's more to all this, but I don't know what it is.
Reading Absalom, Absalom! in Professor Wyatt's class turned me around on Faulkner, to the point where, when I was in New Orleans in December, I felt compelled to visit the bookstore in the apartment where he once lived. While browsing the shelves, an older couple came in and asked to see all the Wallace Stevens books they had. The man was looking for a Wallace Stevens poem he had stuck in his head. I asked him if he knew any lines and he told "Call the roller of big cigars." After a few seconds scanning a table of contents, I realized the poem he was looking for was "The Emperor of Ice Cream".
I suppose Wallace Stevens is a pretty well known-poet, but I find it more than coincidental that the reason I was able to place the line is because Professor Wyatt focused significantly on Stevens' poetry. As usual, I'm pretty sure there's more to all this, but I don't know what it is.