The Match-Flare Poetry of Charles Simic

It's hard to describe that feeling when a poem, or work of art, takes your breath away; as though this is what you've always waited for but didn't quite know it. I felt that, on seeing the short poem: Fork, by Serbian-American Charles Simic. I love the way he riffs on a simple everyday object. There's a slightly surreal quality to his metaphors that reminds me of Magritte's paintings; again, very familiar objects, in new and surprising juxtapositions (e.g. the boots that turn into feet). 

  

His imagery strikes deep, unexpected impressions that linger. Fascinated how early experiences can shape a person's life, and work; an anecdote about his childhood in Belgrade, in a Mark Ford interview, Paris Review, is very revealing. Watching German soldiers march past his window, he saw a little white dog run among their feet: 'A kick made him fly as if he had wings / that's what I keep seeing! / Night coming down. A dog with wings'. Displaced; evacuated; incarcerated: engendered an empathy for the displaced in life. It also fostered that surreal view of 'everyday' 'normal' life.

There's a humour in his work that's delightful, and just as surprising as his metaphors.

But as co-editor of Paris Review, he's a keen eye for what makes poetry work. 

                  

There's a wonderful mixture of so many influences and nuances in the poetry of Simic - you never know what you're going to get next - but it's more than likely a treat. 

            

One of those gems you are lucky to stumble across and treasure.

        

         
       


                                    Enjoy!