Revisions to poems in Some Trees in various book and periodical publications
(The Yale University Press edition of Some Trees has been used as the standard: each publication has been compared against it.)
(This list of revisions does not take account of variations between British and American English in punctuation and spelling.)
(It is quite possible that some of these revisions were not Ashbery's suggestions but either errors or decisions of the publisher.)
(Considerable care has been taken in comparing the Yale edition of Some Trees with Turandot, New World Writing, Contemporary American Poetry, Selected Poems [Cape], Some Trees [Corinth], Penguin Modern Poets and Some Trees [Ecco]. Considerably less care has been taken in comparing the Yale edition of Some Trees with Selected Poems [Penguin, Paladin, Carcanet, Eurographica] and The Mooring of Starting Out [Ecco, Carcanet], on the [perhaps erroneous] assumption that revisions were unlikely to have been made at such late dates.)
***
"Popular Songs"
line 3 of stanza 2
Turandot (1953) – "Rises nightly to exasperated stands"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Rises nightly to disappointed stands"
***
"Poem "
line 1 of stanza 4
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "A room of people waiting"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "A roomful of people waiting"
***
"Pantoum"
line 1 of stanza 3
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "The usual obtuse blanket"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) – "The usual obtuse blanket?"
[reverts to the Yale U.P. version in The Mooring of Starting Out]
***
"The Mythological Poet"
line 4 of Part I
Turandot (1953) – "Of sensation, as if a fixed delight"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Of sensation, as if pleasure"
line 7 of Part II
Turandot (1953) – seventh line is not followed by stanza break
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – seventh line is followed by stanza break
***
"The Orioles"
line 1 of stanza 2
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "The old house guards its memories; the birds"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "The old house guards its memories, the birds"
line 3 of stanza 8
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "And even when they wing against the trees in bright formation"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "And even when they
fly against the trees in bright formation"
***
"Errors"
line 13
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "The moon tears up, scoffing at unrinsed portions."
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "The moon now tears up, scoffing at the unrinsed portions."
***
"Illustration"
line 16 of Part II
Turandot (1953) – "Of indifference, or a miracle"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Of indifference, a miracle"
***
"Some Trees"
line 1 of stanza 1
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31) – "These are amazing; each"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "These are amazing: each"
line 2 of stanza 1
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31), Turandot (1953) – "Joining a neighbor, as if speech"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Joining a neighbor, as though speech"
line 1 of stanza 2
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31) – "To meet as far, this morning"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "To meet as far this morning"
line 1 of stanza 3
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31), Turandot (1953) – "To tell us we are;"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "To tell us we are:"
line 2 of stanza 3
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31) – "That our merely being here"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "That their merely being there"
line 1 of stanza 5
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31) – "A gathering of smiles, a summer morning."
Turandot (1953) – "A gathering of smiles, a winter morning."
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "A chorus of smiles, a winter morning."
line 3 of stanza 5
Harvard Advocate (1949 March 31), Turandot (1953) – "Our days put on such reticence,"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Our days put on such reticence"
***
"Hotel Dauphin"
line 3 of stanza 4
Quarterly Review of Literature (1955) – "Fortunately, the snow, cutting like a knife"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Fortunately, the snow, cutting like a knife,"
***
"The Painter"
line 3 of stanza 7 (last line)
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "As if his subject had decided to remain a prayer"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "As though his subject had decided to remain a prayer"
***
"And You Know"
line 15 of stanza 1
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "In my home come to me anxiously at night, asking how it goes."
Selected Poems (1967, Cape) – "In my home come to me anxiously at night, asking how it goes:"
***
"He"
line 1 of stanza 1
Turandot (1953), New World Writing (1953) – "He cuts down the lakes so they appear straight."
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "He cuts down the lakes so they appear straight"
line 1 of stanza 4
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "'He is the liar behind the hedge"
New World Writing (1953) – "'He is the liar behind the hedge."
line 3 of stanza 3
Turandot (1953) – "He writes to say, 'If ever you visit this island"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "He writes to say, 'If ever you visit this island,"
line 4 of stanza 8
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "He helps his mother take in the clothes-line."
New World Writing (1953) – "He helps his mother take in the clothesline."
line 2 of stanza 9
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "He is known as 'Liverlips.'"
New World Writing (1953) – "He is known as Liverlips."
line 1 of stanza 12
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "'He prevented the murder of Mistinguett in Mexico."
New World Writing (1953) – "'He prevented the murder of Mistinguette in Mexico."
***
"Meditations of a Parrot"
line 2 of stanza 1
Turandot (1953) – "The oasis and the paraphrase"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "The oasis and the bed"
line 3 of stanza 5 (last line)
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "And all day: Robin Hood! Robin Hood!)"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) – "And all day! Robin Hood! Robin Hood!)"
[reverts to the Yale U.P. version in The Mooring of Starting Out]
***
"The Way They Took"
line 4 of stanza 1
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "We hedged about leisure, feeling walking"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "We hedged about leisure, feeling, walking"
line 8 of stanza 1
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "He saw the look of some other people,"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "You saw the look of some other people,"
line 9 of stanza 1
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "Huge husks of chattering boys,"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Huge husks of chattering boys"
line 10 of stanza 1
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "Girls unfathomable in lovely dresses"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "And girls unfathomable in lovely dresses"
line 2 of stanza 2
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "To what was on my shoulder. One day"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "To what was on my shoulder. One day you were lunching"
line 3 of stanza 2
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "You were ruminating with a friend's mother,"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "With a friend's mother; I thought how plebeian all this testimony,"
line 1 of stanza 3
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "But I know how romantic, how they whispered"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "But I know now how romantic, how they whispered"
line 2 of stanza 3
Folder (1953 Winter [i.e. October]) – "Under the lace of their aspiring"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Behind the lace of their aspiring"
***
"A Pastoral"
line 1 of stanza 3
Folder (1954 [April?]) – "The next day, finding him less handsome,"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Tomorrow, finding him less handsome,"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "Tomorrow, finding them less handsome,"
line 2 of stanza 3
Folder (1954 [April?]) – "They side with the foreseeing of animals."
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "They might side with the foreseeing of animals."
line 4 of stanza 3
Folder (1954 [April?]) – "Begin to flow, teaching the showboat"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Would start, teaching the showboat"
line 6 of stanza 3
Folder (1954 [April?]) – "What flowers to press back into shade."
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Which flowers to press back into the shade."
line 2 of stanza 4
Folder (1954 [April?]) – "My mouse-colored head shall mobilize that handsome"
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "Myself shall mobilize that handsome"
line 3 of stanza 6
Some Trees (1956, Yale) – "That cleave to the heart before it learns what animals"
Some Trees (1970, Corinth; 1978, Ecco) (and all subsequent publications) – "That cleave to the heart before it learns the animals"
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