Sleek for the long flight

Sleek for the long flight (1972) is the title of a book of poems by William Matthews (1942-1997). The phrase does not appear in the contents of the book, neither as the tittle of a poem nor as a verse. I want to know if this is an idiom, phrase, or saying of any kind that a native speaker could decipher. Does it ring any bells, anyone? It appears in some other places: titles of other poems written after the publicaction of this book (and unrelated to the subject of airports, airplanes, travelling, etc), and in some article in a literary magazine. I can come up with metaphorical interpretations, but mainly I need to rule out the possibility of a fixed one. Thank youuu :)

It’s not an idiom, and not even a recognisable phrase – except as the title of Matthews’s own poem. It certainly sounds like a literary quotation, but I can’t find any clue as to its source. Maybe it comes from a book or poem about birds, rather than aircraft?

'Sleek' is commonly used to describe fur, and could therefore also be used of feathers. So I'd say it's a bird reference, not an aircraft one. Do some birds with long migrations develop special kinds of feathers for it? That's the impression it makes on me.

I would like to think that it's an interesting phrase that Matthews thought up himself or overheard.

I found the phrase in the title of a poem by James Harms, written in 1999, with the initials W.M. between the title and the first line, where one might include a dedication or acknowledgement. Since those are William Matthews' initials and since the poem is dated two years after Matthews' death, I expect the title honors (or otherwise acknowledges) Matthews and his poetry.
I found only this one poem, not plural 'poems' as in the OP.

It's also the title of an essay in The Kenyon Review, published in 2009, about the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho leaving his regular daily life to go on a Zen pilgrimage. I imagine the author borrowed Matthews' phrase to refer to the idea of discarding things that are not necessary for a long journey, either Basho's pilgrimage or one's journey through life.

Finally, I found it as the title of a play, with no description of what the play is about.

I've never heard of individual birds developing special feathers when migration season comes around.

It does definitely sound more like a reference to an animal of some kind, to me, than a reference to an aircraft. (Birds aren't the only animals that fly, even long distances, but it's probably most likely a bird if he had some specific animal in mind.)

I myself think it could be completely figurative, given that it's the title of a book of poems, and has nothing to do with literal sleekness. But who knows ... Like many lines in poetry and song lyrics (especially an isolated phrase like this one), the interpretation is up to you the reader, @Irresponsable Rimadora.

And welcome to the forum!

And welcome to poetry!

Looks like this is not the only collection of poems by William Matthews with a title that’s not also the title of one of the poems in it (and doesn’t appear to be a quote from anything in particular), so maybe the book titles reflect some kind of theme?

Roxxxannne said:

I imagine the author borrowed Matthews' phrase to refer to the idea of discarding things that are not necessary for a long journey

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Exactly what I was going to say. I interpret sleek here as meaning a form free of anything extraneous. A moving body (animal, aircraft, automobile, ship, etc.) is said to be sleek if it moves smoothly and efficiently through air or water, and to that end must have a shape that has no unnecessary protuberances or the like.

In a poetic context, we might use that word to refer to letting go of things in life that weigh us down and hold us back.

Irresponsable Rimadora said:

I can come up with metaphorical interpretations, but mainly I need to rule out the possibility of a fixed one.

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You may safely rule that out.

entangledbank said:

'Sleek' is commonly used to describe fur, and could therefore also be used of feathers.

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Yes: "sleek" and "glossy" are synonyms, and a glossy coat (of fur or hair) in a cat or dog is associated with good health. I suppose a bird needs good health if it is about to go on a long migration.

I'm sorry for the late reply. Notifications were misplaced.

Thank you all very much for the bird/general fauna reference! It made all the difference. The phrase makes more sense now, after all you've said. He's saying he's "lighter to fly" or "travelling light, now". I'm leaning towards something like "in it for the long run". Sleek for the long flight is his second collection of poems so... it makes sense. As if he were assuming authorship, or making a commitment. On the page and maybe in life too –1972 is the year of the publication but also the year he turned 30. And later he went on to publish over eigh more poem collections. So it seems a somewhat valid interpretation.

Thank you :) :) :)

I was wondering if you all knew or had already heard of W. Matthews before. Is he a famous poet in the US? Say...would people quote him? Do you know if other poets read him? He seems like a poets' poet. Carver supposedly quotes him in his complete poetry volume, that's how I found him. I can look around but your feel would help. I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina and he seems to be unknown over here. I attend a workshop with other poets, some renowned, who know, read and publish many many authors, and didn't know about him. For example: Ron Padget is a favourite in some circles, people love Ashbury or O'Hara, before them Wallace Stevens is famous, Anne Carson is a star obviously... Han Dong is big among poets.... but someone like Matthews seems to be uncharted territory here. Maybe I just haven't found the local Matthews fans, but it seems strange.

Thanks for your help :)

I think the number of people who know poets in the US is a pretty small number to start with. If he's obscure among poets then he's not going to be well known by many people here. It's probably a question confined to literary types. For everyone else you probably should take it as a no.

I'm not a big poetry fan, so I'm the wrong person to ask, but I've never heard the name.

I'm sure other poets read him -- poets read a lot of poetry by other poets. I doubt that ordinary Americans who don't make it a practice to read poetry would know him. I read poetry when I come across it, and I know Ashbery (note the spelling) and a handful of other 20th-century American poets, but I didn't recognize the name William Matthews in your OP. So, in short, I'd say he's not famous to people who don't claim to be readers of poetry.