Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, n
.º
10
(2004
).
pp
. 57 -70
«NIGHTMARES OF EDEN:»
JOHN BERRYMAN' S
HOMAGE
TO
MISTRESS
BRADSTREET
PHILIP
CüLEMAN
Uni e si y
o
Dublin
«My ha psicho d wei d as a ko o d ums
/adagio
o wiligh ,» John Be yman
w o e in he closing and i le-poem
o his
i s book-leng h collec ion The
Di
spossessed
(1948).1 The image desc ibes he s ylis ic o o mal depa u es he alded
by
be
book's la e pocms as well
as
Be yman's sense o a con empo a y Ame ican cul u al
Go e diimme ung, symbolised by wha he e med a pe asi e «Ame ican pleonexia»
in
his un inished and unpublisbed essay «The Ame ican In ellec ual and he Ame ican
D ea n.»1 Wha he called
h
e «sluggisb in luence»
o
he Cold Wa
in
a Pa isan
John Be yman, «The Dispossessed,» Col/ec ed Poems 1937-1971, 66. Ali subsequen
quo a ions om Be yman's poe y a e om his edi ion and wi
ll
be gi en in pa en heses ollowing
he ahb e ia ion
CP.
In
addi ion, e e enccs o Be yman
"s
Th
e F eedom
o
he Poe and S ephen
C eme
in his essay will
be
gi en in pa cn hcscs ollowing hc abb e ia ions
FP
and SC espec i el
y.
I wish o acknowledgc hc assis ance
o
Ba b
a a
Bcza , R
ic
ha d J. Kclly. and Alan K. La h op a
he Uni e si y o Minneso a o
h
ei assis ance in wo king wi h
h
e unpub
li
sh
ed
Be yman ma e ials
ha a e quo ed in his
es
say.
Pen
nission o use hose ma e ials has been g an ed by Ka e Donahue
Bc yman. whose gcne ous in e es in Be yman s udies is a godsend o ali schola s in hc
ie
l
d.
Ea lie d a s
o
his essay we e ead by Duncan Doppelmann and E ic Ha alson, whose
in
pu l
acknowledge. as
we
ll
as hc commen s
o
Ki F ya , whose assis ance has been i al h oughou
hc w iling
o
his piccc.
This un inish
ed
essay
is
da ed «17 No [embe ] [19]4
7»
and consis s
o
h ec a
nda
ha
l
single-spaced ypcd pages wi h pencil anno a ions. Pencillcd no es on hc ypcsc ip sug
gc
s ha he
piece was in ended o be used as he opening essay in a longe s udy, nc c ealised, o be called
The Ame ican Jn el/ec ual. In his p climina y no es Be yman indica es ha he piece was w i en
in
pa as a esponse o Ma y M
cCa
h
y's
essay «Ame ica he Beauli ul: The Hum
an
is in he
Ba h ub,» which appea ed in he Sep embc 1947 issue
o
Commema y. F om his no es
i
can also
be seen ha Be yman planned o show he essay
o
he c i ics Dwigh and Nancy Macdonald be o e
publishing i . l was nei he publis
hcd
no e ised o publica ion, howe e , o easons ha mus
58 Philip Coleman
Re iew symposium
in
1948 g adually became ecognized
by
Be yman as a see
nin
gly
pe manen condi ion
o
Ame
i
can cul u e, and in Homa
ge
o
Mis ess B ads ee ,
i s published in The Pa isan Re iew in 1953 and ep in ed wi h illus a ions
by
Ben Shahn in a Fa a , S aus and Cudahy edi ion in 1956, he
poe 's
unce ain
eelings abou con empo a y Ame ican cul u e and i s u u e we e ansla ed in o
«nigh ma es
o
Eden» (CP 141). This essay explo es neglec ed aspec s
o
ha p oce
ss
o
ansla ion and, con a y o he gene al endency in Be yman c i icism, eads his
b eak h ough «colonial poem» (Kelly 243) as a ex ha enchan ly in e oga es he
Ame ican sel .
In ea ly Ap il 1948, jus be o e
h
e publica ion
o
The Dispossessed, his i s
majo collec ion, Be yman w o e
o
his mo he
o
say ha , «A e eigh een mon h
s'
hough , I ca ne his mo ning sudde
nl
y on he subjec o he long poem I' e
be
en
d a ing, and
am
ela ed; hough i will be Fall a leas be o e I can hope o ge a
i s eadi
ly
.» (Be yman's emphasis; Kelly 228) The long
poem
was Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee , abou which John Ha end
en
has claimed Be yman «was e y
ond
o
decla ing i ook him exac ly i e yea s o w i e.» (Ha enden 9) Be yman's
le e o his mo he , howe e , sugges s ha he poem was on his mind o a leas
eigh een mon hs longe han ha . Ha enden akes his poin on boa d, o a ce ain
ex en , by conside ing he e ec an ex a-ma i al a ai
in
1947 had on he w i ing
o
Homage o Mis ess B ads ee . Ne e heless, so ne poin s ega ding he poem's
composi íon, and indeed Be yman's in en ions, seem o be in con
en
ion. Why, o
example, did Be yman need o spend eigh een mon hs hinking abou « he subjec »
o a long poem
i
i
had al eady been w i en abou
in
a long sonne sequence?
Tha sequence -e en ually published in 1967 as Be yman 's Sonne s- ends wi h
an epilogue ( aken om he s o y
o
Samson and Delilah in he Book
o
Judges),
which
ea
ds: «Howbei he hai
o
his head began o g ow again, as when he
was sha en» (Judges, x i.22). The epilogue sugges s ha Be yman el he had
eco e ed, emo ionally and in ellec ually, a e whal was
by
a
ll
accoun s a umul uous
a ai , be o e he emba ked on his nex long p ojec , Homage o Mis ess B ads ee .
As
Sha on B yan has a gued, i is no necessa y o ead he po
em
as «a di e
c
ou g ow h
o
he Scmne s» (B yan 147),
no
is
i incon o e ibly he case ha
Homage o Mis ess B ads ee is an ex ension
o
Be yman
's
medi a ion on he
hemes
o
seduc ion and desi e in he ea lie wo k, as has o en been s a ed. Indeed,
he gene al c i ica) unwillingness o conside Be yman's
Sonne .1·
-which was no
published un il 1967-as cons i u ing much mo e han a eco d
o
he poe 's i s
ex a-ma i al a ai has been pa alleled in c i ica! e alua ions
o
Homa?,
e o Mis ess
B ads ee .'
ema in unclea
-a
l hough he essay's opening sen e
nce
( «I hale Ame ica») may
ha
c had somc hing
o do wi h ha .
' Recen! accoun s
o
he poem hy Thomas T a isano and Edwa d B unnc ha e sough
o
e ise he pa ame e s o cading
Ho
mage o Mis ess B ads ee . Bnmnc ·s b ic accoun
o
hc
p
oem
·s sexual
poli i<.:s
is ex emcly pe inen and poin s o a much-neglec cd a ea o Bc yman
scholu ship.
«Nigh ma es
o
Eden:»
Jo/111
Be yman's Homagc
o
Mis ess
B ad
s ee 59
One
o
he ea lies commen a o s on he poem,
John
F ede ick Nims, asse ed
ha
i
was « eally abou » Be yman's «need o a
mis ess,
con idan e,
co
n esso .»
(Nims 126) Nims w o e ha : «Üne migh hink
he
e would be mo e sa is ac o y
candida es
o
his iple ole among he li ing.»
Ha enden'
s in luen ial accoun
o
he poem concludes wi h a simila e lec ion on
Benyman's
need o wha he calls
«a igu e uni ing mis ess and wi e.» (Ha enden
33).
He
eads he long poem as
«a lamen o a doomed ma iage,» ci ing
Be yman's
b eak-up wi h his i s wi e,
Ei
leen Simpson, in e idence. Simpson le
Be yman, howe e , only a e he coupl
e's
e um o he Uni ed S a es ollowing a ip o
Eu o
pe in Augus 1953, by which
ime Be yman had comple ed
h
e manusc ip o
he
poem and deposi ed i
in
a
aul a he Fi s Na ional Bank in P ince on
(Kelly
246). Be yman 's e e ish
imme sion in he w i ing
o
he poem,
in
he la e s
age
s especially, may well ha e
con ibu ed o he ailu e
o
his ma iage o Simp
so
n,
bu
he poem i sel in ol es
much mo e,
o
much g ea e cul u al esonance, han
he
dissolu ion
o
Be yman's
i s ma iage.
