Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Reading of Emmanuel Levinas," Robert Creeley explores themes of self, otherness, and existential uncertainty, drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and ideas surrounding ethics, presence, and relational distance. Levinas, known for his work on ethics and the concept of the "Other," questioned the nature of knowledge, identity, and the boundaries between self and others. In this poem, Creeley engages with these ideas, moving between abstract reflection and concrete imagery to evoke a sense of isolation, questioning, and introspective unease.

The poem opens with an epigraph from Krzysztof Ziarek: “He does not limit knowledge nor become the object of thinking.” This line encapsulates a key aspect of Levinas’s philosophy: the idea that true understanding, especially in terms of the other, cannot be fully encompassed by knowledge or objectified by thought. Instead, Levinas suggests that the other exists beyond our capacity to know or categorize, urging a more open-ended, ethical approach to relationships. This philosophical context sets the stage for Creeley’s reflections on presence, absence, and the elusive nature of understanding oneself and others.

The opening stanza—“Thought out of self left beyond the door / left out at night / shuttered openness dreams / dream of dreaming inside seeming outside”—captures a sense of disorientation and detachment. The phrase “thought out of self” suggests a separation from one’s own mind or consciousness, as if the act of thinking has become externalized or displaced. This detachment is reinforced by “left beyond the door,” an image that conveys being locked out or excluded from one’s own interior world. The concept of “shuttered openness” evokes a paradoxical space where one is both closed off and exposed, as if the mind is simultaneously protecting itself and yearning for connection. The “dream of dreaming” further intensifies the sense of recursive introspection, where the boundary between reality and imagination blurs, leaving the speaker adrift in an ambiguous space that feels both internal and external.

The line “since left then gone comes home alone” suggests a cyclical return to isolation. This phrase implies that despite efforts to reach out or connect, the speaker ultimately finds themselves alone, returning to a solitary state. The repetition of “left” and “gone” underscores this sense of separation, as if the self is always leaving or being left, never fully settled or integrated. This recurring solitude reflects Levinas’s concept of the self as inherently isolated and separate, always encountering others as distinct and unknowable entities.

The second stanza, “Puts hands down no river one place / step over into the ground sense place was will be / here and now nowhere can be nothing’s left,” continues the theme of dislocation and temporal ambiguity. The phrase “Puts hands down no river” evokes the image of attempting to grasp something intangible, like water flowing through one’s fingers, suggesting the elusiveness of grounding or understanding. The line “one place step over into the ground sense” captures the act of moving between states or realms, as though the speaker is attempting to cross from one form of existence into another. The fragmented language and syntax reflect the instability of the speaker’s perceptions, as they try to find a sense of “here and now” in a reality where “nothing’s left.”

In the third stanza, Creeley shifts to a concrete visual: “Outside forms distance some hundred feet away / in boxed air across bricked enclosed space / a horizontal young woman blue coat red pants asleep on couch.” This image of a woman seen through a “squared window / five floors up” creates a striking sense of distance and isolation. The woman, visible yet unreachable, represents the concept of the “Other”—an individual who can be seen and perhaps imagined but never fully known. Her “blue coat” and “red pants” add color and specificity, yet these details only emphasize her separateness, highlighting the gap between observation and understanding. The “bricked enclosed space” and “boxed air” amplify the sense of containment, as if both the observer and the observed are confined within separate worlds, each inaccessible to the other.

The “air of solemn thinking” in the line “above’s blue sky / a lateral cloud / air of solemn thinking” evokes a contemplative atmosphere, as if the distant view of the woman and the sky has inspired a moment of profound reflection. This description suggests a kind of meditative detachment, where the speaker observes both the physical scene and their own response to it. The “lateral cloud” and “blue sky” reinforce the theme of distance and isolation, as though the woman exists within a separate, unreachable plane of existence.

The final stanza intensifies the questioning, with the lines “Who else was / when had they come / what was the program / who was one / why me there / what other if / the place was determined / the deed was done?” These rapid-fire questions convey a sense of existential uncertainty, as if the speaker is grappling with the nature of their own existence and the purpose of their presence. The repetitive questioning suggests a search for meaning or orientation, an attempt to locate oneself within a larger framework. However, each question remains unanswered, reflecting the inherent ambiguity of existence and the limitations of understanding.

In "Reading of Emmanuel Levinas," Robert Creeley meditates on themes of identity, otherness, and the complexities of perception through a lens that echoes Levinas’s philosophical ideas. The poem’s fragmented structure and shifting imagery evoke a sense of dislocation and introspective questioning, as the speaker navigates the ambiguous boundaries between self and other, presence and absence. By incorporating abstract reflections alongside concrete visual details, Creeley captures the elusive nature of understanding, both in terms of oneself and in relation to others. Ultimately, "Reading of Emmanuel Levinas" reflects on the challenges of human connection and the ethical implications of recognizing others as unknowable, underscoring the solitude and mystery that permeate the human experience.

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