I never know how to review a book of poetry. I learned in the preface that the five books that make up Paterson were originally published in separate volumes in 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, and 1958, and that through the various printings of the work, the text changed. In this 1992 edition, all five books were collected, and the editor studied all the manuscripts, galleys, and proof pages to decide which versions to include. Anyway, Paterson is a city near me in New Jersey, and also near where William Carlos Williams lived. Its main geographical feature is the Great Falls on the Passaic River, which looms above the city, and the books of the poem metaphorically follow the course of that river as it meanders through northern New Jersey and then ultimately out to the sea. The poetry is both about the city of Paterson but also about Williams's life and the history of the whole region. No wonder it is such a masterpiece! This edition, edited by Christopher MacGowan, has lots of interesting footnotes and explanatory material. I first read this poem in my teens before I ever moved to New Jersey and became familiar with these places. My own experiences and the notes helped make it so much more. ( )

Reading Books I-IV (especially Book II) was the most exciting, energetic, and formally refreshing reading experience I've had, I think, ever. I haven't been this convinced on the merits and distinctions of poetry since I read Ondaatje's The Collected Poems of Billy the Kid. Paterson feels like something one re-enters half a dozen times in their lifetime. I feel like carrying it around like a bible.

We know nothing and can know nothing
but the dance, to dance to a measure
contrapuntally,
Satyrically, the tragic foot.

Listen to me as an Everyman. Humble, belabored with a smile and some snark amidst the hopeless. I rise eager each morning, maybe a little fuzzy but poised. I truly lack ambition beyond my wife, my books and my job. Please shield me, my flabby exterior.

A man is indeed a city, and for the poet there are no ideas but in things

I have lived in a smallish river town most of my life. Louisville is just across the bridge. Our falls though mentioned in Paterson are empty of laurels. I can't strive to the Eternal in the night, the labor of the day keeps me weedy---and thirsty. This was a triumph, unexpected to a degree. Paterson is an admixture of form, a blurring of geology, human folly and the gleam of the moment. Consider me enriched. ( )

Paterson es un poema-libro dividido en cinco partes, con una estructura orgánica. Es la obra fundamental de Williams y en la que estuvo trabajando durante casi veinte años. Esta edición incluye también los fragmentos de lo que habría de ser el libro VI. El poema es una obra con pretensión de escritura total: dar razón de una tierra, de la historia de un pueblo y de las vicisitudes de algunos personajes concretos, de manera que a través de la historia de una ciudad se intentan rastrear las huellas de toda la historia americana. El lenguaje está integrado en el experimento narrativo, y Williams lo fuerza, lo distorsiona y lo pone al servicio de los acontecimientos. ( )

This was difficult certainly, but also beautiful. The images here were memorable and often touching, with fascinating artifacts such as letters and news pieces scattered throughout. I have no doubt that this book is one of the reasons that some people hate poetry, because it is frustrating at many points, but I think it's also worthwhile. It's one I'm going to have to go back and reread in full a few months from now. I should say that some of my classmates found this extremely sexist at points, but for the most part I simply disagreed with that assessment. For me, this is a journey searching for identity, particularly in line with the artist. I enjoyed it verymuch, though I feel Williams should have made it a bit more reader-friendly overall. ( )