Poetry in the World

Mark Strand
Defense of Poetry 2001:
When I was asked to give a 'Defense of Poetry' lecture for Poetry International
otterda!" I i!!ediately acce#ted without ever considering that I !ight not $e a$le to
do it% I was told that the focus of this year's festival would $e '#oetic for!s%' Well" I did
not want to !ount a defense of for!s #er se" since I did not $elieve in se#arating free
verse and so called for!al verse% Des#ite a recent $ook" which I co&edited with the Irish
#oet 'van (oland" which !akes a distinction $etween the two" I think of all good
#oe!s as for!al whether or not they are written in rhy!e and !eter% If I talked a$out
the for!al as#ects of #oe!s" it would $e only tangentially% So I $egan thinking a$out a
!ore general defense of #oetry% (ut where would I $egin) *nd what did I have to say
that would $e different than what a thousand other #oets !ight say) +hen" I thought that
#erha#s I should think of a title that would give !e !ore freedo! in discussing the
value of #oetry% I ca!e u# with 'Poetry in the World%' ather weighty" $ut less inhi$iting
than '* Defense of Poetry%' I was no dou$t thinking of already e,isting defenses" which
would not only overshadow !y effort" $ut !ake it a##ear trivial% +he truth is" that
des#ite !y initial assuredness" I had no idea how I could write convincingly a$out
so!ething I see!ed less and less ca#a$le of understanding% -evertheless I thought that
'Poetry in the World' would allow !e to deal with the #u$lic's #erce#tion of #oetry if"
indeed" it had one%
Days went $y% I wrote nothing% I $egan to think that I should co!e u# with another title%
(ut of course I did not% .o!ing u# with a $etter title !ight $e as hard as writing the
lecture%
*nyway" I #ut the !atter of the talk aside until /ust a few weeks ago% I ran into one of
!y students at the local su#er!arket% 0e asked !e what I was doing% I told hi! I was
writing a lecture" which I was to give at the International Poetry 1estival at otterda!
and it was called 'Poetry in the World%' '0ow is it going"' asked the student whose na!e
was Dick% '2ery well"' I re#lied% I was lying% I had done nothing $ut write a few notes
and they were of du$ious value% '3ike what do you talk a$out)' he asked% '4h" the usual%'
*nd then as I looked over the 1ritos" I told Dick" '5ou know" #oetry" the stuff of #oe!s"
!ore s#ecifically the stuff of lyric #oe!s% +he kind of #oe!s that !anifest !usical
#ro#erties" $ut are intended to $e read or s#oken" not sung% +hey are $y and large $rief"
rarely e,ceeding a #age or two" and have a$out the! a degree of e!otional intensity
that accounts for their having $een written at all% *t their $est they re#resent the
shadowy" often e#he!eral !otions of though and feeling" and do so in ways that are
clear and co!#rehensi$le% +hey not only fi, in language what is !ost elusive a$out our
e,#erience" they convince us of its i!#ortance" even its truth% 4f all literary genres the
lyric is the least changea$le% Its the!es are rooted in the continuity of hu!an
su$/ectivity and fro! the anti6uity have assu!ed a connection $etween #rivacy and
universality% If this were not true" there would $e no #oint in reading #oe!s fro! the
#ast% +hey s#eak to us with the i!!ediacy that ti!e has not di!inished and gauge our
hu!anness as accurately and as #assionately as any #oe! written today%' 'Whoa7' said
Dick" 'that is succinct7' 'It is" sort of"' said I% (ut I felt that I had so!ehow told a lie%
Poetry never see!ed" at least to !e" so clear&cut% -ot that what I said was wrong && it
was /ust too narrow% *nd $esides" I had said it $efore" al!ost word for word% So it was"
in every sense" a #at answer to what #oetry is% I thanked Dick" who stood a!ong the
salsas and tortilla chi#s #ondering what I had said" and I walked off" thinking I $etter get
down to work% What I called 'the usual' didn't account for the fact that #oetry" though it
atte!#ts to locate hu!anness" with the ulti!ate ai!" #erha#s" of $inding us together"