Be yman explo es he idea ha a li e a y
wo k
migh no be educible o
a single e en
in
i s au ho 's li e
in
his s udy
o
S ephen
C ane, i s published in
1950, whe e he asks, «Who knows how many o igins a deep wo k has?» (SC 79)
«Foo ball was mo e ins uc i e, p obably, han Zola»
(SC
78) he w i es in his analysis
o
The Red
Bad
ge
o
Cou age, e e ing o an ea lie c i ic's amazemen a C ane's
abili y o desc ibe wa when he had ne e expe icnced i i s hand. Be yman uses
his example o emphasize he no elis 's abili y o eco d and ex apola e om a
whole ange
o
human expe iences; C ane,
he
sugges s, had «an ea like a ap»
(SC 79). In sho , Be yman belie ed ha C ane's
soc
ial ale ness, his keen sense
o
wha was going on
in
he wo ld a ound him, was
c ucia
l o
he
de elopmen o his
ic ion. Be yman 's ccogni ion
o
C ane's engagemen wi h social eali ies, howe e ,
has a ely commanded as much c i ica] a en ion as he quasi-psychoanaly ical
«p imal scene» skc ched by him
in
he book's inal chap e , which has p omp ed
one c i ic o ead Be yman's s udy as «subs an ially a sel -po ai », « he p oduc
o
an i esponsible coun e ans e ence» (Clendenn
in
g 186). Be yman's S ep
he
n
C ane, in o he wo ds, is o en ead o wha i pu po edly e eals abou he poe 's
psychology and pe sonal li e a he han o i s engagemen wi h b oade social and
cul u al concems.
In
ela ion o Homage
o
Mis ess
B ad
s ee , such eadings igno e
Be yman's claim ha
i
«is a his o ical poem» (Be yman's emphasis;
FP
329), a
ex ha engagcs he
poe s
sense
o
Cold Wa Ame ica as a «scene
o
diso de » as
he would sugges
in
his elegy o John
F.
Kennedy
(CP
165).
In a p
ose
piece w i en
in
1965.
Be yman
compla
in
ed
ha c i ics
o
Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee had «o e conside [
edl
such ma e s as he J ex ended
wi ch-seduc ess and dcmon-lo e bi », be o e goi
ng
on o desc ibe he impo ance
o
his examina ion o « he u bulence
o
he mode o wo ld, and memo y. a
nd
wan s» in his majo wo k The D eam Songs (FP 329-30),
h
e i s .ins alm
en
o
which ( 77
D
e
mn
Sonxs) was published in 1964.
The
subjec
o
«
h
e u bulence
o
he mode n wo ld.» howc c , is also cen al
o
Bc yman's in e oga ion
o
he
60
Pllilip
Colema11
Ame ican se
l
in
Homage o Mis ess B ads ee , whe e
he
de elops he c i ique
o
con empo a y cul u e ini ia ed -i some imes poo ly
execu ed-
in a numbe
o ea iie poems, including «Nine een
Thi y-E
igh »,
«T
he
Dange ous Yea
»,
and «Thanksgi ing: De oi »
(CP
274-5, 278-9, 281-2).
Discussions
o
Homa
ge
o Mis ess B ads ee . in e ms
o
Be yman
's
ma i al
and
sexual
li e ha
e
di ec ed c i ica] a en ion away om impo an ques ions
co
nce ning he s a egic
in e ex uali y
o
he
poem
and
i s wen ie h-cen u y
in e po
l
a ions,
he eby
ein o cing wha migh
be
e med he na m con essional
app oach
ha con inues
o cha ac e ise in e p e a ions
o
no only Be yman's poe y,
bu
also ha
o
Syl ia
Pla h and Robe Lowell. Wa ne Be ho , o example,
has
a gued ha «[ ]he
idiosync a ic oicing
o
Be yman
's
D
eam Songs [
...
) aces back h ough Homage
o Mis ess B ads ee in 1956 o a sonn
e
sequence w i en
a
he
en
d
o
he l 940s
ou
o
exc ucia ing pe sonal ouble» (Be ho 34).
By
ocusing, in he same way,
on wha B
e
ho calls « he con ou s
o
p í a e ecollec i
on»,
many
commen a o s
ha e igno ed Be yman's cul u al-poli ical engagemen s in he
poem
and ocused
ins ead on he um inwa d ha is gene ally pe cei ed as he dominan ea u e
o
con essional poe y.
