A Poetics of Global Solidarity: Modern American Poetry and Social Movements

ISBN-13: 9781137568304 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 255 str.

Clemens Spahr

Opis

A Poetics of Global Solidarity traces the transformations of the engaged tradition of modern and contemporary American poetry. Clemens Spahr argues that the presence or absence of social and political movements has crucially shaped the imagination of writers who see poetry as a form of cultural practice. The book offers readings of the poetry of the Great Depression, the Harlem Renaissance, post-World War II political poetry, the Beats, and contemporary poetry by writers such as Amiri Baraka and Mark Nowak, as well as song lyrics from IWW songwriter Joe Hill to contemporary rap lyricists and hardcore punk bands. Reading the vision of global solidarity that underlies large parts of modern and contemporary American poetry along the trajectory of the rise and fall of important social and political movements allows us to establish a litterature engagee within the field of American poetry.

Recenzje

"This book will be a game-changer for the study of modern American poetry. It argues for the first time that there is a century-long progressive tradition of poetic efforts to create an American voice and subject position that is fundamentally international in its scope and political/aesthetic positioning. Because its historical reach is so wide and its thesis so timely, it deserves a wide audience." - Cary Nelson, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

"Dealing with widely- and under-read poets in the age of liberalism and neoliberalism, this impressive study is an essential addition to the history of poetic 'tradition.' Following (and complicating) such formations of 'tradition' as the avant-garde (Perloff), 'opposing poetries' (Lazer), and marginalization (Moten, DuPlessis), Spahr has brilliantly excavated our tradition of politically committed poetry. No tradition could feel more necessary now." - Jennifer Ashton, Associate Professor of English, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

O autorze

Clemens Spahr is a Junior Professor in the Department of English/American Studies at the Mainz University, Germany.