does not see! central to our lives% Most #eo#le" in fact" have very little use for it% Why
is that) It is not si!#ly that the #u$lic feels co!forta$le ignoring it" $ut the reading
#u$lic has little use of it either%
*fter !y dinner of $roccoli and a ya!" I went to the video store to #ick u# .octeau's
'4r#heus"' thinking it !ight ins#ire !e% I wanted to re&e,#erience that !o!ent when
4r#heus is asked $y a tri$unal of /udges in the 8nderworld what a #oet is" and he
answers $y saying that a #oet is so!eone who writes $ut is not a writer% When I went to
#ay for the video" I heard so!eone call !e% It was Dick% 0e was with his girlfriend who
wore huge $lack clodho##ers" $lack /eans" $lack /acket% 0er hair was $lack as well%
'Professor" this is 9ane% I was trying to tell her a$out the talk you're writing" $ut I
couldn't re!e!$er what you said e,actly%' 9ane looked at !e as though I were a
curiosity and said" 'Professor" I don't !ean to #ress you" $ut what's the use of #oetry)
What good does it do)' '4h :od" ' I thought" 'do I have to go through this again)' (ut
9ane's 6uestion was a good one% I would certainly have to deal with it in !y talk% I
wasn't #re#ared to answer it right away% I'd have to give it lots of thought" $ut that didn't
kee# !e fro! talking% '4f course"' I said" 'I can't $e sure" $ut I tend to $elieve that there
are in each of us those shi!!erings of the soul that we associate with or even recogni;e
as #oetry & those res#onses to events that !ove us dee#ly and for which we see! to
have no language% -o ade6uate language for a death or $irth or even the first signs of
s#ring" the $lankness of winter" the unreacha$le de#ths of night sky% 5et" we have an
urge to s#eak or to write down what we've e,#erienced% (ut we don't% Instead" we hold
our $reath or we sigh% +he urge to res#ond in a way that would register our feeling and
contain or !e!oriali;e the occasion that gave $irth to it #asses% *nd we are haunted $y
a silence in which so!ething of ourselves should have $een" so!e language that would
reflect the degree of feeling which had $een ours% Why is this so) Is it that our language
skills are usually called on to #erfor! tasks that do not re6uire !uch effort) Is it that we
fear whatever we write or say would fail to do /ustice to the occasion that !oved us so
dee#ly) I don't know% (ut it see!s clear to !e that our deferrals turn us into agents of
self&neglect" una$le or unwilling to say what our e,#erience has $een% We reach for the
language !ost i!!ediately accessi$le & conventional #hrases or clich<s% -othing that
would individuali;e our e,#erience" #articulari;e our res#onses% What we are a#t to say
only re!oves us fro! who we are and what we feel" assu!ing of course that one feels"
actually feels" what lies $eyond his or her language to re#resent%' I looked at 9ane"
whose $row was suddenly furrowed with concern% 'Surely" #rofessor" the role of #oetry
is not /ust a$out hel#ing us to re!e!$er what we felt at a #articular ti!e% +his !ay
ha##en to a #oet as he's writing a #oe!" $ut certainly I don't read #oe!s that way%'
9ane was right% What I had told her and Dick was a fiction% I had invented inade6uacy
on the #u$lic's #art and li!itation on the #oet's #art% I knew very well that what I
consider 'doing /ustice' in characteri;ing an event" or our feelings a$out it is in itself an
act of $etrayal" that feelings co!!unicated $y language are in fact !ade u# to rese!$le
what we i!agine our feelings to have $een" or ought to have $een% 'very #oet knows
that there has to $e so!ething in his writing that e!$odies feeling" so!ething that goes
$eyond !erely referring to it% +he #oe! !ust !ake the reader or listener $elieve that he
is inside an e!otional !o!ent" however #rotracted% +he event that would $e recalled
takes on a secondary role as if it was !erely what called forth the #oe!" si!#ly the
occasion for the release of feelings that had always dwelled in us%
