The Letters of Hart Crane, 1916-1932 (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Letters of Hart Crane, 1916-1932 But far more compelling than distance or propriety as the domi nant force behind Crane's prolific composition of letters was an emotional impulse which drove him to discharge so much expres sive energy in a non-poetic form: his acquisitive need for sympathy, pity, understanding, affection a need accompanied by the be lief that these responses could be evoked with a persuasive explana tion in words. Let us not confuse this poignant situation with dis honesty or a huckster's fraudulency. Crane was, after all, a poet to whom language was paramount. The outcome was that even those of his letters which had been intended as geographical bridges, or as duties, speedily found themselves converted into detailed and nu inhibited recitations and exhortations. Examining the letters to his mother in this light, to choose one instance, we can-understand why, despite the profound mutual misunderstanding of which each was aware, Crane persisted in alternately cajoling, threatening, and in forming a basically-unresponsive correspondent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.