The Ethics of William Carlos Williams’s Poetry by Ian D. Copestake

Abstract

Ethics of William Carlos Williams's Poetry. Ian D. Copestake. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2010. 180 pp. $34.95 (cloth).One of most famous credos of modernist poetry is Williams's dis- tinctively succinct ideas but in things. No statement is cited more often to explain aesthetics and ethics of Williams's poetry, from iconic brevity of The Red Wheelbarrow to epic complexity of Paterson. Another five-word credo that this statement echoes is less familiar, although it was certainly familiar to Williams: THAT IS NOT TRUE. As Ian Copestake notes in his ground-breaking book, Ethics of Williams Carlos Williams's Poetry, this more obscure statement appears in constitution of Unitarian society of Ruther- ford, New Jersey, expressing society's conviction that the church, itself, should have but one imperative dogma which may be expressed in five words- NOTHING THAT IS NOT TRUE (qtd. in Copestake 17). fact that such a correspondence between modernism and Unitarianism seems so unlikely is point of departure for Copestake's judicious reconsideration of Williams's poetics. And fact that he so thoroughly recovers roots of Williams's Unitarian phi- losophy and so persuasively articulates its implications for his literary career is what makes this book so important.Williams's Unitarian religious background has been discussed in biographi- cal studies (most notably, Paul Mariani, William Carlos Williams: A New World Naked), historical studies (Mike Weaver, William Carlos Williams: American Background), and critical studies of his early poetry (David Frail, Early Politics and Poetics of William Carlos Williams). Williams himself noted impact of Unitarianism on his formation as a writer, as his parents were both active (and founding) members of Rutherford Unitarian society. Copestake is first scholar, however, to demonstrate lifelong significance of Unitarianism for Wil- liams's poetry. As he notes, there is a longstanding critical consensus about Wil- liams's secular worldview, based largely on his assertions that religious doctrine impeded contact with contemporary world. This presumed secularism has informed previous studies of Williams's pragmatism as well as poststructuralist claims for his epistemological skepticism. committed non-commitment to prescriptive doctrines (16) that informs Williams's Unitarianism, however, differs from religious traditions that he denounces. As Copestake argues, Williams's self-conception as an artist is derived from Unitarian principles of inclusive- ness, openness, and utility. His commitment to his work as a writer furthermore enacts Unitarian values of authenticity and self-realization: his quest for new forms of expression, then, enacts his faith. Paradoxically, Williams's renowned iconoclasm is inseparable from his religious practice.Copestake documents Williams's engagement with Unitarian thought through archival research on history of Unitarianism as well as careful attention to Wil- liams's philosophical writings, such as Five Philosophical Essays from Embodiment of Knowledge. Ethics of William Carlos Williams's Poetry does more than document Unitarian roots of Williams's poetics, however: it articu- lates a new understanding of his purpose and practice as a poet. Addressing most distinctive, and most influential, aspect of Williams's writing, his commit- ment to renewing language and form of poetry as a meaningful public dis- course, this book makes a nuanced case for development of his ethics as a writer. Copestake initially explains how Williams's poetry about work exemplifies this commitment. His close reading of Fine Work (from Adam & Eve & City) exemplifies his lucid rendering of religious, philosophical, and autobiograph- ical implications of Williams's formal precision. Fine Work is an especially ap- propriate example because it both recollects impact of Williams's parents on his work as a poet and anticipates more expansive redemptive purpose of Pa- terson, which Copestake discusses at greater length in final two chapters. …