(oth 9ane and Dick looked at !e oddly% '*re you alright"' asked Dick% I assured hi! that
I was" although I knew that I wasn't" at least when it ca!e to !y talk% I didn't want to $e
o$/ective% +hat would $e out of character% I didn't want to sound like a critic% +hat" too"
would $e out of character% (ecause I a! a #oet" !y stake in #oetry & its value" its
survival" the nature of the truth it tells & is #erha#s greater than it is for !ost readers%
(ecause !y own #oe!s have $een sha#ed $y the #oe!s I grew u# with" I have loyalties
which are not likely to change with the ti!es% +hat is" I a! not a$out to a$andon
Wallace Stevens /ust $ecause in the !inds of !any #eo#le" es#ecially those in the
acade!y" his #oe!s are no longer relevant and" with few e,ce#tions" don't deal with
social issues% 1or !ost #eo#le" they reek of #rivilege and see! re!ote fro! the #light of
ordinary #eo#le% *nd the language= well" the language sounds too !uch like language%
+hese are narrow&!inded views" and" I think" !istaken ones% In any case" this was
so!ething I knew I would not discuss in !y talk% I certainly wasn't going to $ring u#
!y #oetic loyalties% *nd #ro$a$ly would not say that it should $e clear to everyone that
a #oet's value is not in how well he re#resents his ti!e" $ut in how he !oves $eyond it%
It would $e foolish for a #oet to attach his #oe!s to the i!#er!anence of a cause when
what he wishes is that his #oe!s transcend the #olitical and social cli!ate in which they
were $orn% +o have written so!ething that history cannot account for or that his own
ti!e cannot take credit for is the #oet's dee#est wish% 0e writes over or across ti!e to
!ake a continuity of hu!an feeling%
3ater" while I was walking ho!e" I wondered /ust what the e,#ectations for #oetry were
on the #art of the reading #u$lic% Do they e,#ect #oe!s to sound like news#a#er #rose)
Do they wish they were easier to follow) May$e the #ro$le! with #oetry is that it draws
us inward" contri$uting to a sense of selfhood" and what !ost #eo#le want is the
o##osite% +hey want to $e entertained in ways that have nothing to do with difficulty or
with co!#le, feelings% +hey want to esca#e" to $e carried along $y language they are
fa!iliar with & the language of conventional truths" of co!!on assertions% (ecause
#oetry is !ore than anything the individual language of a #oet" #eo#le are i!#atient
with it% I su##ose !any feel it doesn't tell the! what they really want to know% (ut
no$ody should read #oetry for the kind of truth that #asses for truth in the everyday
world & whether it $e the truth of gossi# or of the !edia% Si!ilarly" no$ody should read
#oetry to find out !ore concrete infor!ation" how to get to Moscow" say" or how to $oil
an egg%
When I o#ened the door of !y a#art!ent" !y #hone was ringing% It was Dick% '*re you
really 4>" #rofessor)' '5es"' I re#lied" although I $egan to wonder how !uch uncertainty
!y face had revealed% 0ad I see!ed #athetically an,ious a$out the talk) I wanted to
change the focus" or rather the drift" of !y thinking% I was $eginning to worry !ore
a$out what !y students thought of !e than I was a$out getting !y talk written% 'I want
you and 9ane to know"' I said in a voice suddenly infused with certainty" 'that I did not
!ean to i!#ly that #eo#le read #oe!s to gauge the state of their e!otional condition
and to discover in any large or enduring way the !eaning of life% In fact" the e,#erience
of reading a #oe!" or !ost #oe!s is 6uite the o##osite% 4h" of course" there are #oe!s &
and !any are $eing written today & that #resent the reader with a slice of life and say
things like 'I went to the store today" and I saw a !an" and he looked at !e" and I looked
a hi!" and we $oth knew in a flash that we were= thieves% *nd weren't we all thieves)'
+his is e,tracting fro! everyday e,#erience a state!ent a$out life" a !oral% Such #oe!s
say what they !ean right away% *nd the #oets who write that sort of #oe! & what !ight
$e called the !etony!ic #oe! & are usually talking a$out their own e,#eriences% What
