I thought this was an interesting review though I'm not familiar with the poet in question.
However, I reacted negatively to criticisms like this:
> Her closing lines are often summaries that feel tacked-on and avoid placing the scene in a larger context
Must poems "place scenes in a larger context?" Is that necessarily the goal of poetry?
> A striking aspect of Bishop’s early poems is that they rarely seem to go anywhere
Again, why must poems "go anywhere?" I often find myself appreciating poems that specifically don't go anywhere. These poems, I find, are often more emotionally evocative than poems that seem to be searching for "deeper meaning" or belong in a "social context."
> In short, many of her poems lack the spiritual or philosophical underpinnings
Again, I find myself wondering: so?
> Bishop largely ignored politics, charitable work, and the communities around her, living as a non-participating observer
This just feels nasty. Again, I see no relationship between these observations, which feel more like accusations, and the quality of a poet's work.
I'm with you. I couldn't believe that "I let the fish go" was the example of 'not going anywhere'. She spends the first half of the poem dissecting it with her eyes and the second half writing its biography -- if this isn't a journey I don't know what is.
However, I reacted negatively to criticisms like this:
> Her closing lines are often summaries that feel tacked-on and avoid placing the scene in a larger context
Must poems "place scenes in a larger context?" Is that necessarily the goal of poetry?
> A striking aspect of Bishop’s early poems is that they rarely seem to go anywhere
Again, why must poems "go anywhere?" I often find myself appreciating poems that specifically don't go anywhere. These poems, I find, are often more emotionally evocative than poems that seem to be searching for "deeper meaning" or belong in a "social context."
> In short, many of her poems lack the spiritual or philosophical underpinnings
Again, I find myself wondering: so?
> Bishop largely ignored politics, charitable work, and the communities around her, living as a non-participating observer
This just feels nasty. Again, I see no relationship between these observations, which feel more like accusations, and the quality of a poet's work.