The GeoLogic of Lorine Niedecker’s “Lake Superior”

Abstract

As a student of geology, I attuned my eye to the exactitude of observation required to convey the history of a place. My interest in the poetic work of observation led me to Lorine Niedecker’s “Lake Superior.” In that poem, historical, folkloric, and scientific knowledge crop up alongside the poet-speaker’s primary thoughts and perceptions. Observation becomes an artifact. Such encapsulated perceptions broaden the viewpoint through which one human might understand geologic time.