Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The poem opens with evocative imagery that sets the stage for a journey through time and space, from the quays along the Seine to the bustling streets of New York. Hull's reference to "marble steps cascade like stereopticon frames" and "Parisian breezes" immediately situates the reader in a world where the past and the present, the real and the imagined, coalesce. The mention of "star maps and movie stills, Lauren Bacall" serves as a portal into Cornell's fascination with the actress, symbolizing the intersection of celestial navigation and cinematic narrative in his work.

As the poem unfolds, Hull deftly navigates the vibrant cityscape of New York, capturing the dynamic interplay of light, sound, and movement. The "galaxy of signs" on the Public Library steps, the "flushed marquees," and the echoes of Coney Island's Penny Arcade conjure a sense of nostalgia and wonder, inviting the reader to consider the myriad ways in which the city's history and its inhabitants' dreams are layered and intertwined.

Hull's description of Times Square as "a magnificent arcade" echoes Cornell's method of assembling disparate elements into a cohesive whole, suggesting that the city itself is a kind of vast, living collage. The "amusement-park contraptions worked by coins" and "tinted wooden balls travelling runways" become metaphors for the serendipitous connections and chance encounters that define urban existence.

The poem then shifts to Cornell's workshop on Utopia Parkway, where the "dossier's lain for months untouched among springs and doll's heads, ballerinas arcing through charted celestial spheres." This passage reveals the depth of Cornell's creative process, his ability to transform ordinary objects into vessels of meaning and beauty. Hull captures the essence of Cornell's art—its capacity to evoke a sense of wonder, to transport the viewer into realms of fantasy and memory.

As Hull weaves together the threads of Bacall's life, the music of Hoagie Carmichael, and the "drama of a room by lamplight," she creates a tapestry of longing and reflection. The poem culminates in the transformation of Bacall into a celestial figure, "among the constellations, Cygnus, the Pleiades, one of the Graces," a testament to the enduring power of art to immortalize and elevate.

"Utopia Parkway" is a lyrical homage to Joseph Cornell's unique vision and the enchanting allure of Lauren Bacall, a meditation on the ways in which art, cinema, and the city itself become repositories of dreams and desires. Through her exquisite imagery and nuanced exploration of theme, Hull invites the reader to contemplate the intersections of reality and imagination, the fleeting and the eternal, in the pursuit of beauty and understanding.

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