Ronald Johnson's modernist collage poetry

271 Pages·2010·1.763 MB·English

by  Ross Hair

Ronald Johnson’s Modernist 3
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10.1057/9780230115552 - Ronald Johnson's Modernist Collage Poetry, Ross Hair
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Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics
Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics promotes and pursues topics in the
burgeoning field of 20th and 21st century poetics. Critical and scholarly work on
poetry and poetics of interest to the series includes social location in its relation-
ships to subjectivity, to the construction of authorship, to oeuvres, and to careers;
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poetic reception and dissemination (groups, movements, formations, institutions); 3-1
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the intersection of poetry and theory; questions about language, poetic authority, 1-
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and the goals of writing; claims in poetics, impacts of social life, and the dynam- 20
ics of the poetic career as these are staged and debated by poets and inside poems. ct -
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Topics that are bibliographic, pedagogic, that concern the social field of poetry, and n
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reflect on the history of poetry studies are valued as well. This series focuses both e
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on individual poets and texts and on larger movements, poetic institutions, and gr
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q uestions about poetic authority, social identifications, and aesthetics. P
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Language and the Renewal of Society in Walt Whitman, Tro
Laura (Riding) Jackson, and Charles Olson et i
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The American Cratylus ote
Carla Billitteri bli
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Modernism and Poetic Inspiration sitet
The Shadow Mouth er
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Jed Rasula Uni
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The Social Life of Poetry d t
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Appalachia, Race, and Radical Modernism en
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Chris Green m - li
Procedural Form in Postmodern American Poetry co
Berrigan, Antin, Silliman, and Hejinian ect.
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David W. Huntsperger o
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Modernist Writings and Religio-scientific Discourse gra
H.D., Loy, and Toomer pal
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Lara Vetter w
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Male Subjectivity and Poetic Form in “New American” Poetry o
Andrew Mossin al fr
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The Poetry of Susan Howe at
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History, Theology, Authority ht
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Will Montgomery yri
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Ronald Johnson’s Modernist Collage Poetry C
Ross Hair
10.1057/9780230115552 - Ronald Johnson's Modernist Collage Poetry, Ross Hair
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Ross Hair Uni
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RONALD JOHNSON’S MODERNIST COLLAGE POETRY
Copyright © Ross Hair, 2010.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2010 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
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175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. 3-1
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Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, 1-
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this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, 20
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, ct -
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Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. n
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Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies eC
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and has companies and representatives throughout the world. a
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Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, Pal
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. o -
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ISBN: 978–0–230–10869–1 o
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data et i
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Hair, Ross, 1978– ote
Ronald Johnson's modernist collage poetry / Ross Hair. bli
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p. cm.—(Modern and contemporary poetry and poetics) s
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ISBN 978–0–230–10869–1 (alk. paper) sit
1. Johnson, Ronald, 1935– —Criticism and interpretation. er
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2. Found poetry, American—History and criticism. I. Title. ni
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PS3560.O386Z75 2010 d t
811(cid:1).54—dc22 2010020716 se
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AD ecsaitganl obgyu Ne erewcgoernd Iomf athgein bgo Soyks tise mavsa (ilPa)b Lletd f.r, oCmhe tnhnea Bi,r Iintidsiha .Library. m - lic
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First edition: December 2010 ct.
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on
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Printed in the United States of America. av
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Contents 3
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Acknowledgments vii o -
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Permissions ix Tr
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Abbreviations xiii ote
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Introduction: “Congeries of Word and Light” 1 sit
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1 Johnson’s New Transcendentalism 23 Uni
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2 Luminous Detail: Ezra Pound and Collage 51 ed t
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3 Visual Integrity in The Book of the Green Man 65 m - li
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4 Johnson’s Different Musics 91 ct.c
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5 Orphic Apocrypha: Radi os and the Found Text 123 on
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6 A “mosaic of Cosmos”: ARK’s Bricolage Poetics 157 gra
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Conclusion: Felix Culpa: Innocence and Renewal 195 w.
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Notes 205 al fr
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Bibliography 235 m
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Index 251 yri
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Acknowledgments
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First, I thank two people without whom this book would not have been o - P
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possible. I am especially grateful to Rachel Blau DuPlessis for the m
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enthusiasm and support she has shown for this book from the outset. et i Tr
I also express my gratitude to Peter O’Leary for making Johnson’s Literary ek
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Estate accessible. His willingness to share his ideas and thoughts with me bli
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has been invaluable and cherished, as has his friendship. ets
I have also benefited considerably from the advice and suggestions of sev- sit
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eral readers over the course of writing this book. I am particularly indebted ni
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to Peter Middleton who supervised me when the book was taking initial o
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shape in the form of my doctoral thesis. I also express my gratitude to Jed se
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Rasula and Stephen Morton for their attentive and encouraging responses c
to my thesis. I am also grateful to the anonymous reader of my manuscript m - li
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who made a number of valuable suggestions and comments. This book is all ct.c
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the better for them. nn
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Several libraries and individuals have generously made archive and ec
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private material available to me. In particular, I thank Michael Basinski gr
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and James Maynard at the Poetry/Rare Books Collection at Buffalo, and w.p
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William Crowe, Karen S. Cook, and Tanya Lee Shaw at Kansas University’s w
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Kenneth Spencer Research Library. In both instances, I was overwhelmed o
by the kindness and hospitality bestowed on me. Thanks are also due to the erial fr
Lilly Library at Indiana University for providing me with Johnson’s corre- at
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spondence to Ian Hamilton Finlay. I also thank Philip Van Aver for sharing ht
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his Johnson correspondence, and Harold Bloom for allowing me to repro- yri
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duce his letter to Johnson. C
This book would not have been possible without the generous support of
the AHRC and the research and travel bursaries provided by the University
of Southampton and Kansas University’s Spencer Research Library.
I thank Robert Webb, a tireless promoter of Johnson’s work, for generous
hospitality when I visited Topkea, Kansas, and for sharing all things
10.1057/9780230115552 - Ronald Johnson's Modernist Collage Poetry, Ross Hair
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viii ● Acknowledgments
Johnson with me during the course of my research. I also had the pleasure
of Thomas A. and Laurie Clark’s generosity in Pittenweem. I am grateful
to them not only for helping me with my enquiries about Johnson, but also
for their friendship, which has been a happy consequence of this work. Sam
Ward, on innumerable occasions, helped me with valuable references and
shared pertinent material on Johnson, as had Will Montgomery. To both 13
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I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation. Likewise, my thanks go to 1-0
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Devin Johnston, Andre Furlani, and Edward R. Burns for their help, and to 20
my friends and colleagues at the University of Southampton and University ect -
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of Portsmouth. on
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Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and affection to my ve
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family and to Elodie for all their support, patience, and encouragement dur- algr
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ing the writing of this book. I dedicate it to them. o -
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Permissions
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Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following authors, publishers, and o -
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copyright holders for permission to reproduce material. o
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Ronald Johnson material, published and unpublished, reprinted by permis- ket i
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sion of the Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. bliot
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Ronald Johnson, from The Book of the Green Man published by Longmans. et
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Copyright © 1967 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of the er
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Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. Uni
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Ronald Johnson, from Valley of the Many Colored Grasses published by W. W. e
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Norton. Copyright © 1969 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of ce
the Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. m - li
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Ronald Johnson, from The Spirit Walks, The Rocks Will Talk published by ct.
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Jargon Society. Copyright © 1969 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by per- on
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mission of the Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. ve
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Ronald Johnson, from Songs of the Earth published by Grabhorn-Hoyem p
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Press. Copyright © 1970 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of ww
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the Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. o
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Ronald Johnson, from ARK: The Foundations published by North Point eri
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Press. Copyright © 1980 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of m
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the Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson. g
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Ronald Johnson, from ARK 50: Spires 34–40 published by E. P. Dutton. C
Copyright © 1984 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of the
Literary Estate of Ronald Johnson.
Ronald Johnson, from ARK published by Living Batch Press. Copyright ©
1996 by Ronald Johnson. Reprinted by permission of the Literary Estate of
Ronald Johnson.
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