By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
Encyclopedia
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept is a novel of prose poetry
written by the Canadian
author Elizabeth Smart
and published in 1945. It is widely considered to be a classic of the genre.
In her preface to the 1966 reissue of the book, Brigid Brophy
describes it as one of the half dozen masterpieces of poetic prose in the world. It details the author's passionate affair with the British
poet George Barker
and might be characterised as a hymn
to love
and its supremacy above all other emotions and worldly practicalities.
In an essay for Open Letters Monthly
, Ingrid Norton called the novel "a howl of a book, shot through with vivid imagery and ecstatic language, alternately exasperating and invigorating," noting the range of responses to it:
The novel's title is a foretaste of Smart's poetic techniques: it uses metre
(it's largely anapaest
ic), contains words denoting exalted or intensified states (grandeur, centrality, weeping), and alludes to a canonical work
(Psalm 137
) with metaphor
ical import for the novel's subject matter. The book has gained a cult following, and has been referenced many times by the British
singer Morrissey
. Additionally, the poem was adapted for the screen by Laura Lamson
though the film did not come to fruition.
Barker's novel The Dead Seagull, published in 1950, described his affair with Smart.
Prose poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery and emotional effects.-Characteristics:Prose poetry can be considered either primarily poetry or prose, or a separate genre altogether...
written by the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart (author)
Elizabeth Smart was a Canadian poet and novelist. Her book, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, detailed her romance with the poet George Barker...
and published in 1945. It is widely considered to be a classic of the genre.
In her preface to the 1966 reissue of the book, Brigid Brophy
Brigid Brophy
Brigid Antonia Brophy, Lady Levey was an English writer. In the Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Novelists since 1960, S. J...
describes it as one of the half dozen masterpieces of poetic prose in the world. It details the author's passionate affair with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
poet George Barker
George Barker (poet)
George Granville Barker was an English poet and author.-Life and work:Barker was born in Loughton, near Epping Forest in Essex, England, elder brother of Kit Barker [painter] George Barker was raised by his Irish mother and English father in Battersea, London. He was educated at an L.C.C. school...
and might be characterised as a hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
to love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and its supremacy above all other emotions and worldly practicalities.
In an essay for Open Letters Monthly
Open Letters Monthly
Open Letters Monthly is an online arts and culture magazine. It was founded in 2007 by Sam Sacks, John Cotter, and Steve Donoghue. It features long-form criticism of books, films, and art exhibits as well as original artwork and poetry....
, Ingrid Norton called the novel "a howl of a book, shot through with vivid imagery and ecstatic language, alternately exasperating and invigorating," noting the range of responses to it:
Waves of disapproval and approbation have trailed By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept since its initial publication. Depending on whose opinion one trusts, the novel is either “a violent and adroit piece of home-wrecking” (Cyril ConnollyCyril ConnollyCyril Vernon Connolly was an English intellectual, literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine Horizon and wrote Enemies of Promise , which combined literary criticism with an autobiographical exploration of why he failed to become the successful author of...
, 1945) or “like saying a tragic, pagan erotic rosary” (Brigid BrophyBrigid BrophyBrigid Antonia Brophy, Lady Levey was an English writer. In the Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Novelists since 1960, S. J...
, 1966). The novel is wildly praised as a work of linguistic inventiveness and beauty, but beyond that, responses often divide based on the love affair itself.
Others express reservations. When the book was reissued in the late 1960s, novelist Angela CarterAngela CarterAngela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
praised the novel in a GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
review as “like Madame BovaryMadame BovaryMadame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert's first published novel and is considered his masterpiece. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life...
blasted by lightning” but later wrote privately to her friend, critic Lorna SageLorna SageLorna Sage was a Welsh-born academic, as well as an award-winning literary critic and author, known widely for her contribution to the consideration of women's writing.-Biography:...
, that one of her motivations for founding the feminist press Virago was “the desire that no daughter of mine should ever be in a position to be able to write BY GRAND CENTRAL STATION I SAT DOWN AND WEPT[sic], exquisite prose though it might contain. (BY GRAND CENTRAL STATION I TORE OFF HIS BALLS would be more like it, I should hope.)”
The novel's title is a foretaste of Smart's poetic techniques: it uses metre
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
(it's largely anapaest
Anapaest
An anapaest is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. In classical quantitative meters it consists of two short syllables followed by a long one; in accentual stress meters it consists of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. It may be seen as a reversed dactyl...
ic), contains words denoting exalted or intensified states (grandeur, centrality, weeping), and alludes to a canonical work
Western canon
The term Western canon denotes a canon of books and, more broadly, music and art that have been the most important and influential in shaping Western culture. As such, it includes the "greatest works of artistic merit." Such a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the...
(Psalm 137
Psalm 137
Psalm 137 is one of the best known of the Biblical psalms. Its opening lines, "By the rivers of Babylon..." have been set to music on several occasions....
) with metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ical import for the novel's subject matter. The book has gained a cult following, and has been referenced many times by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
. Additionally, the poem was adapted for the screen by Laura Lamson
Laura Lamson
Laura Lamson was an American screenwriter and university lecturer who was based in England throughout her career. Her most successful work was her adaptation of The Men's Room for the BBC.-Biography:...
though the film did not come to fruition.
Barker's novel The Dead Seagull, published in 1950, described his affair with Smart.
External links
- Book review at The Literary Encyclopedia
- By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept: The Novel as a Poem by Alice Van Wart, in Studies in Canadian Literature
- Elizabeth Smart: Manuscript Gallery at Literary Manuscripts Collection of Library and Archives Canada