Incarnation and Metamorphosis: Can Literature Change Us?

Poet Mason (Pacific Light) opines on the transformative power of literature in these thought-provoking essays. “The values of literature—verbal precision, beauty, and the courage to face life in all its variety and ambiguity—are worth holding, and are perhaps even civilizing in the rigor and compassion they demand of us,” Mason contends. Positing that literature encourages readers to suspend judgment so as to see the humanity of others, Mason unpacks W.B. Yeats’s “Easter, 1916” to show how the narrator moves from irreverence toward respect for Irish rebels over the course of the poem, illustrating how one might exercise compassion toward those with whom one disagrees. A standout chapter on Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney probes how fame turns writers into public symbols that can obscure the nuances of their character. Other selections consider the relationship between politics and literature in the poetry of Claudia Rankine and Kay Ryan, as well as how Pablo Neruda’s personal life affects how readers approach his work. Mason’s sharp interpretations make a persuasive case that great literature’s complexity and ambiguity can, at its best, produce empathy and understanding in readers. Book lovers will find much to ponder. (Mar.)