Blackberry Eating

“Dolphin” by Robert Lowell (1977)

Robert Lowell is a mid-century contemporary of Galway Kinnell. His volume The Dolphin is a sonnet sequence written without strict rhyme schemes or metrical patterns. These poems are comparable examples of the mid-century American sonnet. To note, Robert Lowell is a founding member of the Confessional school of poetry. Confessional poetry is deeply personal and explores struggles in the poet’s life. Kinnell works in a different mode and is not known as a confessional poet. This poem has a similar structure to “Blackberry Eating” but has a very different subject matter. It focuses more on Lowell’s mental health and failing marriage.

“Between Wars” by James Wright (1980)

This poem focuses on a natural setting but uses the disappearance of animals, first insects then swallows, to convey an ecocritical message. The title “Between Wars” references the period when synthetic pesticides like DDT ruined many ecosystems in the US. Rachel Carson researched and exposed the detrimental effects of pesticides in this period between WWII and Vietnam in Silent Spring (1963). James Wright is another contemporary of Kinnell’s and worked in the Deep Image style. He used the Deep Image style to engage with environmental topics like Carson’s book.