Sour Grapes (book)
Encyclopedia
Sour Grapes: a book of poems is an early work by William Carlos Williams
. Published in 1921
, it includes some of his best early poems: "A Widow's Lament in Springtime," "The Great Figure," "Complaint," and "Queen-Ann's-Lace."
Williams was still struggling to find his audience at the time of Sour Grapes publication and was forced to pay for some, if not all, of the publishing expenses himself. As a book, it is highly indicative of Williams' early writing. It is filled out with improvisational pieces that Williams seems to have thrown together in the spare moments that he stole from his medical practice. However, this poetic improvisation produced stunningly beautiful language, which is evident in "A Widow's Lament in Springtime," and "Complaint."
Like most of Williams' early works, Sour Grapes was ignored by most critics at the time, but it was well received by Kenneth Burke
in The Dial
in February 1922.
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
. Published in 1921
1921 in poetry
— Wilfred Owen, concluding lines of Dulce et Decorum Est, published this yearNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:...
, it includes some of his best early poems: "A Widow's Lament in Springtime," "The Great Figure," "Complaint," and "Queen-Ann's-Lace."
Williams was still struggling to find his audience at the time of Sour Grapes publication and was forced to pay for some, if not all, of the publishing expenses himself. As a book, it is highly indicative of Williams' early writing. It is filled out with improvisational pieces that Williams seems to have thrown together in the spare moments that he stole from his medical practice. However, this poetic improvisation produced stunningly beautiful language, which is evident in "A Widow's Lament in Springtime," and "Complaint."
Like most of Williams' early works, Sour Grapes was ignored by most critics at the time, but it was well received by Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.-Personal history:...
in The Dial
The Dial
The Dial was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. In the 1880s it was revived as a political magazine...
in February 1922.