American Poetry

for Students of English Worldwide

..............Jack Kimball.............

The Beautiful Argument:

Generalization and Refutation with TONY TOWLE

Tony Towle, a New York art critic and poet, makes playful general
statements (using words like every and always). He develops these generalizations into
even more playful, elegant and specific (that is, detailed) observations. When reading the
following two poems, consider the beauty of his logic and his fascinating generalizations.

Highway

Looking off in the ocean of color

the world is understood,
a tossing city of nightingale confusion,
through which is seen also a window
in the repeated necessity to be seen.

The rest is history,

the sun moving further away
in the space of the previous moment
to create a space at either end,
another trip into the distance,

from which the eye looks out once more,

once more provoked by its limitations,
and on the point always of departure
and to the furthest sea of color
in the normal creation of distance.

For Rachel

Hello Mr. Mirror, where is Mrs. Mirror?

On the other side.
Oh, thank you. Hello Mrs. Mirror,
where is Mr. Mirror?
On the other side.
Oh, thank you: hello Mr. Mirror.
Hello Mrs. Water,
where is Mr. Water?
In the sink, with me.
Every day some of us goes down the drain,
to a new house, the big river,
and to a dark new house, the dark ocean.
On the top we touch the blue children of sky,
and always we look back
everywhere through ourselves for the rest of us,
and see us.

Match the words from Tony Towle's two poems in "A" with words in "B" that mean the
SAME.

drain _______
creation _______
repeated _______
provoked _______
everywhere_______
moment _______
sink _______

in all places
point in time
water basin
opening to a water pipe
existence
duplicated
incited

Match the words from the poems in "A" with words in "B" that mean the OPPOSITE.

A
tossing _______
departure _______
normal _______
confusion _______
necessity _______
previous _______
limitations _______

option
odd
calm
future
freedom
arrival
clarity

In Highway "the world is understood" is a generalization. What words later in the poem
make this generalization more specific?

How does the writer explain the generalization, "the rest is history"?

Quoting from Highway, refute (that is, disagree with) the following statement: The eye is
blind but at peace with its freedom.

Again, quoting from Highway, refute this statement: Existence is incomprehensible.

Find at least one generalization in For Rachel.

Find a metaphor for "ourselves."

What does "going down the drain" mean?

Quoting from For Rachel, disagree with this statement: No one ever fails.
Step 1: Create a few general statements of your own. For example:

Television is always a big waste of time.

Outer space must be very beautiful.

Step 2: Develop some ideas that refute (or disagree with) your generalizations. Like
these:

Every day there is something to learn on TV.

Outer space will always be very dangerous to travel through.

Step 3: Write down some details that develop both your generalizations and refutations.
For instance:

TV is a waste:

too many commercials

violence

TV is educational:

lots of news
variety of information

Now write a poem using two or more generalizations and at least one refutation. Be sure
to give specific details to expand your statements. Try to include one statement that is an
outright lie!! Have fun!!

American Poetry
for Students of English Worldwide

..............Jack Kimball.............

The Beautiful Argument:

Generalization and Refutation with TONY TOWLE

Tony Towle, a New York art critic and poet, makes playful general
statements (using words like every and always). He develops these generalizations into
even more playful, elegant and specific (that is, detailed) observations. When reading the
following two poems, consider the beauty of his logic and his fascinating generalizations.
Highway

Looking off in the ocean of color

the world is understood,
a tossing city of nightingale confusion,
through which is seen also a window
in the repeated necessity to be seen.

The rest is history,

the sun moving further away
in the space of the previous moment
to create a space at either end,
another trip into the distance,

from which the eye looks out once more,

once more provoked by its limitations,
and on the point always of departure
and to the furthest sea of color
in the normal creation of distance.

For Rachel

Hello Mr. Mirror, where is Mrs. Mirror?

On the other side.
Oh, thank you. Hello Mrs. Mirror,
where is Mr. Mirror?
On the other side.
Oh, thank you: hello Mr. Mirror.
Hello Mrs. Water,
where is Mr. Water?
In the sink, with me.
Every day some of us goes down the drain,
to a new house, the big river,
and to a dark new house, the dark ocean.
On the top we touch the blue children of sky,
and always we look back
everywhere through ourselves for the rest of us,
and see us.

Match the words from Tony Towle's two poems in "A" with words in "B" that mean the
SAME.
A

drain _______
creation _______
repeated _______
provoked _______
everywhere_______
moment _______
sink _______

in all places
point in time
water basin
opening to a water pipe
existence
duplicated
incited

Match the words from the poems in "A" with words in "B" that mean the OPPOSITE.

tossing _______
departure _______
normal _______
confusion _______
necessity _______
previous _______
limitations _______

option
odd
calm
future
freedom
arrival
clarity
In Highway "the world is understood" is a generalization. What words later in the poem
make this generalization more specific?

