question- What does the trout stream in America have to do with Braughtigan's life? What is the symbolism here? -I am deeply confused by the connection.
BLOG- Richard Braughtigan’s style of poetry is unlike anything I have ever thoroughly read before. His poetry is not necessarily detailed, but straight to the core idea that he is trying to express to his readers. In “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster” each poem entails a new fantasy or idea that contributes to the fascination of San Francisco, the human body, women, sexuality, etc. His ability to write about such controversial issues, such as sexuality, is just the beginning of the revolution where people in America began to express their ideas both verbally and physically. After reading each poem in “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster,” I can not help but to notice the common characteristics of loneliness and Braughtigan’s desire to be with a women in a majority of his poetry. Automatic Anthole “Driven by hunger, I had another Forced bachelor dinner tonight. I had a lot of trouble making Up my mind whether to eat Chinese food Or to have a hamburger. God. I hate eating dinner alone. It’s Like being dead. The poem “Automatic Anthole” grabbed my attention the most out of all of the poems of the “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster” because I feel Braughtigan’s deep sorrow and pain resulting from his loneliness. The poem begins with his statement of how he was “driven” by hunger to have a “forced bachelor” dinner, which clearly shows that he has no desire to be alone nor to be a bachelor. Braughtigan even states that he hates being alone and compares it to death, which is supposedly supposed to be the loneliest state a person can be in. When reading this poem, I feel great remorse for Braughtigan because this poem just screams “DEPRESSION!”
I honestly thought that this weeks writing assignment the class was able to write about the "pill versus the springhill mine disaster" I am sorry for the confusion. I thought we had a choice to do it on one or the other.
In regards to the question you posed, I think the trout stream in America has more to do with Brautigan's outlook on American culture and the literary time period he took part in. In general, the 1960s was a time when people became aware of the environmental degradation that took place in their communities, but it was also a time of war and industrial impact. I think Brautigan really captures this theme of being stuck between two extremes in Trout Fishing and also in Pill vs. Springhill. Brautigan is also caught between the transition of the beat generation and the psychadelic movement in the late 60s, so I think both these eras influence his own writing.
Danielle, no worries - you had the option to write on Brautigan the first week too. I'm wondering: what do you think about the funnier moments in RB's poems? They seem to be doing something along with the more lonely poems... What happens when we put both together?
On Trout Fishing in America, I'm on board with Hanna's observation, basically that it relates to the ideal American culture and environment. You might see if you can trace the different forms of Trout Fishing in the book - does it make sense? How do the images hang together?
4 comments:
Here's a copy of Danielle's second post:
question-
What does the trout stream in America have to do with Braughtigan's life? What is the symbolism here?
-I am deeply confused by the connection.
BLOG-
Richard Braughtigan’s style of poetry is unlike anything I have ever thoroughly read before. His poetry is not necessarily detailed, but straight to the core idea that he is trying to express to his readers. In “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster” each poem entails a new fantasy or idea that contributes to the fascination of San Francisco, the human body, women, sexuality, etc. His ability to write about such controversial issues, such as sexuality, is just the beginning of the revolution where people in America began to express their ideas both verbally and physically. After reading each poem in “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster,” I can not help but to notice the common characteristics of loneliness and Braughtigan’s desire to be with a women in a majority of his poetry.
Automatic Anthole
“Driven by hunger, I had another
Forced bachelor dinner tonight.
I had a lot of trouble making
Up my mind whether to eat Chinese food
Or to have a hamburger. God.
I hate eating dinner alone. It’s
Like being dead.
The poem “Automatic Anthole” grabbed my attention the most out of all of the poems of the “The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster” because I feel Braughtigan’s deep sorrow and pain resulting from his loneliness. The poem begins with his statement of how he was “driven” by hunger to have a “forced bachelor” dinner, which clearly shows that he has no desire to be alone nor to be a bachelor. Braughtigan even states that he hates being alone and compares it to death, which is supposedly supposed to be the loneliest state a person can be in. When reading this poem, I feel great remorse for Braughtigan because this poem just screams “DEPRESSION!”
I honestly thought that this weeks writing assignment the class was able to write about the "pill versus the springhill mine disaster" I am sorry for the confusion. I thought we had a choice to do it on one or the other.
In regards to the question you posed, I think the trout stream in America has more to do with Brautigan's outlook on American culture and the literary time period he took part in. In general, the 1960s was a time when people became aware of the environmental degradation that took place in their communities, but it was also a time of war and industrial impact. I think Brautigan really captures this theme of being stuck between two extremes in Trout Fishing and also in Pill vs. Springhill. Brautigan is also caught between the transition of the beat generation and the psychadelic movement in the late 60s, so I think both these eras influence his own writing.
Danielle, no worries - you had the option to write on Brautigan the first week too. I'm wondering: what do you think about the funnier moments in RB's poems? They seem to be doing something along with the more lonely poems... What happens when we put both together?
On Trout Fishing in America, I'm on board with Hanna's observation, basically that it relates to the ideal American culture and environment. You might see if you can trace the different forms of Trout Fishing in the book - does it make sense? How do the images hang together?
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