At first glance Is Not Known seemed unexpected—that is, compared to Eli Siegel’s other pieces that come just before in this 1954 issue. The voice in the former is less prosaic, the syntax more varied. Here the images stand isolated (especially with the repetition—as if in some sort of vacuum) yet determinate by use of both punctuation and demonstrative pronouns. What struck me most, though, was the thirteenth line “Saw what is going on.” Hm makes me wonder about Louis Mink’s logical theory of explanation and prediction. We have no access to “what really happened” in the past nor “what will happen” in the future nor, as Siegel seems to suggest, “what is going on.” — But the cows?! 🙂
[issuu viewmode=presentation layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true pagenumber=45 documentid=100129002358-0b59eeb18762449594fba21048faa1cd docname=1954-vol5-no1 username=quarto loadinginfotext=1954-Vol5-No1 showhtmllink=true width=420 height=577 unit=px]
