Robert Creeley: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: Robert Creeley, the first forty years
Review: As a longtime reader of Robert Creeley's work, I was looking
forward to this biography. I should have figured that Creeley
would not authorize a "traditional" biographer, and Ekbert Faas's
juxtaposition of different perspectives and inclusion of a huge
chunk of (Creeley's first wife) Ann MacKinnon's autobiography/
diary as a 100 page coda make the book somewhat non-traditional
(although the "life-writing" technique, where the "voice" of
Creeley is present in the narrative, should be familiar to
any reader of Nick Tosches' fine biography of Dean Martin).
Creeley's pre-1970 poems would sometimes take a seemingly autobiographical moment and view it in intense detail, or take
a slice of the persona's stream-of-consciousness and break it
down into extreme close-up (not just to the level of the word,
but to the level of the syllable). This biography now provides
the "background" for those works. Many intimate details are given, but fortunately we are spared TOO MUCH intimate detail
and Mr. Creeley is able to keep some things private!
The book also does a fine job of showing Creeley's complex
relationships with literary figures and the literary community
over the years--RC has always devoted a lot of time to championing the
work of his fellow writers (and thus turned me on
to many writers who have become important components in my life--
thank you, Mr. Creeley!).
My only complaint about this book is that right near the end (before the MacKinnon narrative), biographer Faas pretty much
trashes the 80s/90s career of Creeley. It's as if Creeley's
work (and, as written by Faas, his life too!) has become bland
and commercial because RC is no longer as combative and angry
and frayed-at-the-edges. This reminds me of the people who
accuse punk-rockers of "selling out" when they stop cutting themselves with razorblades and smashing their heads against
concrete walls when they get past age 40. What's wrong with
Mr. Creeley enjoying life more, settling down, finding the
eternal verities in the commonplace, and being a happy person?
I admire the man's ability to evolve, and his work still uses
language in fresh and unexpected ways while leading me to see
life and relationships in similarly fresh and unexpected ways.
Faas's inability to see the "whole picture" of Creeley's life
leads me to question how much he really understood Creeley at
ANY period in his life.
Still, this is a necessary work for any Creeley reader or anyone
who cares about post-WWII American poetry.
I also commend Creeley for allowing his biographer such freedom (I'm reminded of Bob Dylan's film DON'T LOOK BACK
in that way), although I came away from the book with even more
respect for the man. Poetry is an important part of many people's
lives thanks to Robert Creeley (both through his own pioneering
work and his tireless championing of and providing an entryway into others' works), and this book does give the reader a sense
of the man behind the work.

Rating:
Summary: Robert Creeley, the first forty years
Review: As a longtime reader of Robert Creeley's work, I was looking
forward to this biography. I should have figured that Creeley
would not authorize a "traditional" biographer, and Ekbert Faas's
juxtaposition of different perspectives and inclusion of a huge
chunk of (Creeley's first wife) Ann MacKinnon's autobiography/
diary as a 100 page coda make the book somewhat non-traditional
(although the "life-writing" technique, where the "voice" of
Creeley is present in the narrative, should be familiar to
any reader of Nick Tosches' fine biography of Dean Martin).
Creeley's pre-1970 poems would sometimes take a seemingly autobiographical moment and view it in intense detail, or take
a slice of the persona's stream-of-consciousness and break it
down into extreme close-up (not just to the level of the word,
but to the level of the syllable). This biography now provides
the "background" for those works. Many intimate details are given, but fortunately we are spared TOO MUCH intimate detail
and Mr. Creeley is able to keep some things private!
The book also does a fine job of showing Creeley's complex
relationships with literary figures and the literary community
over the years--RC has always devoted a lot of time to championing the
work of his fellow writers (and thus turned me on
to many writers who have become important components in my life--
thank you, Mr. Creeley!).
My only complaint about this book is that right near the end (before the MacKinnon narrative), biographer Faas pretty much
trashes the 80s/90s career of Creeley. It's as if Creeley's
work (and, as written by Faas, his life too!) has become bland
and commercial because RC is no longer as combative and angry
and frayed-at-the-edges. This reminds me of the people who
accuse punk-rockers of "selling out" when they stop cutting themselves with razorblades and smashing their heads against
concrete walls when they get past age 40. What's wrong with
Mr. Creeley enjoying life more, settling down, finding the
eternal verities in the commonplace, and being a happy person?
I admire the man's ability to evolve, and his work still uses
language in fresh and unexpected ways while leading me to see
life and relationships in similarly fresh and unexpected ways.
Faas's inability to see the "whole picture" of Creeley's life
leads me to question how much he really understood Creeley at
ANY period in his life.
Still, this is a necessary work for any Creeley reader or anyone
who cares about post-WWII American poetry.
I also commend Creeley for allowing his biographer such freedom (I'm reminded of Bob Dylan's film DON'T LOOK BACK
in that way), although I came away from the book with even more
respect for the man. Poetry is an important part of many people's
lives thanks to Robert Creeley (both through his own pioneering
work and his tireless championing of and providing an entryway into others' works), and this book does give the reader a sense
of the man behind the work.