American Modernisms Paper: Influence of Poetry on Painting

The Great Figure

William Carlos Williams

Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
fire truck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.

Charles Demuth "I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold," 1928

Panic has set in. For some reason or another, I always seem to put off researching and writing papers. I wasn't worried about this one at all - for one thing, a friend assured me that usually this paricular prof puts off the due date of the papers until after Thanksgiving. Great. Except she hasn't. And that's fine. It can be done - I still have 10 days to research and write this paper. I've done it before and I'm sure it won't be the last time I put something off. But right now, it's go time.

Which is why I had my father give me a wake- up call at 9 am to make sure I got out of bed. (Getting out of bed at 9 am on a Saturday never ever ever seems to happen for me - even with the best intentions.) Awake, showered, dressed, - I am out the door to Alterra to research, and type notes. Unfortunately this will mean I will smell like espresso for the rest of the day. I'll take a short break when dearest Hilary Young comes to town - dinner - drinks - coffee? - movie?? - and then I'll send her off to Madison and continue typing again.

So, my paper is basically about the collaboration between writers and artists in the early 20th century. The particular poet I'm using is William Carlos Williams - if you read my blog - you've seen his name before - and I'm talking of how he influenced his painter friends Charles Demuth and Marsden Hartley and even how his work meshes well with Joseph Stella. I was going to delve into using Walt Whitman - but I'm finding a lot of material on W.C. Williams - and I think I can write a 20 page paper - just about him.... maybe introducing Whitman just a bit.

In the poem/ painting combination above, Demuth painted this "poster-painting" as an emblematic portrait of his friend William Carlos Williams. Williams' poem was written first. I think if you look closely, you can see the front of a fire engine coming at you - as well as perhaps the side of the fire engine. This is called cubist realism. The form is not completely dissolved or fractured into specific movements - you can still see the engine, the streetlights behind it, and buildings. Demuth also uses text to indicate the subject of the painting "Bill" and "Carlos" are both nicknames that Williams went by.

Gotta run!

Emily