John R. Woznicki - The New American Poetry : Fifty Years Later

The New American Poetry

The New American Poetry

Fifty Years Later

John R. Woznicki

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY PRESS

Bethlehem

Published by Lehigh University Press

Copublished with Rowman & Littlefield

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Copyright 2014 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The New American Poetry : Fifty Years Later / edited by John R. Woznicki.

pages cm

Includes bibliographic references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61146-124-4 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-61146-125-1 (electronic) 1. American poetry20th centuryHistory and criticism. I. Woznicki, John R., editor of compilation.

PS323.5.N49 2013

811'.509dc23

2013035295

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

There are always innumerable people to thank when bringing a project of this scope to fruition; so many have provided support in my efforts, including students, colleagues, friends, and family members. My hope is that I will not be negligent in thanking them personally, and when they do finally see this book in print they will recognize the important part they played in its production. There are those, however, who deserve particular mention here for their integral and most special roles. They include Paul Cappucci, with whom I had many vital discussions regarding the idea behind this project and without whose initial support the project would have failed to launch, Marjorie Perloff, who guided me toward potential contributors and provided professional advice, the editors at Lehigh University Press, particularly Scott Gordon and Monica Najar, whose direction proved very valuable, Stephen Nacco, who graciously lent his time to give of his editorial talents, and Regina Betz, for her help with the books index. The contributors to The New American Poetry: Fifty Years Later must also be acknowledged, especially, as they provided the excellent work that makes up this volume and have exacted great patience in waiting for its arrival in print. Finally, I must recognize those closest to memy wife, Tamara Kendig, and my children, Koren and Joshua, whose daily support, through the provision of spiritual and emotional sustenance, allowed for me to see this book to completion. I am forever grateful for their loving companionship.

I would also like to acknowledge the graciousness of many of the rights holders, estate executors, and publishing house representatives who understood the importance of this project and provided permissions for use of the work of the artists whom we have studied, especially Joan Blackman, Jill Turnbull, and Raymond Foye, Declan Spring from New Directions, and Victoria Fox from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. And my acknowledgments would not be complete if I did not recognize the very talented writers and editors who provided the opportunity for response, critics such as Ms. Perloff, Alan Golding, and Jed Rasula, each of the artists included in the original volume and those influenced by it, and Don Allen, who brought to us this treasured anthology some fifty years ago, a volume that will continue to invite response evermore.

Grateful acknowledgement is given to:

Homage to a Government from The Complete Poems of Philip Larkin by Philip Larkin, edited by Archie Burnett. Copyright 2012 by The Estate of Philip Larkin. Introduction copyright 2012 by Archie Burnett. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

Freely Espousing and The Morning of the Poem from Collected Poems by James Schuyler. Copyright 1993 by the Estate of James Schuyler. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

Lines from the Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones. Copyright by Amiri Baraka. Reprinted by permission of SLL/Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.

Lines from The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley, 19451975, by Robert Creeley. Copyright 2006 by University of California Press Books. Reprinted by permission by University of California Press Books.

The Continuity and The Problem by Paul Blackburn. Copyright 1985 by Joan Blackburn. Used by permission of Joan Blackburn.

Selected Lines in Gunslinger by Edward Dorn. Copyright 1989 by Duke University Press. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the copyright holder: www.dukeupress.edu

The Song of the Borderguard by Robert Duncan, from Selected Poems. Copyright 1950 by Robert Duncan. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Poem Beginning with a Line by Pindar and This Place Rumord to have been Sodom by Robert Duncan, from The Opening of the Field. Copyright 1960 by Robert Duncan. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Apprehensions by Robert Duncan, from Roots and Branches. Copyright 1964 by Robert Duncan. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Passages 25 by Robert Duncan, from Bending the Bow. Copyright 1968 by Robert Duncan. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Excerpts by Ezra Pound, from The Cantos of Ezra Pound. Copyright 1934 by Ezra Pound. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation, Pollinger, Ltd., and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

To a Poor Old Woman by William Carlos Williams, from Collected Poems: Volume I, 19091939. Copyright 1934 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Selected lines from various texts of William Carlos Williams in Trying to Build on Their Elders Work: The Correspondence of Donald Allen and William Carlos Williams by Paul Cappucci. Copyright 1959 by William Carlos Williams. Copyright 1976 by The Estate of William Carlos Williams. Copyright 2013 by the Estates of Paul H. Williams and William Eric Williams. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Now That Aprils Here by Gael Turnbull, from Collected Poems. Copyright 2006 by Gael Turnbull. Reprinted by permission of Jill Turnbull.

Lines from Howl and Sather Gate Illumination by Allen Ginsberg. Copyright 2001, 2007 by Allen Ginsberg, used by permission of The Wylie Agency LLC and HarperCollins.

Lines from The Collected Poems of Charles Olson: Excluding The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson. Copyright 1997 by University of California Press Books. Reprinted by permission by University of California Press Books.

Lines from The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson. Copyright 1985 by the Estate of Charles Olson. Reprinted by permission by University of California Press Books and the University of Connecticut Libraries. Works by Charles Olson published during his lifetime are held in copyright by the Estate of Charles Olson. Previously unpublished works by Charles Olson are copyright of the University of Connecticut Libraries. Used with permission.

Lines from The Air of June Sings by Ed Dorn. Copyright 1975 by University of California Press Books. Reprinted by permission by University of California Press Books.