"Both poets remind us that American history is rich with material for contemporary artists, and that the seeds of patriotism are simple and enduring—a patch of land, a handful of human beings. But like all good patriots, they have their disagreements. Davis reveres the American landscape for all that it gives us. Weinberger reveres it for what it challenges us to become."
- Brian Hurley - Fiction Advocate,
Part of our revived "Poetry Pamphlet" series, Two American Scenes features two masters of the essay discussing "found material."
Excerpts:
It was given to me, in the nineteenth century,
to spend a lifetime on this earth. Along with a few of the sorrows
that are appointed unto men, I have had innumerable enjoyments;
and the world has been to me, even from childhood,a great museum.
— Lydia Davis
Bad rapids. Bradley is knocked over the side; his foot catches
under the seat and he is dragged, head under water. Camped on
a sand beach, the wind blows a hurricane. Sand piles over us like
a snow-drift.
— Eliot Weinberge