PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Kenneth Patchen was a poet that enjoyed a reputation among other poets and artists. He was regarded as one of the purest poets on his era. He was committed to art and to humanity. I disagree with a lot of his political views but I have always admired and appreciated his art. His passion for poetry was admirable. He remained devoted to producing art on his own terms throughout his life. He often designed and printed up his own works. This gave him an artistic freedom to do as he wished. 

Patchen was not content with merely writing poems and putting them out in printed form. He also liked to combine his poetry and drawing into a singular art. That is where a book like But Even So comes into play. This was a later work after he had earned a solid reputation. It was published in 1968, four years before he passed on. 

He won the respect of publisher James Laughlin. This is how many of his works came to be published by a respected publishing company like New Directions. There was a lot of experimentation going on and Laughlin wanted in on some of it. This helped poets such as Patchen, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso establish more serious reputations in the literary world. 

But Even So is a collection of picture poems. Each poem is written over or around sketches and drawings. On the even number pages will appear a grey backdrop and the words “But Even So”.The odd pages will feature the picture poems. There are 44 picture poems in the book. 

The drawings are often of animals although they tend to be pretty rudimentary. A couple of the poems are also difficult to read. Some of the poems are written over dark portions of pages. They are also often printed in Patchen's own writing. This is not necessarily pleasant to the eye. A poem kind of loses something if you can't actually read it. 

The book is dedicated to his wife Miriam. This was pretty common with his books. There are only a few poems that directly deal with love. Patchen was a poet closely aligned with the underground. He was a pacifist and passionate fighter for the working classes. These political beliefs are put out in this book. He tries to use his faith in humanity to bolster himself. 

There is a charming naivety in many of these pages: They don't seem to realize that unless someone does nothing soon, the sky'll sure not be the only thing that's up.

 This passage is backdropped by what appears to be a nuclear cloud with an animal's face. Patchen's antiwar views originated in the 40's but they were surely still with him during the Vietnam years. But hope springs eternal as All that leaves is here always is the capper to the volume.

This is a book that I would really recommend for fans of Patchen. I don't know that it would hold much appeal or value for those who don't know his works. For novices, I would recommend seeking out Awash With Roses or some other selection of his poetry in a more traditional format. If you like those poems then you'll probably want to dig deeper into his body of work. This is an interesting period piece by a unique American poet.