Letters from Russell Edson [by Nin Andrews]

Last week, I interviewed Peter Johnson about his new anthology of prose poetry, A Cast-Iron Aeroplane That Can Really Fly, the title of which comes from Edson’s explanation of a prose poem:

“A prose that is a cast-iron aeroplane that can actually fly, mainly because the pilot doesn't seem to care if it does or not."   

I began to think about the second half of the quote—the idea that the poem works because the writer lets go of it. I have such difficulty trusting in my prose poems as he suggests one should. I asked Peter if he had any other insights or quotes or ideas from or about the enigmatic godfather of prose poetry. Peter informed me that he was not only a good friend of Edson’s, he also has hundreds of letters from Edson. So I asked if he would be willing to talk about Edson and his letters here.

Peter Johnson: I came to Edson’s work later than most prose poets. As I’ve said in numerous interviews, early on I was influenced more by Kafka, Novalis, and Theophrastus. But then some numbskull editor told me that one of my early prose poems was a “cheap imitation of Russell Edson.” Thinking I should at least know who influenced me, I checked out one of his books, and then we became friends after I started my journal. We are very different personalities but we ended up having a long correspondence over the years, and our wives even got along. We did a few events together, one being a week-long conference with you and Robert Bly, which was organized by Chard deNiord, and then Chard invited Edson and me to read at New England College’s MFA program, where we met a few prose-poem haters. He ended up writing me over 350 letters, some detailing everyday life but most being flat-out brilliant. When I asked him to do an interview, he balked, so I went through his early letters, created questions that fit his ideas, and then we went back and forth, creating a kind of long collaborative prose-poem interview, which you can find at https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1596&context=prosepoem. Robert Bly once told me it was the best interview ever done with a contemporary poet. If that’s true, the brilliance comes all from Edson and certainly not from my questions. After Russell died, I met his brother-in-law at Russell’s house to discuss what to do with his estate. Frances, his wife, was there but was experiencing early signs of Alzheimer’s, so it was a bit trying and sad because she’s such a sweetheart. His study contained a wealth of knowledge about him: composition books from grammar school, early drawings, letters to famous poets, even a manuscript of verse poetry. It’s been astonishing to me that no poetry special collections have shown interest in purchasing this archive or my letters, and one guy who heads one of the most important contemporary poetry archives in the country didn’t even know who he was. Just unbelievable, though Russell would have appreciated the snub. The two letters here occurred when I was trying to get my first book published and when he also was reentering the literary world. I was teaching “An Historical Breakfast” and my students were looking for satire in it. Russell talks about this and offers a response to the world of Po-Biz. In the second letter, he discusses process in his own brilliant way.

 

Comments

[Kent Johnson]

"I write to amuse myself, not to change others. Socially angry poems, anti-war poems; poems that are meant to DO things violate the creative spirit."

I've been a huge Edson fan for many years, love him, and can't believe, either, that no library has bought up his stuff. WTF?

But the above quote in the first letter seems way over the top, even to the point of sounding like someone (one of his apes?) speaking or screaming in one of his prose poems.

Let me offer just one example (don't get me started on more) that might suggest Edson was possibly pulling Peter Johnson's leg a bit--or at least I hope he was:

Does Cesar Vallejo's Spain, Sever this Chalice from Me "violate the creative spirit"? And if so, does that mean Vallejo ultimately wrote that book to "amuse" himself?

Lots in that letter that is wonderful to behold, but that passage should def be discussed a bit by his future critics and biographer[s].

[The Best American Poetry]

An overstatement in support of artistic liberty -- always an unpopular ideal, subject to the pressures of the political moment -- is something that doesn't demand to be examined as if it were testimony in a court of law, with bible and sworn vow. -- DL

[Franklin S]

I corresponded with Edson for about 12 years. I still have his letters and treasure them. We discussed music a lot, particularly about turning his 2-act play "Ketchup" into a musical theatre piece. . . which I did.

[David Greenslade PhD]

Hello from Wales, UK. I need to contact the Russell Edson Estate for permission to include one of his poems in a conference paper - could you pout me in the right direction? I cannot find a lead - an e-mail address? many thanks

[David Lehman]

Thank you for your query. Consider writing to Peter Johnson: