Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common

This article takes breadth to be the central fact to Robert Duncan’s poetry. It argues for a reading of Duncan’s work from the perspective of his yearning for synthesis, while acknowledging that the “grand collage” Duncan evokes must remain out of reach. It is this daring scope, with its own excesse...

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Main Author: Miriam Nichols
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" 2020-12-01
Series:Sillages Critiques
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/10312
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author Miriam Nichols
author_facet Miriam Nichols
author_sort Miriam Nichols
collection DOAJ
description This article takes breadth to be the central fact to Robert Duncan’s poetry. It argues for a reading of Duncan’s work from the perspective of his yearning for synthesis, while acknowledging that the “grand collage” Duncan evokes must remain out of reach. It is this daring scope, with its own excesses and distortions, that accounts for the multiple challenges Duncan’s work continues to pose to his readers. This article suggests a different understanding of measure in Duncan­ – an ethical and methodological one, rather than a strictly formal or prosodic one. Duncan’s purpose is at once political, moral and aesthetic, directed toward the articulation of human collectivity, despite the recognition that modern societies are fraught with social and cultural difference.
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series Sillages Critiques
spelling doaj-art-b908f2b463864d4b9cbe506405b035742025-01-30T13:47:26ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022020-12-012910.4000/sillagescritiques.10312Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the CommonMiriam NicholsThis article takes breadth to be the central fact to Robert Duncan’s poetry. It argues for a reading of Duncan’s work from the perspective of his yearning for synthesis, while acknowledging that the “grand collage” Duncan evokes must remain out of reach. It is this daring scope, with its own excesses and distortions, that accounts for the multiple challenges Duncan’s work continues to pose to his readers. This article suggests a different understanding of measure in Duncan­ – an ethical and methodological one, rather than a strictly formal or prosodic one. Duncan’s purpose is at once political, moral and aesthetic, directed toward the articulation of human collectivity, despite the recognition that modern societies are fraught with social and cultural difference.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/10312Robert Duncanmodern American poetrymythopoesis
spellingShingle Miriam Nichols
Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
Sillages Critiques
Robert Duncan
modern American poetry
mythopoesis
title Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
title_full Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
title_fullStr Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
title_full_unstemmed Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
title_short Robert Duncan’s Big Poetry: Re-visioning the Common
title_sort robert duncan s big poetry re visioning the common
topic Robert Duncan
modern American poetry
mythopoesis
url https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/10312
work_keys_str_mv AT miriamnichols robertduncansbigpoetryrevisioningthecommon