In an unda ed and unpublished essay e i i led «A ica: So ne No es on Mode n
Fic ion», Be yman sugges s ha :
Few
c i ics would
deny,
excep
as
pa io s, ha a p o ound dissa is ac ion
wi h
Ame ican li
e
,
by
ou w i e
s,
is so p ominen a ea u e
o
ou in ellec ual his o y
as almos
o
be wo h conside ing cha ac e is ic. Somc imes i has
ak
en
he
o m
o
impa ience wi h Ame ica
as
an
audience o a , some imes
he
o m
o
con emp o
i
as a subjec , somc imes
he
o m
o
pe sonal dislike and ejec ion;
bu
esse
n
ia
ll
y i is one h
in
g, an an i-pa io ism.
He e Be yman econside s he poli ical cha ac e
o
Ame ican w i ing, bu he also
signals he «an i-pau'io ic» elemen
in
bis own wo k ha -wi h ega d
o
Homage
o Mis ess B ads ee -is mo e c ucially conce ned wi h explo ing he ela ionship
bc ween Ame ica's pas and i s Cold Wa p esen han i is wi h p o iding a hinly
disguised accoun
o
a !o e a ai u ned sou . Al hough he main opic
o
his
unpublished essay is mode n
i
c ion, Be yman clea ly had Ez a Pound somewhe e
in mind when he de
sc
ibed «an i-pa io ism» as a « o m
o
impa ience wi h Ame ica
as an audience o a ». Following Pound's example, indeed, Be yman leam
ed
ha
(in Pound's o mula): «A wo k
o
a need no con ain any s a emen
o
a poli ical
o o
a social
o
o
a philosophical con ic ion, bu i nea ly always implies one»
(Pound 77).
B uce Bawe has claimed ha «Pound was no he ido!»
o
h
e Middle
Gene a ion poe s, bu Be yman's con ac wi h Pound du ing he la e 1940s was
c ucial o his de elopme
n
(Bawe 123). Robe Lowell ecalled Be yman
's
glee ul
adula ion
o
Pound when bo h poe s isi ed Pound in S . Elizabe h's in Washing on
«N
igh ma es
o
Eden:» Jolm B
e ym<
m's Homage o Mis css
B ad
s ee
61
in 1948 (Lowell 113 )
,"
bu Be yman also conduc ed a co espondence wi h Pound
in he la e 1940s, one consequence
o
which was
ha
James Laughlin
o
New
Di ec ions P ess, a he bidding
o
«Ez a» himse
l
,
commi
ssioned Be yman o edi
a selec ion
o
Pound's wo k. In an unpublished le e ,
da
ed 27 June 1947, Laughlin
in onned Be yman ha «Ez a would like o ha e
you
be
he edi o o
h
e olume
o
his selec ed poems o go in he New Classics Se ies». In a la e le e , w i en in
Augus 1948, Laughlin
ex
plained ha , «
The
whole
pu po
se
o
his book is o ge
people o look
a
Pound he poe , o clea hei minds
o
Pound
he
wacky,
o
Pound
he ai o ». Al hough New Di ec ions e en ua
ll
y
d opped
Be yman as edi o
o
he
p oposed selec ion, Pound himsel conside ed
Be yman
an
impo an young w i c
and in an unda ed le e , p o
babi y w i en ea ly in
194
7,
he old Be yman ha he
should «g oup and ag ee wi h 3 men, as o wha should
be
DONE. di ec io olun a is.
Then ge 3
o
4 mo e [Sic]
».
Be yman, howe e , was no willing simply o
be
ec ui ed a
nd
placed whe e c
Pound wan ed o pu him. Following a m
ee
ing wi
h
Pound
in
Feb ua y 1947, he
poe Cha les Olson
epo11ed
o Be yman ha :
We
had i ou again yes e day: 'Damn!
y .
/ gene oo ion
mu
s
ind
i s
own ... 'Hang
oge he o ...
·se
up co espondence, commil ees o . .. (public sa e y
?)
... 'ci cula e
le e s,
we
did, London, 1912,
Lou
is Zukowski
...