ha##ens when you read such #oe!s is that they #ut you $ack in the world you know%
?*lthough !y e,a!#le !ay see! $i;arre" even surreal" !ost !etony!ic #oe!s tell
stories that are conventional%@ When they are read in front of an audience they often
elicit a lot of head&nodding% +hey !ake the world see! friendlier" !ore co!forta$le"
$ecause they al!ost always i!#ly that here is so!eone else who had an e,#erience like
yours% (ut it is e6ually the case that the anecdotes these #oe!s offer us" and what we
$elieve is true" are in fact fictions% +hey re#resent a reduction of the real world% I !ust
ad!it I a! not a fan of such #oe!s% +here is so !uch in our own e,#erience that we
take for granted" we don't need to read #oe!s that hel# us to take those things even
!ore for granted% 5ou know what I !ean)' 'I think so"' said Dick% '5ou !ean I wasn't
clear)' 'Well" yes" you were" $ut=' '(ut what)' 'Well" if we don't find the !eaning of life
in #oe!s" what do we find in the!)' 'I'! not sure I know"' I said" 'although I do know
there's another kind of #oetry fro! the kind I've descri$ed% So!eti!es a #oe! /ust
e,ists as so!ething else in the universe that you haven't encountered $efore% It #ro#oses
another world through which we can read this world% *nd the world of such #oe!s
see!s right or true in a conte,t so!ewhat other than the one in which !ost of our
/udg!ents are !ade% +hese are not #oe!s that seek to co!fort us% (ut the #leasure they
offer an e,#erienced reader can $e dee# and long lasting% +hey don't i!itate reality or
conventional views of reality% +hey are an alternative to the #redicta$le" which !ay $e
why they don't offer !uch co!fort% *nd a reason why the #leasure they offer is often
acco!#anied $y difficulties that threaten to eradicate #leasure% +he things of this world
are rearranged" reconte,tuali;ed so that they can $e e,#erienced instead of !erely taken
for granted% *nd when we re#ort $ack to our own daily world" after e,#eriencing the
strangeness of the world reordered $y the #oet" it will look different" fresher" and have
the voice of the #oet written all over it%' '0!!"' said the student" ' how different can this
other world $e)' '5es"' I said" 'there is a #ro$le!% +he other world I'! talking a$out is
!ade of words% *nd so!ehow I kee# overlooking that i!#ortant fact% .all !e
to!orrow and !ay$e I'll have so!e idea of what I'! talking a$out%'
My confidence was shaken% 0ere I was a #oet" and I couldn't say what it was I did% +he
!ore I thought a$out !y talk" the !ore #er#le,ed and an,ious I $eca!e% *lso" if the
truth $e known" I didn't think I should $e using a student as a sounding $oard" and
actually !aking !yself de#endent on hi!" and his girlfriend% Word !ight get out% *nd I
would look ridiculous%
+he ne,t day ca!e and went and I was /ust as ignorant as I had $een% +hough I feared
looking $ad" I decided to call Dick anyway% ':ot any ideas for !y talk)' I said% +here
was silence% 'I'! only kidding"' I 6uickly added% '+he other day when I !entioned the
#oet's voice $eing written over everything" I think I was getting closer to what #oetry is
and what it does% *fter all" the reason we will read a #articular #oet is to hear his voice%
Wallace Stevens sounds like Stevens" 1rost sounds like 1rost" 0ardy like 0ardy" etc%
+heir world is in their voice & inse#ara$le fro! it% +heir language is so forceful" so
identifia$le that you read the! not to verify the !eaning or truthfulness of your own
e,#erience in the world" $ut si!#ly $ecause you want to saturate yourself with the
singularity of their voices% +he a!a;ing thing is they use the sa!e language we all use%
It's #u$lic #ro#erty" there for all of us% (ut we !ake little use of it on our own"
deferring" usually" to standards & very low ones & set $y the !edia% Well" enough of that%
-ot all of us can $e great #oets or even vigilant ones%' '0ow do they !ake the language
their own)' asked Dick% 'I don't know% I wish I did% (ut there's a #arado, in what I've /ust
said% Most #oets are #risoners of language & so!eti!es as !uch as the #u$lic is% What I
!ean is that as a #oet develo#s" he shows a #redis#osition to use certain words" which
create or suggest certain landsca#es or interiors" or certain attitudes% +hose" along with
the cadences he favors" $eco!e his identity as a #oet% It is very hard for hi! to change
his identity in !idstrea!" to acco!!odate a voca$ulary that he !ay have re/ected along
the way% +he chances are it will $e dro##ed again in favor of the words he knows will
work" $ecause finally & des#ite the value we #lace on e,#eri!entation" the courage we
feel it takes & it is !ore of his own #oe!s that he wants to write" !ore of his own
#oe!s" #oe!s that see! like they were written $y hi!% +his can $e a terri$le li!itation
if you are a #oet of few words% 1or years I ke#t using words like 'stone"' 'glass"' 'dark%' I
con/ured u# the sa!e $leak landsca#e again and again% It got $oring & $ut those were the
words that validated a #oe! for !e% I sto##ed writing #oe!s for five years% '-o"' said
the student in !ock dis$elief% '5es% *$solutely"' said I% 'I couldn't stand what I was
writing and didn't want to kee# re#eating !yself%' 'Wow7' said Dick%
+he ne,t day I was !aking !yself a s!all !eat loaf when !y !ind wandered $ack to
the lecture% I still wasn't sure that I had anything to say% +here was a great deal to say" of
course" $ut so!ething in !e wanted to hear so!eone else say it% +he !ore I thought
a$out #oetry" the !ore tenuous !y gras# of it see!ed to $e% 1or instance" I knew that
there was !ore to a #oe! than its language" $ut I couldn't #ut !y finger on what that
!ore !ight $e% +he su$/ect of !ost #oe!s tends to $e loss & the loss of love" the loss of
friends" the loss of life% +hey tend to $e sad" death&haunted affairs" $ecause if you think
dee#ly at all a$out your e,#erience" you think a$out your e,#erience in ti!e" your life"
and you can't avoid the fact that it will end in death% 'verything a$out a #oe! &
es#ecially its cadence and its !eter & is a re!inder of ti!e% In fact" a #oe! kee#s ti!e%
(ut the a!a;ing thing is that #oe!s #rovide us with #leasure% +he very words that $ring
loss to !ind are also the source of #leasure% What we have in #oe!s is loss without
#ain" loss of a different and har!less order" one that we control" that we can #ut aside or
take u#% * different actuality" different fro! the one which !ay har$or #ain" is what
allows a #oe! to $e $eautiful%
My i!#ulse was to call Dick right away% +he talk didn't see! as i!#ossi$le as it once
had% I o#ened a can of $eer and was a$out to take a swig when the #hone rang% I though
it !ight $e Dick" $ut it was 9ane% 'I've got another 6uestion" Professor%' 'What is it)' I
said% 'Well" you !ight not want to deal with this in your talk" $ut I've always wanted to
know the difference $etween #oetry and fiction% I know they're different" I've /ust never
known what the difference is%' 'Well"' I said so!ewhat tentatively"' I think a #oet's focus
is not 6uite what a fiction writer's is" it's not so fi,ed on the world outside% It's fi,ed on
that area where inside !eets the outside" where the #oet's sensi$ility !eets the weather"
!eets the street" !eets other #eo#le" !eets what he reads% So a #oet descri$es that #oint
of contact" and inha$its it when he is writingA the edge of the self" the edge of the world
& that shadow&land $etween self and reality% So!eti!es the focus is ti##ed slightly in
favor of the self" so!eti!es" !ore o$/ectively" in favor of the world% So!eti!es" when
the $alance is ti##ed towards the self" strange things are said% *fter all" the farther you
are fro! the world that everyone recogni;es as the world" the odder it looks% So!e
novels do re#ort on this li!inal s#ace" $ut !ost do not% +hey are focused on what's 'out
there"' and the novelist erases hi!self to insure the autono!y of the narrative% * #oet
