Annotated Bibliography

Breslin, James E. "Whitman and the Early Development of William Carlos Williams." PMLA. 82.7 (1967): 613-621. Print.

   In this article are many details about Williams’ life which influenced him as a poet. This article is where I am pulling most of my biographical information from for my paper, because Breslin has already done the work of choosing events that pertain to Williams’ poetry. The article is also describes how Williams was heavily influenced by the poetry of Walt Whitman among other poets, and the idea that in his poetry he was attempting to keep a similar spirit alive.

Myers, Neil. "Sentimentalism in the Early Poetry of William Carlos Williams." American Literature. 37.4 (1996): 458-270. Print.

`  This piece is almost in defense of William Carlos William’s style- the sentimentalism which does sometimes overwhelm his poetry. The defense is something I can relate to and support, and I will write about this in my paper. Myer’s references past negative criticism of Williams with grace, but describes how this style worked for him and the world of poetry. Included are prime examples of sentimental poems. I believe this article will be very helpful with supporting my thesis.

Pinsky, Robert. Ed. Selected Poems/ William Carlos Williams. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2004. xv-xxviii. Print.

The pages I used for research in this book make up the Introduction. Editor Robert Pinsky effectively describes the personality of William Carlos Williams, using support from William’s life and his poetry. Pinsky points out the quirky, smart, and spunky poet that was Williams during his time. This source is a concise article that I will refer to in my paper. When I am working on describing how Williams’ personality directly influenced his poetry it will help me a lot.  It also details a few different themes and tones within Williams’ poetry, which will add content and complexity to my paper.