He badge s. Scz he: n
ow
Be
yman, 1 o 4, 5 se ious. [All sic l.
ln a la e e e , w i en in Ma ch 1947. Olson exp
lained
o Be yman ha Pou
nd
«c a es le e s om you and a ew mo e bu he also wan s you and me o make i e
wi h Allen, Spence , Wes , and ci cula e le e s, obín ound
o
o h
e
wi
se, among
ou sel es». Ne e heless, Be yman was unwilling o
co
llabo a e wi h Olson on
he p ojec
o
ins iga ing a poe y mo emen as p oposed by Pound.
ln
s ead, in
an unda ed le
e
o Pound om he
sa
me
pe iod,
he
named Dylan Thomas,
Delmo e Schwa
z,
and Robe Lowell as
hi
s closes
«Co
n empo a ies». This is no
in
signi ican : by ecognising Thomas,
in
pa icula , as a close
co
n empo a y han
Olson, Be yman made a small bu signi ican con ibu ion
o
he p ojec o ex ending
he bounda i
es
o
Ame ican li e a y cul u e agains wha Geo ey Ha man has
called he compulsi e «pu ging [ o j Eu ope om Ame ica» ha has been a he
hea
o
mains eam Ame ican cul u al ideology sin
ce
Colonial imes. (Ha man
11
9)
In his sense, Be yman
(l
ike he Eu o-cen ic Pound) was also a kind
o
« ai o »
because he soug
h
in his wo k o unde
nnin
e he idea
o
a « ep esen a i e Ame ican
se
l
»
ha , as Sac an Be co
i
ch has a gued, «Fo well o e wo
ce
n
u
i
es [ ... ]
subsumed he
a
c s
o
social plu alism
(e
hnic, economic, eligious, e en pe sonal)
in
a
The Cuban
po
e
Jos
é Rod íguez Feo o e s
u11h
e e idence
o
Be yman 's en
hu
siasm
o
Pound in a le e w i en in Decembe 1948, whe e
he
desc ibes Be yman as a «mad chap» who
«
eci es[
..
. ] P
ou
nd wi
h
a so
o
ana ical en ona ion [sic]».
See
Coyle and Fil eis 146-47.

62
Phi/ip Coleman
comp ehensi e ideal» (Be co i ch 1975 186).
The
pe pe ua ion
o
his «subsum[ing]»
and «comp ehensi e» na ional sel -image was cen al o Ame ican
Cold
Wa poli ical
and cul u al ideology, bu many Ame ican a is s
o
he pe iod e used o accep i s
au ho i y, om Allen Ginsbe g and Richa d Ya es o Geo ge Tooke
and
Jaspe Johns.
In Homage o Mis ess B ads ee , Be yman in e oga es hc o igins
o
his idealised
Ame ican sel
by
ocusing on he igu e
o
Anne B ads ee , he « en h muse»
o
a che ypal icon
o
New Wo ld o Ame
i
can expe ience.
Be yman disce ned some hing
o
wha
Linda Hu cheon
ha
s e med he
«complex in e ex ual c oss- e e encing» (Hu cheon 81) o mode n w i ing when,
in
a
discussion
o
Pound's poe y published in 1947,
he
said
h
a «Poe y is a palimpses »
(FP 258). Sho ly a e Bc yman had comple ed he üs d a
o
he poem in Ap il
1953, he w o e o bis mo he ha he had come upon he ollowing passage in John
Kea s's le e s: «The innume able composi ions
and
decomposi ions which ake place
be ween hc in cllec and i s housand ma e ials be a e
i
a i es a ha embling
delica e and snail-like [i.e., sensi i e
as
a snail-ho n] pe ccp ion
o
Beau y».5
(Ci
ed in
Kelly 245) Be yman's e e ence o his passage sugges s no only ha
he
was inally
bcginning o see Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee in i s comple ed o m, bu also ha
he poem was he esul o an in ense exchange be ween he poe 's «in ellec » and
«i s housand ma e ials». The eade
o
Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee is subsequen ly
encou aged o become wha Udo Hebel has called a « ex a cheologis » (Hebel 140):
al hough, as no ed, i
is
equen ly ega ded
as
an explo a ion
o
an emo ional c isis
su e
ed
by he poe , Be yman's b eak h ough-poem can be desc ibed in e y
di e en , less solipsis ic e ms
as
a ex
h
a engages wi h Ame ican his o y and he
Cold Wa c isis in he concep ion
o
he
Am
e ican sel .
