Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Hollander's poem "Forget How to Remember How to Forget" is a thoughtful and intricate exploration of memory, its limitations, and the tension between written records and human recollection. The poem delves into how memory functions, its inherent flaws, and the role that writing plays in preserving or undermining our ability to remember.

The poem begins with the speaker acknowledging their poor memory: "I have a rotten memory," a statement that introduces the central theme. This line is contrasted with "the American version of that long French novel," alluding to Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," a work famously concerned with memory and its recovery through sensory experiences.

Hollander reflects on the nature of memorable moments: "save for the telling word / Leaping in all its colors out of the / Grayish blank, or for the mad turn of phrase." These vivid details stand out against the otherwise "grayish blank" of forgotten conversations and events. The speaker's role as "unyielding judge" who commits certain phrases to memory suggests an active, albeit selective, engagement with the act of remembering.

The poem draws a distinction between books and human memory: "Books can / Remember, for they have written it all / Down—they are in themselves all written down." This echoes the idea that written records serve as external repositories of memory, preserving details that the human mind might forget. Hollander invokes the dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus, where Socrates argues that writing diminishes the need for internal recollection, making it "remembering's enemy."

The act of writing is described as both preserving and transforming experience: "Writing it down—thereby writing it up, / The 'it' here being language or event— / Allows what was told to recall itself." This suggests that while writing captures and preserves events, it also changes their nature, lifting them from the fluidity of lived experience into the static form of text.

Hollander laments how "The flux of our experience will dry / Into mere flecks; once-great spots of time now / Are filmy moments of place, on the page." This imagery evokes the idea that memories, once vivid and significant, become faded and insubstantial when reduced to written records. The poem acknowledges the inevitability of this transformation and the loss it entails.

The invocation of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, highlights the struggle to recall names and details from a cluttered mind: "Mnemosyne (lost for a minute in / An overstuffed, messy drawer, crammed with names)." This personification emphasizes the chaotic nature of human memory, contrasting with the order and permanence of written text.

The poem questions the value of foresight versus hindsight: "And who, when hindsight frays, would want the most / Obvious compensation of foresight, / Prophecy creeping into the places / Recall was slowly vacating?" Hollander suggests that while the young might prefer foresight due to their future-oriented perspective, the act of remembering and reflecting on the past holds its own significance.

The final lines of the poem evoke the continuous flow of time: "Go on climbing, as steps on steps arise / And it all keeps dissolving into that / Father of Waters that every fresh / Moment originates anew." This metaphor of the river, symbolizing time, underscores the relentless progression of moments into the past. The "sweet, silent judgment" that commutes past experiences into "time already served" suggests a sense of acceptance and peace with the transient nature of life.

"Forget How to Remember How to Forget" is a profound meditation on the complexities of memory and the interplay between written and lived experiences. Through its rich imagery and philosophical reflections, Hollander's poem invites readers to consider how we remember, what we choose to forget, and the ways in which writing both aids and alters our understanding of the past.

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