Selected Poems (1923-1958) - E.E. Cummings

I first read e.e.cummings about three years ago and have never really got over him. An amazing innovative poet with the power to transofrm words and reveal meanings. Famous for using punctuation and capitalisation in strange ways, cummings has the ability to revitalise frequently used language and turn it into something new and ecxiting.
For example:
"anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did."

In this poem, anyone and someone could in fact be individual people, or they could rpresent a wole group. Words like "How" are employed peculiarly as adjectives. What, after all is a "pretty how Town"?

e.e.cummings is not easy reading. His poetry is hard to make sense of, and often its not even about sense, its about sound, rhythm and impression. There are quite often meanings that can be found, but to some extent they will be things that you bring to the poetry yourself.

e.e.cumings was actually Edward Estlin Cummings and did most of his writing between the 1920s and 1930s. If you find his work interesting, I would also suggest looking at Emily Dickinson (who perdates him) Wallice Stevens, and William Carlos Williams - all very strange and creative American poets.

A final note, My favourite lines by e.e. cummings are,
"and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister death"