Poem-Work Unfolding: Influences and Textual Results of William Carlos Williams’s Definition(s) of Poetics

Abstract In his 1923 poetic manifesto Spring and All, William Carlos Williams explores the creative process of poetry, proposing two key stages: the crystallization of imagination and the dynamization of emotions into a distinct form. This article examines these stages within Williams’s concept of “Poem-Work,” paralleling Sigmund Freud’s “Dream-Work,” which explains image formation in dreams through condensation and displacement. Building on Freud’s ideas of fragmentation, dream censorship, and allusion, this article argues that imagist poetry reflects specific characteristics after undergoing poem-work. The analysis culminates in a close reading of two contrasting catalogues from Williams’s Paterson: one with a meticulously crafted list of flowers and another with a simpler enumeration of daily objects devoid of versification. Using critical perspectives on mimesis, rhythm, and the concept of the Instant in poetry—from sources as varied as Aristotle’s Poetics and Ezra Pound’s “A Retrospect”—this article highlights how these catalogues embody Williams’s poetic vision, transcending traditional forms.