would never erase hi!self% 1or it is his voice that is the #oe!% Does that !ake any
sense)' 'Sort of"' she said% *t which #oint I $egan to think I would go !ad trying to
!ake sense out of what I do% I told 9ane that I was as du$ious a$out what I had $een
saying as she was% I said to her" 'May$e I shouldn't try to !ake sense of what I do% When
I write" I do not !ake !yself understand what I'! saying% So!eti!es I do" so!eti!es I
don't%' 'eally)' said 9ane% *nd then I reali;ed I !ight have said too !uch% 'Well #erha#s
I'! e,aggerating" $ut I do feel that #eo#le's e,#ectations are !isdirected when all they
want is to understand a #oe!% It is one of the e,as#erating things a$out the way #oetry
is taught% It is assu!ed that an understanding of the #oe! is the sa!e as the e,#erience
of the #oe!% 4ften the e,#erience of a #oe! & a good #oe! & will elude understanding%
-ot totally" of course" $ut enough" enough to have us $e close to what lies /ust out of
reach% I think that for !ost #oets in the writing of their #oe!s there is a #oint when
language takes over and they follow it% Suddenly" it /ust sounds right% In !y case & and I
don't like to $ring !yself u# in this way & I trust the i!#lication of what I a! saying"
even though I a! not a$solutely sure of what it is that I a! saying% I'! /ust willing to let
it $e% (ecause if I were sure of whatever it was that I said in !y #oe!s" if I were sure"
and I could verify and check it out and feel" yes" I've said what I intended" I don't think
the #oe! would $e s!arter than I a!% *t any rate" to get $ack to what I was saying a
!o!ent ago: it is '$eyondness"' or that de#th that you reach in a #oe! that kee#s you
returning to it% I su##ose you have to like $eing !ystified% +hat which can't $e e,#lained
away or easily understood in a #oe!" that #lace which is unreacha$le or !ysterious is
where the #oe! $eco!es ours" finally $eco!es the #ossession of the reader% I !ean" in
the act of figuring it out" of #ursuing !eaning" of trying to characteri;e the e,#erience
of it" the reader is a$sor$ing the #oe!" even though there's an a$sence there or
so!ething that doesn't 6uite !atch u# with his e,#erience" it $eco!es !ore and !ore
his% *nd what $eco!es his is" of course" generated $y language" language designed to
!ake hi! feel connected to so!ething that he doesn't understand% 0e co!es into
#ossession of a !ystery" and instead of $eing frightened $y it" he feels that he has so!e
control over it% (ut does he) 4r is it si!#ly that language has #er!itted hi! the illusion
of control) My own e,#erience suggests that language allows !e the feeling that it can
go only as far as !y consciousness will take it" even though I know the o##osite is true"
that I go where language leads% *nd it leads !e again and again to the sense that it is
holding so!ething $ack" that it contains !ore than I can #ossi$ly gras#" that !ysteries
e,ist" and are encountered !ost seductively in #oe!s% I even feel at ti!es that #oe!s
are the #rotective shell of the seductiveness of language% What a! I talking a$out) 'ven
the !eaning of the #hrase I've /ust uttered suddenly eludes !e%' '5ou're hard on
yourself"' said 9ane% '-o% -o% I'! /ust /oking"' I said" knowing that I wasn't and that I was
still not sure what I would say in !y talk% 'I have the feeling"' I said" 'that to!orrow
so!ething will ha##en% 3ightning will strike" and I'll write !y talk" or it will write
itself%' I was running out of ti!e% In the #ast" another Mark Strand would co!e to the
rescue and get the /o$ done% (ut where was he now) Perha#s $ecause he gets no credit
for what he does" e,ce#t #rivately fro! !e" he decided not to show u#" leaving !e" the
la;y" everyday Strand" to face the !usic alone% 'Professor are you there)' said 9ane% 'Sort
of"' I said" 'I think I'! going to have to rethink !y talk yet again%' 'I'! sure you'll get it
done" #rofessor%' 'We'll see"' I said" 'tune in to!orrow for the latest%'
+o!orrow $rought !e nothing new" no new ideas% More days went $y% -o calls fro!
