Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), abbreviated E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, and playwright. His publishers and others have sometimes echoed the unconventional capitalization in his poetry by writing his name in lower case, as e. e. cummings; Cummings himself did not approve of this rendering. [1]
Cummings is probably best known for his poems and their unorthodox usage of capitalization, layout, punctuation and syntax. There is extensive use of lower case; word gaps, line breaks and gaps appear in unexpected places; punctuation marks are omitted or misplaced, interrupting sentences and even individual words; grammar and word order are sometimes strange. Many of his poems are best understood when read on the page.
Despite Cummings' affinity for avant garde styles and for unusual typography, much of his work is traditional. Many of his poems are sonnets, and he occasionally made use of the blues form and acrostics as well. Cummings' poetry often deals with themes of love and nature, as well as satire and the relationship of the individual to the masses and to the world. But, while his poetic forms and even themes show a close continuity with the romantic tradition, his work universally shows a particular idiosyncrasy of syntax or way of arranging individual words into larger phrases and sentences. Many of his most striking poems do not involve any typographical or punctuational innovations at all, but purely syntactic ones.
During his lifetime, he published more than 900 poems, along with two novels, several essays, as well as numerous drawings, sketches, and paintings. He is remembered as one of the outstanding voices of 20th century poetry.
Two of his paintings
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may i feel said he
.
may i feel said he
i'll squeal said she
just once said he)
it's fun said she
~~
(may i touch said he .
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she
~~
(let's go said he
not too far said she
what's too far said he
where you are said she)
~~
may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she
~~
may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you're willing said he
(but you're killing said she
~~
but it's life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she
~~
(tiptop said he
don't stop said she
oh no said he)
go slow said she
~~
(cccome? said he
ummm said she)
you're divine! said he
(you are Mine said she)
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you shall above all things be glad and young
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you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you're young,whatever life you wear
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it will become you;and if you are glad
whatever's living will yourself become.
Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:
i can entirely her only love
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whose any mystery makes every man's
flesh put space on;and his mind take off time
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that you should ever think,may god forbid
and (in his mercy) your true lover spare:
for that way knowledge lies,the foetal grave
called progress,and negation's dead undoom.
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I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
Jorge G.
