Omeros

OMEROS, the eight-thousand-line poem that undoubtedly clinched Derek Walcott's Nobel Prize in 1992, is a lithe glistening marvel. Like some mythological creature, it twists and turns before your eyes, seldom going straight, but shifting in space and time, sometimes terrible, sometimes almost familiar, always fascinating. Book-length poems (I am thinking of things like Byron's DON JUAN, Browning's THE RING AND THE BOOK, and Vikram Seth's THE GOLDEN GATE) might almost be thought of as novels in verse. Almost, but not quite. Most novels tell their story in more or less linear fashion, but poetry works not by explanation but by evocation -- and at that, Walcott is a master.And what does he evoke? First and foremost, the people and landscape of his native Caribbean island of St. Lucia. The watercolor on the cover, as though by a tropical Winslow Homer, is in fact by the poet himself. Google his paintings and you will see his extraordinary eye for character and color, qualities that shine equally clearly through his words. Omeros is the Greek spelling of Homer, and on one level the poem is a West Indies version of the Iliad, with two fishermen, Achille and Hector, fighting over the beauty of a local Helen, housemaid to a British expatriate couple. The poem begins in epic fashion with the building and naming of boats, and there are other Homeric allusions throughout its seven long sections. But much of its strength comes from the fact that it does not translate the Iliad into a petty local soap opera, but rather starts from the reality of people and a place that Walcott knows well, and elevates it by evoking a classical ancestry.Furthermore, this story is only the armature around which many other histories may be spun. Some are stories of conflict, such as the great naval Battle of the Saints, fought between the British and the French in 1792 in the waters around the islands. One of the midshipmen in that battle may have been a distant relative of Major Plunkett, the retired soldier who has lived on the island for many years with his Irish wife Maud, employers of the beautiful Helen; the Major's own experiences in India and in the Western Desert are another part of the narrative. There is also St. Lucia's history as one of the points of arrival at the end of the Middle Passage in the slave trade, and in one of the most striking sections Achille is led by a flying sea-swift back in space and time to rejoin his own ancestors in their river village in West Africa. Other sections of the poem deal with the exile, starvation, and massacre of the plains Indians in the 19th century, as seen through the eyes of contemporary activist and fellow artist Catherine Weldon. And behind all that is Walcott's lament for the loss of the original native inhabitants of the islands, the Aruac peoples.Though epic in structure and content, this is also a very personal poem. Walcott himself appears as a figure in it, in settings as diverse as Brookline, Massachusetts (where he wrote much of it), and cities such as Lisbon, Istanbul, London, and Dublin. He portrays himself as wounded in love, mourning his own lost Helen, and trying to understand his own biracial heritage and spiritual relationship to a father he hardly knew; it is not coincidental that the Wikipedia article on the poet includes a photograph of President Obama carrying one of Walcott's books. In the beautiful final section of the book, Homer himself takes the poet by the hand and leads him through the ashes of a volcano, like Virgil escorting Dante through the Inferno. Somehow all the many themes of the book get gathered into one, and three millennia of love and conflict, loss and inspiration, come together in this one place at this one time and in the mind of this one man.[For a note on the verse, see the first comment.]

This richly allusive poem is an exploration of the colonial experience, primarily from the viewpoint of the dispossessed. While based in Walcott's native St. Lucia, the poem ranges across North America and Europe, and draws on a rich literary heritage. While not strictly speaking an epic by traditional standards, Omeros is epic in scope and ambition. Most of Walcott's characters, including an autobiographical narrator, are individuals in search of a home. The poem itself is an effort to reconcile both the European tradition with the experience of dispossession and enslavement. Walcott calls on Homer, Milton, Joyce, the history of St. Lucia, and many other resources to produce this impressive poem. Walcott's ability to vary his poetry and language across the whole length of the poem is impressive. Parts are intensely lyrical, others witty. The descriptive writing is often superb. A number of sequences, for example, the opening section and the dream voyage of one character to his ancestral Africa are stunning.

This epic poem is a wonder, and should be considered a masterpiece. It is so layered and thoughtful, dreamlike and emotional, it was hard to put down. The lyrical quality of the poem is exquisite, and the trauma in the poem troubling. It calls out the colonialism of Europeans on Africa and the Caribbean while presenting the damaging aftereffects. How does a culture continue after such experience? The poem explores that.

I’ll get the negative bit out of the way early: This is not an easy read. The narrator jumps around all over the place, possibly more than in any other book I’ve ever read. Not just shifting character perspective without warning, but jumping to different parts of the world and different time periods. About half the time, it’s not immediately evident where/when you are or who you’re reading about. I read Omeros alongside a sort of “cliff notes” study guide just to make sure I understood each chapter after I read it. The plot is far from “linear,” but there is a genuine (if subtle) plot in there.With the negative stuff over with, let’s talk about this is an absolute masterpiece. Emulating Homer to begin with is a monumental task and Derek Walcott no doubt pulled it off, though you definitely shouldn’t go into this expecting a direct parallel to Iliad.The poetry is beautiful. Masterful. And though he jumps all over the world all throughout time, it all connects, and that’s yet another aspect as to why this work is so impressive.It’s hard to not give this 5 stars with how great it truly is, but I can’t in my right mind give 5 stars to a book that feels like homework when I read it. It’s easily the best “4-star” book I’ve ever read though and I doubt any other “4-star” book will ever match it.

The book shipped the same day I ordered it. It was advertised as being like new and it is. Good job. Thanks much.

This prize-winning book sheds light on anotherpart of the world, in a different way. I recommendthis book.

Ripe with the good stuff. Consistently amazed at the density of ideas expressed. Went slow, looked a lot up as I went, came out with an education. Raised the goal bar for my own “craft.”

I used this for my college class, it was great. Nice price, nice book. Would buy again