Niedecker’s Way

May 9, 11:05 AMChicago Poetry Scene ExaminerLarry Sawyer

Previous

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago Poetry Scene Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Niedecker has even re-emerged lately on Facebook.

"Lorine Niedecker is the best living poet. No one says so much with so few words. Dickinson is good much of the time, but Niedecker is good all of the time."
—Basil Bunting

I’m imagining Lorine Niedecker (1903 – 1970) as a Mafia don living in a cabin north of Chicago on the hideout from the law, but running the whole city like a criminal empire. Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth, but given Chicago’s mob history, I sometimes place some of the poets here, living and departed, into other scenarios for a smile and wonder what poet would’ve led Chicago’s poet mafia. I think Niedecker is certainly most deserving. No matter that she lived most of her life about two hours from Chicago by car.

Ray Bianchi put up an interesting blog the other day about the new Niedecker documentary, which got me thinking again about the role played by this poet in the landscape of Chicago and environs.

Sometimes a poet’s life does overshadow a poet’s work, but when the life is left out of the retelling of poet’s history it becomes revisionist.

I’m thinking of getting out today to see Little Ashes the Dali/Lorca film. For more on Niedecker have a look at the links below.