Candlemas, Vermont

link to the Google Book of G.C. Waldrep's Disclamor - poem appears in full (page 24)

"Candlemas, Vermont" is a short piece that appears in the first portion of G.C. Waldrep's Disclamor (2007), a collection of postmodern poetry our class has been discussing. The first thing I'm struck by in this piece is its form: more specifically, its relative lack of form in comparison to many of the other poems featured in the volume (notably the "battery poems"). After reading so many pieces in this book where the physical imagery of the poem is an integral, if not essential, element of the work, "Candlemas" is a refreshing change of pace. It is written almost conversationally, and flows effortlessly from start to finish, strikingly different from the suddenness and severity present in such Disclamor poems as "Bergson's Arrow" or "Nihil Obstat." In the piece, the author seems to be remembering a past event or memory, possibly with an old (or current) love interest. He details their walk through a path of pine needles and unexpected discovery of a patch of Indian pipe corpse plant.

In its reminiscent nature, and also in its narrative-like form, "Candlemas, Vermont" reminds me a lot of "Travel," a piece from Mark Strand's The Continuous Life (1990).  It's worth noting that Candlemas, Vermont seems to be a fictional place (at least from what I can gather with the assistance of Google). In this regard I tend to approach the piece as an amalgamation of fiction and reality - there are certainly parts of the poem that I don't read as literal (such as its location) but there are also scenes that are so strikingly detailed and described, such as the speaker's description of the corpse plants, that they suggest very real experiences.

My favorite theme from the poem is also an exact quote contained within: "... the prospect of finding that for which one had not known one was searching..." This theme of unexpected discovery is one that I've experienced firsthand while reading through Disclamor, as I am beginning to realize in a new way the importance a poem's layout/physical structure can have on its overall meaning or effect on the reader. This, perhaps, has been Disclamor's greatest effect on me: it has begun to show me how form is one of the most effective methods contemporary poets can use in their writing to "make poetry new!" as my teacher so often says.