As its name implies, the Improvisations is not a meticulously planned book. It’s not a high concept type of thing where you literally move the Eleusinian Myth to New Jersey. William Carlos Williams simply went to work in the morning and when he returned home at night, no matter how late it was, before going to bed, he wrote something, anything, and at the end of the year he had a pile of texts in front of him which were now the rough precursor of a book. Those texts were loosely based on what had happened to him throughout that day, or on something he had seen or thought about.

Astral Codex Ten, Your Book Review: Kora In Hell, August 26, 2022

William Carlos Williams’ work ethic was astounding. He wrote bits of Kora in Hell every night during a time as Astral Codex Ten points out, he must’ve been slammed with house calls and gynecology requests due to the WWI doctor shortage.

Kora in Hell must be one of William Carlos Williams less heralded works. It’s not his standard volume of poetry, but it’s not a novel either.

Read the full review here.