Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)

A selective list of online literary criticism for poet Theodore Roethke, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars, articles published in reviewed sources, and web sites that adhere to the Modern Language Association Guidelines for Web Pages

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Literary criticism

Barillas, William. The Midwestern Pastoral: Place and Landscape in Literature of the American Heartland. (Ohio Univ. Press) Offers "fresh readings of Willa Cather, Aldo Leopold, Theodore Roethke, James Wright, Jim Harrison, Ted Kooser, and other writers." Publisher's blurb. Also, a review. Foreward, Oct./Nov. 2006

Blessing, Richard Allen. A review of Theodore Roethke's Dynamic Vision. First page of article only. Reviewer Paul Mariani. Contemporary Literature 17 (Winter, 1976)

Bogen, Don. "From Open House to the Greenhouse: Theodore Roethke's Poetic Breakthrough." First page of article only. ELH 47 (Summer 1980)

Hirsch, David H. Reviews of two scholarly books on Theodore Roethke: The Echoing Wood of Theodore Roethke by Jenijoy La Belle; and Theodore Roethke: The Garden Master by Rosemary Sullivan. First page of article only. Contemporary Literature 19 (Spring, 1978)

Hirsch, Edward, ed. A review of Theodore Roethke, edited by Edward Hirsch (The Library of America). Reviewed By Vincent D. Balitas in the Washington Times, 2005

Mazzaro, Jerome. Two scholarly books on Theodore Roethke reviewed: Theodore Roethke: An American Romantic. by Jay Parini; and The Universal Drum: Dance Imagery in the Poetry of Eliot, Crane, Roethke, and Williams. by Audrey T. Rodgers. First page of article only. American Literature 52 (Nov. 1980)

Mckenna, John J. Roethke's Revisions and the Tone of "My Papa's Waltz." ANQ, Spring 1998

Introduction

"Theodore Roethke." Excerpts from important critics on Theodore Roethke, includes sections: Roethke's Life and Career; A Roethke Chronology; On "Cuttings" and "Cuttings (Later)"; On "Frau Bauman, Frau Schmidt, and Frau Schwartz"; On "The Flight" (from "The Lost Son"); On "The Lost Son"; On "I Knew a Woman"; On "North American Sequence"; An Essay on "North American Sequence," by Cary Nelson; "Regions of the Self: Theodore Roethke's North American Sequence." Modern American Poetry. Ed. Cary Nelson and Walter Kalaidjian

"Theodore Roethke." An introduction to Roethke from the Academy of American Poets

"Theodore Roethke." Brief biography of Roethke from "I Hear America Singing," PBS

Stout, Janis. "Theodore Roethke." Discussion questions for teachers and readers of Roethke's poetry, from Heath guides

A meditation on Theodore Roethke's "The Waking," very brief article. Christian Century, 17 May 2003

A remembrance of the poet Theodore Roethke by one of his former students, James Knisely, at historylink.org

Article about Roethke's achievement, by Linda Robinson Walker in Michigan Today (U of Michigan) Summer 2001

Theodore Roethke's "My Papa’s Waltz": A Reader’s Response, from Bedford St. Martin's

In the image of Roethke, by Janet I. Martineau. On the purchase of the Roethke homesteads by the Friends of the Theodore Roethke Foundation, a group that is planning to turn the two houses into a museum and cultural center honoring the poet. The houses fronted 22 acres containing the Roethke floral company greenhouses run by Roethke's father and uncle. The Saginaw (Michigan) News, 19 Dec. 1998 (removed)

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