Friday, September 29, 2006
Question for a friend
What books of criticism, essays, or history on postmodern/avant poetry do you think are most valuable? Anthologies are nice too, but I'm really looking for the prose-on-poetics here.
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After Confession is a useful one.
Neither of these is post-avant, but Poets Teaching Poets and Written in Water, Written in Stone are two essay collections of poetics I've enjoyed.
Neither of these is post-avant, but Poets Teaching Poets and Written in Water, Written in Stone are two essay collections of poetics I've enjoyed.
You've probably read these or many of these: Can Poetry Matter?, The Triggering Town, the Poets on Poetry series, Collected Essays of Denise Levertov.
Though I'm still (and will surely remain thus) confused about what exactly "post-avant" means, you should definitely check out Lyn Hejinian's "Language of Inquiry" and Rachel Blau Du Plessis' "The Pink Guitar". Kathleen Frasier's "Translating the Unspeakable" is good, too, and quite easy to follow-- much more than the Hejinian. Of course, these are all from my interest in feminist poetics, so keep that in mind. Certainly, they span gender lines.
Thanks for the suggestions, y'all. Kristin thanks you too.
Fortunately, I didn't use the "post-avant" label, because I also don't understand it or like it. :-)
Fortunately, I didn't use the "post-avant" label, because I also don't understand it or like it. :-)
Hey, Steve--
THE POETICS OF THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY is a fairly comprehensive anthology of essays, etc.--might be what you're looking for.
Take Care,
Clay
THE POETICS OF THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY is a fairly comprehensive anthology of essays, etc.--might be what you're looking for.
Take Care,
Clay
To my taste, the most effective critique I've read of the range of poetries (and related writing) that might be called postmodern or avant is in three essays by Susan Sherman in her book The Color of the Heart.
(For the life of me, I can't remember the titles of any of the relevant essays in the book -- it's been a number of years since I read them -- but if you check out the book, the specific essays should be pretty easy to identify in the table of contents.)
Another that might be worth a look is "Poetry and Poetics in a New Millenium" edited by Edward Foster, a collection of interviews with various poets of a generally postmodern leaning, published 2000 by Talisman House.
Apart from the above, I second the vote for Denise Levertov's New and Selected Essays, which I read slowly and carefully cover to cover when it came out in the early 90's; and What Is Found There by Adrienne Rich.
I should probably add here that I find most of the prose writing about postmodern flavored poetries pretty much unreadable. (For that matter, I find most prose writing about poetry in general unreadable.) Just saying this to give a sense of my overall slant on the subject.
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(For the life of me, I can't remember the titles of any of the relevant essays in the book -- it's been a number of years since I read them -- but if you check out the book, the specific essays should be pretty easy to identify in the table of contents.)
Another that might be worth a look is "Poetry and Poetics in a New Millenium" edited by Edward Foster, a collection of interviews with various poets of a generally postmodern leaning, published 2000 by Talisman House.
Apart from the above, I second the vote for Denise Levertov's New and Selected Essays, which I read slowly and carefully cover to cover when it came out in the early 90's; and What Is Found There by Adrienne Rich.
I should probably add here that I find most of the prose writing about postmodern flavored poetries pretty much unreadable. (For that matter, I find most prose writing about poetry in general unreadable.) Just saying this to give a sense of my overall slant on the subject.
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