One
o
he sec ions
o
Homage o Mis ess B ads ee ha has commanded
a g ea deal
o
c i ica! a en íon is ha om he middle o s anza 18 o he end
o
s anza 21, which desc ibes he bi h
o
Anne B ads ee 's daugh e Sa ah. The sec ion
begins wi h a desc ip ion
o
B ads ee 's ealiza ion ha she may be p egnan ,
in
oking
bo h he mo ning sickness and he desi e o ha e child en: «Unwell in a new way.
Can ha begin? / God b andishes. O lo e, O I
lo
e. Kin, / ga he .» (CP 137) Th ee
s anz
as
la e he «anguish comes o an end» wi h he poe ess asking, «Is ha hing
ali e? I hea a amish howl» (CP 138). A ypical eading
o
his segmen comes
om Joseph Mancini,
J
.,
who p esen s Homa
ge
o Mis ess B ads ee as de ailing
«wha [ he Jungian psychoanaly
i
cal heo is ] No Hall desc ibes as a 'pala ial in e io
li e, laby in hine le els
o
meaning o explo e, ed niches o dig souls ou o , and
deep enclosu es o his own no -ye -bo n'» (Mancini 177). Mancini concen a es on
wha he poem e eals abou Be yman
's
emo ional
li
e, his psychological p o ile,
and he poe 's psycho-sexual ela ions wi h bis mo he , bis i s wi e, and bis a he .
Discussing wha he calls Be y nan's «wombly a
», Mancini a gues ha in w i ing
Homage o MisJ ess B ad
s
ee Be yman was enabled o «bo h insemina e he poe ic
egg and use his mo he ing ene gy o ba ch i » (Mancini 177).
See Jo
hn
Kea s. le e o Benjamín Robe Haydon, 8 A
p il
1818 (Kea s 128-30
).
«Ni¡:h ma es
o
Eden: »
Joh11
Be yman 's Homage o Mis ess B ads ee
63
This eading, while i p oposes an in e es ing
iew
o
he poem
's
composi ion,
igno es impo an con ex ual issues ha su ounded i s publica ion, p esen a ion,
and c i ica! ecep ion in 1956. Signi ican ly, when
Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee
was i s published
in
he Sep embe -Oc obe 1953 issue o he Pa isan Re iew,
Be yman was no conl ac ua
ll
y bound
o
any publishe . In Ap il
1955
Robe Gi oux,
a o me classma e and iend
o
Be yman's a
Columbia
Uni e si y in he 1930s,
app oached him abou he possibili y
o
publishing
he
poem
wi h
Fa a , S aus and
Cudahy, whe
e
he would
be
among « iends», and
he
poe
signed a con ae! in June
1955. The book, when i was inally published in 1956,
won
bo
h he Uni e si y
o
Chicago's Ha ie Mon oe Poe y P ize and a Rocke elle Fellowship in Poe y
om he Pa isan Re iew. As a u he oken
o
i s
impac
on
con empo a y poe ic
p ac icc, Allen Ta e w o e
o
Be yman ha Homa
ge
o Mis ess B ads ee «adds
a ou h
o
he h ee i s - a e long poems by Ame icans in
his
cen u y - he o he s
being
by
Pound, Elio , and C ane». (Ci ed
in
Kelly
298)
Despi e such high p aise,
howe e , Be yman was unhappy wi h he c i ica!
esponse
o
he
poem's publica ion
in
book o m. In a le e
o
his mo he
he
said ha «[a] dea ening silence seems
o
be g ee ing AB» (Kclly 298).
A i s , i is di icul
o
unde s and p ecisely wha Be yman mean by
his, since he poem was p aised by a numbe
o
p ominen li e a y c i ics -
in
addi ion o Ta e, Con ad Aiken and Edmund
Wi
l
so
n a ed
he
poem e y highly-
and i was nomina ed o a Puli ze P ize in 1956.
One
o he hings ha seems
o
ha e bo he ed Be yman, howe e , was
h
e ac ha no majo li e a y e iew
deal in any meaning ul way wi
h h
e poem as a
book
, much less as a social o
poli ical in e en ion. The ac ha
h
e con o e sia! le -wing _pain e Ben Shahn
p o ided a se ies
o
illus a ions o i wen almos
en
i
ely unno iced, one excep ion
bcing S anley Kuni
z's
ema k a he end
o
his Poe y
e
iew: «The book is
handsomely designed and p in ed, wi h d awings by Ben Shahn» (Kuni z 116).
