History, Memory, and the Literary Left: Modern American Poetry, 1935-1968 (Contemp North American Poetry)

304 Pages·2006·0.9 MB·English

by  John Lowney

History, Memory,
and the Literary Left
Modern American
Poetry, 1935–1968
by John Lowney
contemporary north american poetry series
history, memory, and the literary left
contemporary
north american
poetry series
Series Editors
Alan Golding, Lynn Keller,
and Adalaide Morris
History,
Memory,
and the
Literary Left
Modern American Poetry,
1935–1968
by john lowney
university of iowa press
iowa city
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 
Copyright © by the University of Iowa Press
http://www.uiowapress.org
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
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Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lowney, John, –.
History, memory, and the literary left: modern American poetry, –/ by
John Lowney.
p. cm.—(Contemporary North American poetry series)
Contents: The janitor’s poems of every day: American poetry and the s —
Buried history: the popular front poetics of Muriel Rukeyser’s “The book of the dead” —
Allegories of salvage: the peripheral vision of Elizabeth Bishop’s North & South —
Harlem Disc-tortions: the jazz memory of Langston Hughes’s Montage of a dream
deferred — A reportage and redemption: the poetics of African American counter-
memory in Gwendolyn Brooks’s “In the Mecca” — A metamorphic palimpsest: the
underground memory of Thomas McGrath’s “Letter to an imaginary friend” — The
spectre of the s: George Oppen’s “Of being numerous” and historical amnesia.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ---(cloth)
. American poetry—th century—History and criticism. . Right and left
(Political science) in literature. . Politics and literature—United States—History—
th century. . Poets, American—th century—Political and social views.
. Depressions——United States. I. Title. II. Series.
.  
'.—dc
          
For Ashley

Contents
Acknowledgments and Permissions ix
1. The Janitor’s Poems of Every Day:
American Poetry and the s 
2. Buried History: The Popular Front Poetics
of Muriel Rukeyser’s The Book of the Dead 
3. Allegories of Salvage: The Peripheral Vision
of Elizabeth Bishop’s North & South 
4. Harlem Disc-tortions: The Jazz Memory of
Langston Hughes’s Montage of a Dream Deferred 
5. A Reportage and Redemption: The Poetics
of African American Countermemory in
Gwendolyn Brooks’s In the Mecca 
6. A Metamorphic Palimpsest: The Underground
Memory of Thomas McGrath’s Letter to an
Imaginary Friend 
7. The Spectre of the s: George Oppen’s
Of Being Numerous andHistorical Amnesia 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 

Acknowledgments and Permissions
Having spent quite a few years writing this book on American poetry
and collective memory, I appreciate more than ever how scholarly books are col-
laborative efforts. I am fortunate to have had the support of a number of intellec-
tual communities that have enhanced the experience of researching and writing
this book. I want to acknowledge those whose generosity, enthusiasm, and wis-
dom have made this experience so gratifying.
My colleagues in the St. John’s University English Department have collab-
orated on this project in innumerable ways, as they have continually reminded
me how vital the relationship of research to teaching is. I thank especially Steven
Sicari and Derek Owens, whose friendship and intellectual support since the ear-
lieststages of this book have meant so much to me. My conversations with them
and with Gregory Maertz, Willard Gingerich, Jennifer Travis, Robert Fanuzzi,
Granville Ganter, and Lee Ann Brown have influenced my thinking about mod-
ernism and American cultural studies as the book has evolved. I also want to thank
my undergraduate and graduate students at St. John’s, who continue to challenge
me and confirm my purpose as an educator and scholar. This book has become
what it is largely because of the classes in twentieth-century American and
African American literature that I have taught at St. John’s. Finally, I am grateful
to St. John’s University for the institutional support I have received while writ-
ing this book, specifically for the Summer Support of Research grants that have
facilitated my research. I express my gratitude in particular to Jeffrey Fagen not
only for his support of my work but also for his leadership as dean of St. John’s
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
I thank the editors of the Contemporary North American Poetry Series for
their vision and perseverance in making this series possible. Alan Golding, Lynn
Keller, and Adalaide Morris have provided me with exemplary guidance as this
project has found its home at the University of Iowa Press. Holly Carver, the
director of the University of Iowa Press, has impressed me not only with her pro-
fessionalism but also with her patience, kindness, and sense of humor. I also want
to thank Charlotte Wright, Allison Thomas, Karen Copp, and the staffat the
University of Iowa Press for their outstanding work in producing this book. I
am especially appreciative of the copyediting work of Robert Burchfield.
Walter Kalaidjian and the anonymous reader for the University of Iowa Press
have enhanced this book with their thoughtful and thorough comments. I also
want to acknowledge those who have read and responded to parts of this book
ix