Dick or 9ane% I decided I needed so!e #ot roast" so!e food that would rela, !e% I went
to the su#er !arket and #icked u# a ru!# roast" and" while I was there" a -ew 5ork
+i!es% I dashed ho!e and 6uickly started to #re#are the roast% I was so occu#ied that I
al!ost didn't hear the #hone ring% I ran over and #icked it u#% '0i" #rofessor" it's Dick
and 9ane% 9ane is sitting ne,t to !e% *nyway" the reason you haven't heard fro! us is
that we thought we'd stay out of your hair and give you ti!e to finish your talk% So"
how's it going)' '1ine"' I said" leafing through the -ew 5ork +i!es" 'I've al!ost $egun%'
+he #ot roast" even though I was !erely getting it ready" was working its !agic"
converting !y an,ious state into sanguine one% '5es" I #lan to $egin any ti!e now%' *t
that instant" I was starting an article a$out the new .handra telesco#e" using ,&rays to
see into the hearts of gala,ies% I had $arely glanced at the first #aragra#h when I said to
Dick that I wanted to read hi! so!ething that would have a great deal to do with what I
was a$out to write% I read hi! the following:
Deep space phenomena that emit X-rays are the cosmic equivalent of extreme sports.
Electromagnetic waves that are thousands of times more energetic than the visible and
ultraviolet light given off by lazy nebulas and placidly burning stars, and invisible to
the naed eye, X-rays stream from gigantic explosions, matter smashing together at
nearly the speed of light, and gases so hot that they cannot be detected with ordinary
telescopes. !f the visible universe is a relaxing bridge match, its X-ray counterpart is
sy surfing from "#, ### feet.
'+hat's terrific"' said Dick% 'I'! not so sure"' I said%
+hat night" after #ot roast" #otatoes" and a frisee and endive salad with !ustard
vinagrette" I fell into a drea!y consideration of gala,ies and how they are re#resented
down here on #lanet 'arth% I re!e!$ered what I had said to 9ane a$out the !ystery at
the heart of #oe!s" and how we can get close to it without understanding it" acce#t it
and $e thrilled $y it without knowing what it is% eading the -ew 5ork +i!es article" I
was struck $y how it atte!#ted to e,#lain so!ething whose force is essentially
!ysterious and frightening% Whenever I look into the night at the thousands of stars that
can $e seen with the naked eye" I a! terrified% *nd when I think that there are $illions
!ore that I cannot see" I want to go indoors and never look u# again% 1or !e" outer
s#ace has always $een a source of intense fear% It is a hugeness that is inconceiva$le% I
stare at the night sky and cannot i!agine that those #inholes e,ist light years away"
so!eti!es thousands and thousands of light years away% +he nu!$ers are staggering% I
cannot conceive of even one light year% 4h" I can say 'one light year"' $ut I can't
e,#erience it% +here is a #arado, in this% +hat is" I see what I cannot i!agine" and what
is true is not what I see% .learly" !y ignorance #lays a role in !y fear% My ignorance
and !y lack of language% Perha#s they are the sa!e% I wonder what it is like for
astrono!ers and !athe!aticians to look u# into the night% Do they e,#erience anything
like what I do) 4r do they have a language & the language of their #articular disci#lines
& that allows the! the co!forta$le illusion that they are on fa!iliar ter!s with what is
'out there') Does the fact of their s#ending everyday with re#resentations ?#hotogra#hic
and nu!erical@ of the thousands of gala,ies tend to do!esticate the wilderness of s#ace"