Obsessed by he idea ha he poem ep esen ed me ely a celeb a ion
o
he Pu i an
o igins
o
he Ame ican sel on he one hand,
and
a hinly disguised con ession
o
a lo e a ai on he o he , con empo a y c i ics
pa
ed he way o subsequen
e asions
o
he ex 's imp011an dialogue wi h his o y, and i s c i ique
o
con empo a y
Ame ican socie y. Shahn's in ol emen should ha e signalled an a enue owa ds
ha c i ique. Al hough Be yman had comple ed he
poem
so ne h ee yea s be o e
Shahn ag eed o p o ide a se ies
o
illus a ions o i , he collabo a i e aspec
o
h
e book is clea ly s a ed on he co e which eads,
<~
poem, wi h pic u es by
Ben Shahn». Be yman w o e o Shahn ha he el he d awings «c ea e a good
coun e poin o [ he] poem», and Shahn eplied ha
he
belie ed he «jux aposi ion»
o
pic u e and ex was «g oundb eaking»: he illus a ions would «se a s a k,
lean New England mood in which he images and sensibili ies
o
[ he] poem
can ake place e y much as New Englande s li e wi hin hei e y o en ie ce
landscape wi hou ei he bowing o he o he ».
The
co espondence be ween poe
and pain e sugges s ha , while he poem may ha e been published in a pe iodical
h ee yea s be o e, he 1956 Fa a , S aus and Cudahy edi ion ep esen ed mo e han
64 Philip Coleman
a con enien ma ke ing ploy concei ed by Be yman's
publishe
o
he Ch is mas
ma ke .
To he deg ee ha Be yman belie ed Shahn's wo k
was
essen ially in hannony
wi h his own, i is impo an also o consid
e
Shahn's s a us
a
his ime. When his
i s majo el ospec i e was held a he Museum
o
Mode o
A
in NewYo k
in
1947,
Shahn's wo k had been ecognised o i s c i ica! exposi ion
o
« he sho comings
o
democ acy in he Uni ed S a es», and as ecen ly as 1954
he
had
been p o iled in
Lije magazine as he «Pain e
o
P o es ».6 Be yman, hen,
was
implici ly making
a pa icula se
o
claims o his own wo k as social commen a y when he ag eed
o ha e Shahn illus a e wha was he mos
imp
o an publica ion
o
his ca ee
in
195
6.
None heless, Shahn 's poli ical posi ioning did no
de
e
c i i
cs
om eading
Homage o Mis ess B ads ee as a poem ha unc i ically alo ises he Ame ican
expe ience and he na ional se
l
. Compa ing Homage
o
Mis ess B ads ee o Ha
C ane's The B idge, o ins ance, Kuni z sugges ed ha Be yman was a emp ing « o
ela e himsel o he pase h ough he disco e y
o
a iable my h, and o c ea e o
hi
s e
hi
cle a g and and exal ed language, a language
o
ans igu a ion» (Kuni z 110).
Kuni z ailed o ealize, howe e , ha Be yman was lcss
co
ncemed
wi h disco e ing
«a iable my h» han he was wi h disman ling a
nd
in e oga ing a my h ha was
al eady long
in
exis ence, namely he mylh
o
Ame ican excep ionalism.
The closeness
o
he Be yman-Shahn associalion is
e
iden on he i s page
o
he 1956 edi ion. The d awing ha also ea u
es
on he book
's
co e ,
o
a wooden
house a he edge
o
a o es , is placed opposi e he i le
o
he poem and
he
i s
s anza. Pic u e and ex occupy app oxima ely he same amoun
o
space on
he
page,
chus
ein
o
cing Be yman's
cl
aim ega ding he con apun a! ela ionship be ween
ex and illus a ion. The bleakness e oked by Shahn's d awings e lec s he ac
ha almos e e y one
o
h
e i y-se en s anzas
o
he poem eco ds he ha dship
a
nd
p eca iousness
o
Anne B ads ee 's li e
in
h
e New Wo ld. Since i is p ecisely
h ough he ende ing
o
B ads ee
's
consciousncss ha Be yman g adually se s
he s age o a so
o
pa allel commen a y on his own imes, we a e obliged o
ecoun he expe ience a
nd
imp essions (as e-en isioned in he poem) in so
ne
de ail.
