Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-188) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: Civic Poetry, 1979-2012 -- 1. "Beyond My Outrage or My Admiration": Robert Pinsky's An Explanation of America -- 2. "Nothing Else Left to Read": Adrienne Rich's "An Atlas of the Difficult World" -- 3. "Who the Biggest Terrorist": Amiri Baraka's "Somebody Blew Up America" -- 4. Ether: Juliana Spahr, Ben Lerner, Lisa Jarnot -- 5. Dreams of a Common Language: Mark Nowak, Anne Boyer, Rodrigo Toscano -- Coda: For Whom Does One Write?
Summary:
"This book considers poems published in the United States since 1979 that directly engage with national and global politics. It shows that some of America's leading poets take it upon themselves to perform the role of public intellectuals. In doing so, these poets raise important questions about poetry and its social value. Examples include Robert Pinsky's An Explanation of America (1979), Adrienne Rich's "An Atlas of the Difficult World" (1991), Amiri Baraka's "Somebody Blew Up America" (2002), as well as books by Juliana Spahr, Ben Lerner, Lisa Jarnot, Mark Nowak, Anne Boyer, and Rodrigo Toscano. US Poetry in the Age of Empire traces the extent to which poetry, viewed as a language-based art form and an affect-producing tool, imparts knowledge about today's rapidly changing world"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.