After reading part of ARK and learning more about Ronald Johnson I decided I wanted to read some of his other poems so I bought a copy of "To Do As Adam Did: Selected Poems of Ronald Johnson" edited by Peter O'Leary. This book, published in 2000, contains O'Leary's choices of poems from each of Johnson's seven published books. (O'Leary is a poet and Johnson's literary executor.)
I found O'Leary's introduction to "To Do As Adam Did" very helpful and enjoyable.
What did Adam do? He named: naming built the Garden he dwelt in, allowing him to see it through words. Johnson recognizes the brain and the universe as mirror images: astrophysics is horticulture; scientific perception is gardening.
Johnson's poetry is nearly devoid of autobiography, confession, or the complaint that often accompanies these modes. Has there been a more blissful poet than Johnson? To read Johnson is to feel the pleasure of Adam naming things.
Needless to say we currently have a number of serious problems to worry about in addition to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic . O'Leary's question might point to why my reading Johnson's ARK and following up its references to interesting ideas has provided me with the perfect mental break.
[Image. Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights (detail)]
