The Broken Tower
Encyclopedia
The last new poem meant to be published in Hart Crane
's life, 'The Broken Tower' (1932) has been widely acknowledged as one of the best lyrics of Crane's last years, if not his career. In keeping with the varieties and difficulties of Crane criticism, the poem has been interpreted widely--as death ode, life ode, process poem, visionary poem, poem on failed vision--but its biographical impetus out of Crane's first heterosexual affair (with Peggy Cowley, estranged wife of Malcolm Cowley
) is generally undisputed. Written early in the year, the poem was rejected by Poetry, and only appeared in print (in The New Republic
) after Crane's famous suicide by water. (Compare his great homosexual love-cycle, ' Voyages
'.)
Hart Crane
-Career:Throughout the early 1920s, small but well-respected literary magazines published some of Crane’s lyrics, gaining him, among the avant-garde, a respect that White Buildings , his first volume, ratified and strengthened...
's life, 'The Broken Tower' (1932) has been widely acknowledged as one of the best lyrics of Crane's last years, if not his career. In keeping with the varieties and difficulties of Crane criticism, the poem has been interpreted widely--as death ode, life ode, process poem, visionary poem, poem on failed vision--but its biographical impetus out of Crane's first heterosexual affair (with Peggy Cowley, estranged wife of Malcolm Cowley
Malcolm Cowley
Malcolm Cowley was an American novelist, poet, literary critic, and journalist.-Early life:...
) is generally undisputed. Written early in the year, the poem was rejected by Poetry, and only appeared in print (in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
) after Crane's famous suicide by water. (Compare his great homosexual love-cycle, ' Voyages
Voyages (poem)
Contained in Hart Crane's first collection of poems, White Buildings , 'Voyages' was composed across six years , with sections published as early as 1923. Containing one of Crane's most famous lyrics, 'Voyages: II,' this love-cycle of six poems was largely fueled by his love affair with Emil...
'.)