Marianne Moore (1887-1972)

A selective list of online literary criticism for American modernist poet Marianne Moore, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars and articles published in peer-reviewed sources

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introduction

"Marianne Moore." Biography and excerpts from articles of literary criticism by well-known scholars and critics: on "Poetry," on "The Fish," on "Sojourn in the Whale," on "A Grave," on "Silence," on "Marriage," on "An Octopus," on "No Swan So Fine," on "The Pangolin," on "Bird-Witted," on "The Paper Nautilus," on "Spenser's Ireland," on "Peter," on "An Egyptian Pulled Glass Bottle in the Shape of a Fish," An essay on "Marriage" and "Moore's use of quotations in 'Marriage' and 'An Octopus.'" Eds. Patricia C. Willis and Cary Nelson. Modern American Poetry, U of Illinois.

Hammer, Langdon. "Lecture 17 - Marianne Moore." In the first of two lectures on Moore, "The poetry of Marianne Moore is considered alongside its preoccupations with gender, American culture, and nature. The poem 'A Grave' is presented as characteristic of the prose rhythms and discursive manner of Moore's poems, including their use of expository language without meter or rhyme. The poem 'England' is read as a defense of American culture, in opposition to the Eurocentricism of Eliot, Pound, and other modernists. In the poem 'An Octopus,' Moore makes use of excerpts from pamphlets and other unusual prose sources to suggest that inspiration is not limited to any one voice or to literary models." [2 lectures]. Yale U, English 310, Spring 2007, Open Courseware, transcript, audio, and video available.

Willis, Patricia C. "Marianne Moore's Poetry Blog." Extensive contribution of thoughts, ideas, and knowledge about Marianne Moore from Prof. Willis, an authority on Moore.

Clampitt, Amy. "Marianne Moore." Poet Amy Clampitt on Marianne Moore's poetry.

"Marianne Moore." A brief biography and introduction to Marianne Moore. Academy of American Poets.

"Marianne Moore." Encyclopedia-type introduction to Marianne Moore's poetry, with selections from her poetry. Poetry Foundation.

"Modernist Portraits: Marianne Moore," a web site for teaching Moore's poetry, from the Annenberg/PBS project "American Passages".

Tichy, Susan. A chronology for Marianne Moore's poetry and some notes on her work, from Prof. Tichy. Web published.

Wilson, Peter. "Marianne Moore." A substantial introduction to Marianne Moore from the Literary Encyclopedia [subscription service].

"National Book Awards Acceptance Speeches." Marianne Moore's acceptance speech on receiving the 1952 National Book Award for her Collected Poems.

Interviews: Marianne Moore. Poet Donald Hall interviewed Marianne Moore for the Paris Review 26 (1961).

Marianne Moore Collection at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, which includes manuscripts, letters, and the permanent installation of Moore's complete Greenwich Village living room.

The painting "Marianne Moore and her mother" by artist Marguerite Zorach, at the Smithsonian.

literary criticism

Burt, Stephen. "Paper Trail: The true legacy of Marianne Moore, modernist monument." Slate 11 Nov. 2003.

Carson, Luke. "Republicanism and Leisure in Marianne Moore's Depression" [Great Depression]. Modern Language Quarterly 63, 3 (2002) preview only, Muse].

Costello, Bonnie, ed. A review of The Selected Letters of Marianne Moore (Knopf 1997). "'The handkerchiefs almost frighten us by their perfection.' Who but Marianne Moore could possibly have written this?" Reviewed by Kay Ryan in The Boston Review Summer 1998. Another review by Frank Kermode in the London Review of Books 20, 8 (1998).

Diehl, Joanne Feit. Elizabeth Bishop and Marianne Moore: The Psychodynamics of Creativity (Princeton UP 1993). Complete book available [subscription service].

Engel, Bernard F. "Marianne Moore." A guide for teaching Marianne Moore's poetry, from the educational publisher Heath.

Miller, Cristanne. "Distrusting: Marianne Moore on Feeling and War in the 1940s." American Literature 80, 2 (2008) pp 353-379 [abstract only].

Olson, Kirby.. "Marianne Moore's 'The Camperdown Elm' and the Revival of Brooklyn's Prospect Park." Journal of Ecocriticism 3, 2 (July 2011).

Pinsky, Robert. "Marianne Moore's 'Poetry': Why did she keep revising it?" Poet Robert Pinsky mulls over Moore's extreme revisions to a poem. Slate 30 June 2009.

Reddy, Srikanth. "'To Explain Grace Requires a Curious Hand': Marianne Moore's Interdisciplinary Digressions." Compares Moore's digressions in her writing to those of the 18th-century author Jonathan Swift. In Swift, digression indicated an intellectual lack of order; but Marianne Moore's poetic of digression is emblematic of early twentieth century cosmopolitan life, says Reddy. American Literature 77, 3 (2005) [first page of article only].

Schulman, Grace, ed. A review of The Poems Of Marianne Moore. Reviewed by Brad Leithauser in the NYTimes 4 Jan. 2004.

Stamy, Cynthia. Marianne Moore and China: Orientalism and a Writing of America (Oxford UP 1999). Complete book available [subscription service].

Stubbs, Tara. "'Writing Was Resilience. Resilience Was an Adventure': Marianne Moore, Bernard Shaw, and the Art of Writing." Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies 29 (2009) [substantial excerpt, muse].

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