Mis ess B ads ee appea s in he ou h s anza, «Pockma k & wes wa d s a ing on
a hagga d deck»
(CP
133). The New Wo ld ha awai s he , howe e , is no he one
she has been p omised: «Üu side he New
Wo
ld wi
n
e s in g and da k / whi e ai
lashing high h o' he i gin s ands I oxes down oxholes
sig
h», Be yman w i es
in
he second s anza (CP 133), p esaging he ha owing desc ip ion
o
B ads eeL's
i s yea in he Colonies in s anzas 7, 8, and 9.
See Anonymous, «Ben Shahn: Pain e
o
P o es Tu ns o Re lec ion,» Li e 4 Oc . 1954:
96-1
OO.
Thc
impo ance
o
he ideological dimension
o
Shahn's wo k was es a ed in a e iew
o
a
1998 exhibi ion
o
his wo k a he Jewish Museum in New Yo k. En i led «T ying o Sepa a e Ben
Shahn's
A11
om His Poli ics», he e iew desc ibed he way ha du ing he 1950s Shahn «became,
in a sense. he c:oun y's o icial le is a is ,
o
a
leas he o icial a is o millions
o
Ame
i
cans
leaning o he l
e
».
Fo
his le is «lcanings» Shahn was b ough be o e he House Un-Ame ican
Ac i
i
ies Commi ee in 1959. See Kimmelman 33-37.
«Nigh ma es
o
Eden:»
Jo/111
Be ymmi's Homage
o
Mis
ess
B
a
<lsl ec
65
The
jou n
ey ac oss he A lan ic was i se
l
augh
wi h calami y and ea o
B ads ee . as Be yman desc ibes in he i h s anza:
By he week we landed
we
we e,
mo
s , u
se
d
up.
S ange ships ac oss
us,
a e a o nigh 's
winds
un a ou ing, igh ened
us
;
bone-sad cold, slee , scu y;
so
wc c
ill
many
as une day we could
ha
e no se mon
s;
b oils, quelled; a a he lcss child unkennelled; e min
c owding & wai ing: wai ing.
(CP
13
4)
I
c ossing he A lan ic was auma ic, howe e , he
se le s'
a i
al
in hc New Wo ld
was wo se:
jus
as hei ship, hc A bel/a, ca ne
in
sigh
o
land. «young Hen y
Win h op [
...
] d owned» (CP 134). Thei a i al in
he
New Wo ld ma ed by hc
dea h
o
y
oung
Win h op, hey also saw
h
e expec
ed
Ja
nd
o
plen y u n ou o be
a place
o
s a a ion and disease:
Ho
w long wi h no hing in he
u
inous hea .
clams & aco ns s omaching, dislinc ion pe ishing,
a which
my
hea ose,
wi h b ackish wa e , we would sing.
[ .
..
]
Tha beyond
h
e A lan ic wound a e woes enla ge
is ha d, ha d ha s a a ion bu nish
es
ou ea ,
bu 1 do gloss o
You.
S ange &
pil
g ims a e
we
he e,
decla ing
we
seek a Ci y
...
( CP l 34)
E ymologically, he e b « o a e» no only means o go, a el,
o
make one
's
way,
bu al so o
«g
o as ay» (become los )
o
e en die ( «depa om li e»
).
The
Pu i an
's
a ing in he New Wo ld
is
hus p esen ed by Be yman as
an
en e p ise i en
by
doub and he possibili y
o
ailu e, he possibili y ha he «Ci y» hey sough was
no
hi
ng mo e han a i
c
ion.
In 1965 Be yman said Homa
ge
o Mis ess B ads ee «laid i sel ou in a
se
i
es
o
ebellions» on he pa
o
his p o agonis : «a
ga
ins he ncw en i onmen a
nd
abo e all agains
he
[Anne B ads ee
's
] ba enness (which in ac !as ed o yea s),
hen agains
he
maJTiage [
...
1
and
inalJy agains
he
con inuing li e
o
illness, loss,
and age» (FP 328).
Bu
he poem also e
na
c s a u he
«Se
i
es
o
ebellions» -agains
he o mal s a egies
o
Be yman's ea ly wo k on
h
e one hand, and in opposi ion
o
he excep
i
onalis unde s anding
o
Ame ican
hi
s o y and cul u e
on
he o he
.
In
s anzas 9
and
10 BcJTyman no only p o ides a clea
se
nse
o
h
e se en een h-cen u y