Poetic Obligation
eBook - PDF

Poetic Obligation

Ethics in Experimental American Poetry after 1945

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Poetic Obligation

Ethics in Experimental American Poetry after 1945

About this book

Since at least the time of Plato's Republic, the relationship between poetry and ethics has been troubled. Through the prism of what has been called the "new" ethical criticism, inspired by the work of Emmanuel Levinas, G. Matthew Jenkins considers the works of Objectivists, Black Mountain poets, and Language poets in light of their full potential to reshape this ancient relationship.

American experimental poetry is usually read in either political or moral terms. Poetic Obligation, by contrast, considers the poems of Louis Zukofsky, Charles Reznikoff, George Oppen, Edward Dorn, Robert Duncan, Susan Howe, and Lyn Hejinian in terms of the philosophical notion of ethical obligation to the Other in language. Jenkins's historical trajectory enables him to consider the full breadth of ethical topics that have driven theoretical debate since the end of World War II. This original approach establishes an ethical lineage in the works of twentieth-century experimental poets, creating a way to reconcile the breach between poetry and the issue of ethics in literature at large.

With implications for a host of social issues, including ethnicity and immigration, economic inequities, and human rights, Jenkins's imaginative reconciliation of poetry and ethics will provide stimulating reading for teachers and scholars of American literature as well as advocates and devotees of poetry in general. Poetic Obligation marshals ample evidence that poetry matters and continues to speak to the important issues of our day.

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Yes, you can access Poetic Obligation by Matthew G. Jenkins in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Preface
  3. Introduction: The Double-Double Turn
  4. Part 1: Objectivist Poethics
  5. Part 2: Excess and Eros
  6. Part 3: An Ethics of Sexual Alterity
  7. Conclusion: What Difference Does Poetic Obligation Make?
  8. Notes
  9. Bibliography
  10. Index