George Oppen was an Objectivist poet born in New Rochelle, New York. Along with his wife, Mary, he published the groundbreaking Objectivist Anthology, which included work by Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. He also worked for the Objectivist Press Co-Op in New York. He turned to political activism in the 1930’s and joined the communist party in 1936. Oppen spent time in the military from 1942-1945 and was wounded in combat.
More By This Poet
Time of the Missile
I remember a square of New York’s Hudson River glinting between warehouses.
Difficult to approach the water below the pier
Swirling, covered with oil the ship at the pier
A steel wall: tons in the water,
Width.
The hand for holding,
Legs for walking,
The eye sees!...