“I Know a Man” is a poem by American author Robert Creeley that deals with the problem of finding meaning in contemporary life. First published in 1955, it later appeared as part of his 1991 collection, Selected Poems of Robert Creeley. Creeley was a major figure in the literary group known as the Black Mountain poets. Associated with Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Creeley, along with poets like Charles Olson, Paul Blackburn, and Ed Dorn, attempted to break away from inherited poetic forms that they viewed as "closed." They shifted their focus onto individual lines, perceptions, and utterances. For these poets, it was essential that the contents of their poetry matched their form. Many of these ideas were formalized in Olson's well-known essay "Projective Verse." Creeley, in particular, was interested in reshaping the formal constraints of his work to reflect his common themes: writing, identity, and meaning. In this poem, the reader finds him somewhat casually reflecting on fighting off the "darkness."
The poem begins in the middle of a conversation between two people. The speaker describes himself as a habitual talker and makes a comment about his friend's name. Then he becomes more abstract and describes a darkness that exists all around them, wondering how they might protect themselves from it. He suggests that perhaps he should just buy a large automobile. His friend tells him to just drive and to watch where he's going, implying that he nearly caused a car accident. The poem veers between elevated thoughts and colloquial language, ultimately ending on a note that is almost comically concrete. Stylistically, Creeley makes use of extensive enjambment, breaking off thoughts and even individual words to maintain a feeling of tumbling sideways through this conversation. Individual comments are sectioned off by commas. He also abbreviates the words "said" into "sd" and "you're" into "yr," further increasing the urgency of the reading experience. It is a poem trying to grapple with major questions, only to receive commonplace answers.
