Lyric interventions : feminism, experimental poetry, and contemporary discourse

304 Pages·2004·0.858 MB·English

by  Kinnahan, Linda Arbaugh

Lyric interventions

linda a. kinnahan
Lyric interventions
feminism, experimental poetry, and
contemporary discourse
University of Iowa Press iowa city
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242
Copyright © 2004 by the University of Iowa Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Design by Richard Hendel
http://www.uiowa.edu/uiowapress
No part of this book may be reproduced or
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reasonable steps have been taken to contact
copyright holders of material used in this book.
The publisher would be pleased to make suitable
arrangements with any whom it has not been
possible to reach.
The publication of this book was generously
supported by the University of Iowa Foundation.
Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kinnahan, Linda A. (Linda Arbaugh)
Lyric interventions: feminism, experimental poetry, and
contemporary discourse / by Linda A. Kinnahan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
isbn0-87745-873-1 (cloth)
1. Feminist poetry, American—History and criticism.
2. American poetry—Women authors—History and
criticism. 3. English poetry—Women authors—History
and criticism. 4. Experimental poetry, American—
History and criticism. 5. Experimental poetry, English—
History and criticism. 6. Feminism and literature—
United States. 7. Feminism and literature—Great
Britain. 8. Women and literature—United States.
9. Women and literature—Great Britain. 10. Lyric
poetry—History and criticism. I. Title.
ps310.f45k56 2004
(cid:1)
811.54099287—dc21 2003054892
04 05 06 07 08 c 5 4 3 2 1
For Tom and Chloe

Contents
Acknowledgments and Permissions ix
Introduction xiii
1 Lyric Conversations and Interventions 1
2 Lyric Discourse, the Arts, and the Avant-Garde:
Barbara Guest and Kathleen Fraser in the Sixties 41
3 “Our Visible Selves”:
Visual-Verbal Collaborations in Erica Hunt, Alison Saar, and
M. Nourbese Philip 80
4 The Rhetoric of Self, Nation, and Economics:
A Poetics of Public Discourse in Carol Ann Duffy 132
5 Theory and the Lyric “I”:
Feminist Experimentalism in Britain 180
Notes 223
Bibliography 247
Index 265

Acknowledgments and Permissions
To my mind, communities make books possible. Writing this book
has been less a singular effort than the result of many efforts by many
people, and I am grateful for the generosity, enthusiasm, expertise,
and goodwill directed toward this project in all of its stages. I want to
thank, in particular, all of those scholars working at the interstices of
poetry, poetics, and feminism who have directly or indirectly guided
me. The scholarship, conversations, and sharing of ideas that charac-
terize this community have been invaluable. As a group, the editorial
board and contributors involved with the online journalHOW2 ex-
emplify how a scholarly community might work to enable creative,
collaborative thinking, and I thank them all, especially the founding
editor Kathleen Fraser. Her commitment to expanding conversa-
tions about poetry, gender, and language has had a tangible impact on
many scholars and poets, and I feel fortunate to have experienced
Kathleen’s gracious willingness to support and engage many levels of
conversation.
I would also like to thank those scholars who have read part or
all of this book at different stages, including Jeanne Heuving, Rachel
Blau DuPlessis, Cristanne Miller, Lynn Keller, Romana Huk, Ter-
rance Diggory, Stephan Paul Miller, Elisabeth Frost, Cynthia Hogue,
Laura Hinton, Alison Marks, Deryn Rees-Jones, and other anony-
mous readers whose suggestions I value. Numerous colleagues and
friends have helped in ways they may not even know, and I especially
must thank Dan Watkins, Wallace Watson, Elizabeth Savage, Anne
Brannen, and Magali Michael. The graduate students at Duquesne
University have been a gift from the moment I stepped on campus
twelve years ago, and they have not only tolerated my obsession with
poetry and feminism but consistently energized me with their intel-
lectual explorations and open minds. A number of graduate research
assistants have labored over arduous tasks with good cheer as I’ve
worked on this project, and my thanks, thanks, thanks go to Ellen
Smith, Kara Mollis, Mindy Boffemyer, Amy Gallo, Megan Jewell, and
Laurie McMillan.
The institutional support of Duquesne University enabled me to