''The Carpentered Hen'' is the first

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

collection and first published book by

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth ...

, published by

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

in 1958.

Composition

Light verse

Updike remarked in an interview collected by the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

that "I began as a writer of

light verse Light poetry or light verse is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Light poems are usually brief, can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature word play including puns, adventurous rhyme, and heavy alliteration. Typically, light ...

, and have tried to carry over into my serious or lyric verse something of the strictness and liveliness of the lesser form."John Updike: The Poetry Foundation, archive
/ref> The poet

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nomination ...

noted that because Updike was such a well-known novelist, his poetry "could be mistaken as a hobby or a foible"; Disch saw Updike's light verse instead as a poetry of "epigrammatical lucidity."Poets.org: John Updike
/ref> His poetry has been praised for its engagement with "a variety of forms and topics," its "wit and precision," and for its depiction of topics familiar to American readers.

"Why the Telephone Wires Dip..."

The collection's seventh poem, "Why the Telephone Wires Dip and the Poles Are Cracked and Crooked," is carved in full on the reverse side of th
writer's gravestone

"The old men say young men in gray hung this thread across our plains acres and acres ago. But we, the enlightened, know in point of fact it's what remains of the flight of a marvellous crow no one saw: Each pole, a caw."

Republication

This volume and its follow-up, ''

Telephone Poles ''Telephone Poles'' is the second book of poetry written by American writer John Updike. Publication The collection was published by Knopf in 1963. Reception In ''The New York Times'', critic X.J. Kennedy wrote, "Of younger writers in America ...

'', was republished in a single-volume edition titled ''Verses''. Several of the pieces in both were again reprinted in the author's collected edition, ''Collected Poems'', published by

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

in 1993.

References

External links

John Updike: The Poetry Foundation, BiographyJohn Updike: The Poetry Foundation, Poems
1958 books Works by John Updike Harper & Brothers books {{poetry-collection-stub