e. e. cummings —American (1894-1962)

e. e. cummings—American (1894-1962) ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

[Artists are those] who have discovered (in a mirror surrounded with mirrors) something harder than silence but softer than falling, the third voice of "life" which believes itself and which cannot mean because it is. e. e. cummings, six non-lectures ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings the painter fourth-dimensional abstractionOil on canvasboard ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings the painter Flowers and Hat: Patchen Place, c. 1950, oil on canvas, ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings the painter Noise Number 1, 1919, oil on canvas, ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings the painter lone figure and tree in stormy sunsetOil on canvas ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings the painter Self-portrait with sketchpad, 1939, oil on canvas, ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

Discovering cummings John Dewey Oil City High School, Oil City, PA ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “in Just-” in Just- spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame baloonman whistles far and wee and eddyandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it’s spring when the world is puddle-wonderful the queer old baloonman whistles far and wee and bettyandisbel come dancing ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “in Just-” from hop-scotch and jump-rope and it’s spring and the goat-footed baloonMan whistle far and wee ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “next to of course god america” "next to of course god america I love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?” He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “next to of course god america” Oil City High School Rotarians, 1966-1967 Boosterism ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “Buffalo Bill’s” Buffalo Bill 's defunct who used to ride a watersmooth-silver stallion and break onetwothreefourfivepigeonsjustlikethat Jesus he was a handsome man and what i want to know is how do you like your blueeyed boy Mister Death? ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “the Cambridge ladies” the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds (also, with the church's protestant blessings daughters, unscented shapeless spirited) they believe in Christ and Longfellow,both dead, are invariably interested in so many things- at the present writing one still finds delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles? perhaps. While permanent faces coyly bandy scandal of Mrs. N and Professor D ....the Cambridge ladies do not care,above Cambridge if sometimes in its box of sky lavender and cornerless, the moon rattles like a fragment of angry candy ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “she being Brand” she being Brand -new;and youknow consequently alittle stiff i wascareful of her and(having thoroughly oiled the universaljoint tested my gas felt ofher radiator made sure her springs were O. K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her up,slipped theclutch(and then somehow got into reverse shekicked whatthe hell)nextminute i was back in neutral tried and again slo-wly;bare,lynudg. ing (my lev-er Right-oh and her gears being inA 1 shape passedfrom low throughsecond-in-to-high likegrasedlightning ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “she being Brand” just as we turned the corner of Divinity avenue i touched the accelerator and give her the juice,good (it was the first ride and believe i we washappy to see how nice she acted right up tothe last minute coming back down by the PublicGardens i slammed on theinternalexpanding&externalcontractingbrakes Bothatonce and brought allofhertremB-lingto a:dead. stand-;Still) ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “somewhere I have never travelled” somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond any experience,your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near your slightest look easily will unclose me though i have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose or if your wish be to close me, i and my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending; Hear cummings read it on youtube. ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “somewhere I have never travelled” nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility:whose texture compels me with the color of its countries, rendering death and forever with each breathing (i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens;only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “I thank You God” i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth day of life and love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any-lifted from the no of all nothing-human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “’pity this busy monster, manunkind” pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond) plays with the bigness of his littleness —electrons deify one razorblade into a mountainrange; lenses extend unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish returns on its unself. A world of made is not a world of born—pity poor flesh and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this fine specimen of hypermagical ultraomnipotence. We doctors know a hopeless case if—listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “I like my body when it is with your” i like my body when it is with yourbody. It is so quite new a thing.Muscles better and nerves more.i like your body. i like what it does,i like its hows. i like to feel the spineof your body and its bones, and the trembling-firm-smooth ness and which i willagain and again and againkiss, i like kissing this and that of you,i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzzof your electric fur, and what-is-it comesover parting flesh … And eyes big love-crumbs, and possibly i like the thrill of under me you so quite new ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “O sweet spontaneous” O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the doting fingers of prurient philosophies pinched and poked thee has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy beauty how often have religions taken thee upon their scraggy knees squeezing and ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

cummings, “O sweet spontaneous” buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive gods but true to the incomparable couch of death thy rhythmic lover thou answerest them only with spring ENGL 2030—Summer 2013 | Lavery

e. e. cummings —American (1894-1962)