!ake it" nu!erically at least" a conceiva$le reality) 4r do they feel that their language
re!oves the! fro! actuality) I wish I knew% My own re#resentations & if they were to
e,ist & would veer straight into the safety ;one of $anality% +his re!inds !e of what I
told 9ane a cou#le of days ago & or was it weeks) & a$out how !ost of us kee# silent in
res#onse to dee# feeling $ecause we don't have the language to do /ustice to it% May$e
there is !ore to what I said than I thought at the ti!e) (ut !y inade6uacy in dealing
with the !agnitude of the heavens is not 6uite the sa!e as 9ohn Doe's ina$ility to
!e!oriali;e a significant event% What we share" however" is our s#eechlessness $efore
e,#eriences that are inco!#rehensi$le% +he first #aragra#h of the -ew 5ork +i!es #iece
atte!#ts to descri$e what is not visi$le to the naked eye" nor seen in #revious close&u#s
of the gala,ies% We are told that electro!agnetic waves are thousands of ti!es !ore
energetic than the ultraviolet light given off $y la;y ne$ulas and #lacidly $urning stars%
+his" it see!s to !e" is an atte!#t to $ring the heavens down to earth" give it attri$utes
that we are fa!iliar with% 5et I wonder in what way are the ne$ulas la;y and stars
#lacid% *re they that !uch like us) It is a co!forting thought" an i!age that
characteri;es our gala,y&strewn cos!os as unthreatening% *nd then to draw an even
greater distinction $etween the visi$le universe and its B&ray counter#art" we are told
that the la;y one is a rela,ing $ridge&!atch and the other is sky surfing fro! C0" 000
feet% Such i!ages" in an atte!#t to give us a sense of what is ha##ening in s#ace"
succeed #ri!arily in under!ining its hugeness $y using !eta#hors that ta!e and
triviali;e% Where is the truth factor if we are asked to i!agine stars" ne$ulas" gala,ies as
$ridge ga!es and sky surfing) *re we in s#ace or $ack ho!e) It !ay $e asking too
!uch to have /ournalis! $e as scru#ulous a$out language as #oetry" and to $ring us
close" as #oetry does" to the !ystery of what is% 9ournalis! would have to do what it is
not su##osed to" which is to !ake u# the truth% * #oet wouldn't re#ort on what he sees"
he would #resent what he i!agines% *nd the result !ight say !ore a$out the
aweso!eness of gala,iesA and that the scale of their reality is far greater than what we in
our sense&$ound reality can conceive of" and that it forces us to consider the scale of our
lives" our li!itations" to a degree that can $e trau!ati;ing%
+hinking a$out the -ew 5ork +i!es article !ade !e slee#y" $ut also !ade !e reali;e
that I could not #ossi$ly discuss it in !y lecture% It would lead nowhere% I didn't know
what I would do% Most of what I could say" I've already said !any ti!es% I wanted to
write so!ething different & so!ething at least that would sound different% *las" !y !ind
was a $lank% May$e I could write a$out that7 9ust as I was getting ready to $rush !y
teeth" the #hone rang% I figured it would $e Dick% I was afraid he'd ask !e if I'd written
a$out the -ew 5ork +i!es #iece% Still" I #icked u# the receiver% '4h" hi #rofessor" it's
!e" Dick% I was wondering if you'd written anything a$out that #aragra#h%' 'Well" Dick"'
I said" 'I thought a$out it" $ut decided not to%' '4h" what a sha!e"' said Dick% 0e sounded
heart $roken% '*ctually" Dick"' I said" 'I don't think I'll $e giving the talk% I'! convinced
that the $est thing I could do would $e to end it now" $efore I $egan%'
Mark Strand