Customer Reviews

The Complete Poems Of Stephen Crane (World Classics in Large Print, American Authors)

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Although Stephen Crane has earned his place in the American literary canon largely on the basis of his novel "The Red Badge of Courage" and his psychologically compelling short fiction, he was also a master of the art of poetry. "The Complete Poems" is a superb tribute to that poetic genius. In addition to collecting all 135 of Crane's known surviving poems, editor Joseph Katz has written a substantial introduction which places Crane's poetic achievement in context.

Most of Crane's poems are written in a free verse using simple, yet quietly powerful language. His words are full of irony and paradox; his vision is sometimes sarcastic and often dark, yet frequently surprises with gentleness and compassion. Reading Crane, I get the sense of meeting an ancient sage on a barren, wind-swept plain. His poems often have an oddly scriptural flavor to them; these are verses that invite return and reflection.

Stephen Crane writes, "I have a thousand tongues / And nine and ninety-nine lie." Nonetheless, in "The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane" the attentive reader will discover a reservoir of disturbing truth.

this collection of crane's complete poetry is divided into four sections. the two most important sections are the two volumes of poetry crane published, which were -the black riders and other lines- and -war is kind-. the third section consists of "uncollected poems", i.e. poems that were published in magazines but did not appear in the two collections, and posthumously published poems.

as the other reviewers have stated, crane was not and is not known for his poetry, but it is quite magnificent. in general his poetry is surprisingly modern. they tend to be more prose-oriented although he often uses literal or loosely repeated sections (i.e. refrains) to good effect. his poetry also tends to be didactic (often taking the form of a parable with such "characters" as mountains, angels, and philosophers), morbid, and direct. which is certainly not to say that they aren't also emotional, masterful, and engaging.

-the black riders- as a whole is more straightforward than the poems in -war is kind-. in general the poems in -black riders- center around the metaphysical, with themes such as religion, ethics, and philosphy appearing often. although -war is kind- contains many of the same themes, it also includes more concrete themes, such as war, the many facets of a man's relationship with a woman, and specific occurrences and objects such as the printing of newspapers. the uncollected and posthumous poetry is varied, but just as excellent if not better than the poems in the two collections.

this edition is quite attractive, a nice size with a mostly competent introductory essay that sheds light on the background of the publishing of crane's two collections. the print itself is generally clean and attractive, although occasionally there are some notable flaws in the printing where a line is too dark or too light. all in all, though, this collection is highly recommended as it is complete and crane's poetry is well worth reading and timelessly relevant.

The other reviews say it well. Crane is compact and wonderful. HOWEVER, I cannot emphasize Crane's importance to poetry enough. Although Frost is likely the most important american poet in terms of popularity, Crane set up a dynamic for non-metered poetry which was unprecedented. This is the first example (to my best knowledge) of a conscious effort to move poetry towards it's current incarnation of compact/truncated prose. Adherents to meter dismiss rap, etc... as non-poetic forms....but, I believe they are wrong. These are not prose poems. They are poems. Very concise. Very lucid. Unlike my review....

A review as concise and biting as Crane's poetry. Poems for those who "don't get it." War, love, God - one's very existence - stripped down to the essentials. To be read and re-read. Simply awesome!

Crane is best known for writing "The Red Badge of Courage", which is rather unfortunate, because every high school student in America now knows Stephen Crane as the author of the most effective sleep aid available to mankind. In contrast, Crane's poetry is... awesome, dude! Shocking and effective, Crane can convey complicated themes perfectly in desceptively few words. His organic phrasing and rhythm is a style born outside the traditional rules that his more educated peers followed, giving Crane a unique and innovative edge. My copy is always with me, and I'm afraid it's already quite worn.

Crane shows a wonderful grasp of human dignity amid great trial. His fictional Red Badge of Courage hints at his genious for converting misery into noble precepts; but in War Is Kind he brings the art of language crashing into the realness of life and living. Crane is perhaps the greatest American poet never read. It's too bad. His work is challenging and refreshing, all at the same time. Good stuff.

Black riders came from the sea.
There was clang and clang of spear and shield,
And clash and clash of hoof and heel,
Wild shouts and the wave of hair
In the rush upon the wind:
Thus the ride of sin.

The above is the title poem of Crane's first collection, and one of his most well- known poems.

The poems of Crane are written in a simple clear language. But their meaning is often enhanced by some symbolic connection, and remains mysterious and open to suggestive interpretation.
They do not have in my feeling a strong internal rhythmic connection, and lack the memorable quality of the poems of other nineteenth century American poets, Whitman, Dickenson, Poe.
I feel somehow that Crane is more a poet of the eye than of the ear. He covers a wide range of subjects providing both an echo of his own inner life and a reflection on the world he sees.
My sense is that the Poetry is very much secondary to the prose, primarily ' The Red Badge of Courage'.
Like Keats he died very young leaving open the question of whether he might have developed in his poetic work , a dimension he does not have now.

Usually read for his one hit novel (Red Badge), Crane produced a score of great stories & a gritty novel about prostitution (Maggie) and some very modern poetry that still reads well today. Put it up against his contemporaries of the 1890's and he sounds remarkably modern. (He even looks modern is some later portraits... I see him hanging out with Brautigan, learning about horses with McGuane, hanging in the streets with...)

Crane does not waste words. Each poem moves quickly to the point, offers you this, and this. In school there may be a couple Crane poems in an english book, but not near enough. From "In a desert" (#3?) to Intrigue, his poems are near perfect and his words still hold strong meaning today, from 80 to over a hundred years after they were written.

Perfect, concise, cynical, truthful, natural poems. Very consistent.