How does the writer explain the generalization, "the rest is history"?

Quoting from Highway, refute (that is, disagree with) the following statement: The eye is
blind but at peace with its freedom.

Again, quoting from Highway, refute this statement: Existence is incomprehensible.

Find at least one generalization in For Rachel.

Find a metaphor for "ourselves."

What does "going down the drain" mean?

Quoting from For Rachel, disagree with this statement: No one ever fails.

Step 1: Create a few general statements of your own. For example:

Television is always a big waste of time.

Outer space must be very beautiful.

Step 2: Develop some ideas that refute (or disagree with) your generalizations. Like
these:

Every day there is something to learn on TV.

Outer space will always be very dangerous to travel through.

Step 3: Write down some details that develop both your generalizations and refutations.
For instance:

TV is a waste:

too many commercials

violence
TV is educational:

lots of news
variety of information

Now write a poem using two or more generalizations and at least one refutation. Be sure
to give specific details to expand your statements. Try to include one statement that is an
outright lie!! Have fun!!

Look Out!
Points of View with WALLACE STEVENS

One of the reasons we read poetry is to learn fresh ways of experiencing

the world and expressing it. Inevitably we confront new vocabulary as well. For example,
how many of these words are new to you?

pantomime: silent acting

converge: to come together or meet; to intersect
beams: light rays
cedar: evergreen tree
inflection: change in voice
limb: branch
innuendo: an indirect expression, a suggestion, a hint
lucid: clear
valley: lowland
inescapable: unavoidable

Wallace Stevens creates poetry which asks us to look carefully at the world. People,
things and ideas change, of course, when we shift our viewpoint. Look at friend, then
move to the left and a few feet forward or backward. What changes? Imagine all the
changes you and your friend will go through an hour from now, a year from now, and so
on. Point: when we consider how easily everything changes, we are thinking more
completely. The following verses demonstrate this.

Valley Candle

My candle burned alone in an immense valley.

Beams of the huge night converged upon it,
Until the wind blew.
The beams of the huge night
Converged upon its image,
Until the wind blew.

From: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

1
Among twenty snowy mountains
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird.

2
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.

3
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

4
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.

5
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes.
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
8
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

9
When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.

12
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be going.

13
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar limbs.

From reading these poems, write words that mean the SAME as the following words used
by Wallace Stevens:

1) out of sight _______

2) inflections _______
3) prefer _______
4) whirled in autumn _______
5) cedar limbs _______
6) involved _______
7) until _______
8) lucid _______
9) edge _______
10) evening _______

Decide if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1) "Noble" means "lowly."
2) "Innuendoes" means "hints."
3) "Inflections" means "tone differences."
4) "Pantomime" is noisy.
5) "Prefer" means "not to like."
6) "Spun" is another word for "whirled."
7) "Accent" is a variation in sound.
8) "Inescapable" means "avoidable."
9) "To split up" is another way of saying "to converge."
10) "Huge" and "immense" mean the same.
11) A picture in the mind is an "image."
12) "Ridge" is another word for "edge."

In the poem Valley Candle, there is a shift in view. What difference is there between the
first time the wind blew and the second?

What causes the "beams"? And what are the effects of the "beams"?

Can you express "huge night" in other words?

In reviewing the short verses from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, find the
verse that describes the sound effects of the blackbird.

Does the writer view blackbirds in different ways?

What words prove this?

What feelings are in Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird?

The blackbird "whirled." The blackbird flies in circles. It is "whistling." Find other
images that describe the blackbirds' actions.

Using words from the poems if you like, explain why the speaker states: "A man and a
woman are one" and "I was of three minds."

Here are some responses other students have made to Wallace Stevens' poems. Notice
how each presents various points of view.
Four Ways of Looking at Scissors (by Valerie Goodall)

When I look at scissors I see people dancing.

When I look at scissors I can see a piece of
paper being cut.
When I look at a broken branch, I can see a
scissors.

Untitled (by Richard Ulloa)

I see Jose as a romantic singer.

I see Jose as a wild girl-chaser.
He doesn't only chase girls, but faints for
them.

The Four Thinker Ring (by Lynne Reiff)

1. My ring makes me think of Valentine's Day.

2. I had this ring for a long time.
3. When I wear it, it makes me think of my
heart, because it's shaped like a heart.
4. My ring makes me think of a day in the
winter when it's snowing very hard and
people are happy.

Re-read the verses from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird and Valley Candle.
Write a poem (or a few!) about anything you look at from different viewpoints, different
angles. For example, think about something at night and during the day. Let it move and
make noise. Then let it be quiet. Change the seasons. Like it and dislike it. Hide it in
some bushes. Throw it high in the air.