Table Of Content&
POETRY PEDAGOGY
THE CHALLENGE OF THE CONTEMPORARY
EDITED BY
]OAN RETALLACK AND ]ULIANA SPAHR
*
POETRY & PEDAGOGY
© joan Retallack and juliana 5pahr, 2006.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 2006 978-1-4039-6912-5
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First published in 2006 by
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Copyright and Permissions
Versions or parts of several of these essays have been previously published. A
shorter version of Alan Golding's "'Isn't the Avant-Garde Always
Pedagogical': Experimental Poetics and/as Pedagogy" originally appeared in
the Jowa Review. Earlier versions and parts ofJonathan Monroe's ")Writing
Writing(" originally appeared in Diacritics and in Local Knowledges, Local
Practices: Writing in the Disciplines at c'ornell(University ofPittsburgh Press,
2003). Roland Greene's "New World Studies and the Limits of National
Literatures" originally appeared in the Stanford Humanities Review. Charles
Altieri's "Reading for Affect in the Lyric: From Modern to Contemporary"
is a revised version of an essay that originally appeared in the e1ecuonic
journal Romantic Praxis in September 2002 under the tide "From Two
Wordsworths to One Contemporary Poetics." Charles Bernstein's "The
DiHicult Poem" originally appeared in Harpers Magazine. Maria Damon's
"Post-literary Poetry, COllnterperformance, and Micropoetries" is a revised
and lIpdated version of an essay that originally appeared in Cl,zss [ssues (New
York University Press, 1997). Lisa Samllels and Jerome McGann's
"Deformance and Interpretation" originally appeared in NeU! Literary
History and in Radiant Textuality: Literature Mter the Worldwide Web
(New York: Palgrave/St. Martins, 2001). Diane Glancy's "He Has More
Than One Ear" originally appeared in The W0st Pole (University of
Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1997). We are thankful for permission to
reprint these essays.
The images by Tom Phillips, copyright 1980 and 1997, are reproduced
with the permission of the artist. Ronald Johnson materials from the
Spencer collection of University of Kansas (c) 2004, used by permission of
the Ronald Johnson Literary Estate. Excerpts from Charles Reznikoff are
reprinted with the permission of Black Sparrow Press. Excerpts from Joan
Retallack's Afterrimtzges. copyright 1995 by Joan Retallack, are reprinted by
permission of Wesleyan University Press. Excerpts from George Oppen's
c'ollected Poems. copyright 1975 by George Oppen, are reprinted by permis
sion of New Directions Publishing Corp. SALES TERRITORY: World
rights. Excerpts from Ron Silliman's Lit. published by Potes and Poets Press,
iv COPYRIGHT AND PERM ISS IONS
copyright 1987 by Ron Silliman, are reprinted by permISSIOn. Wing
Tek Lum's "Coloring a Rainbow" is used by perrnission ofWing Tek Lurn.
"Ho Just Cause I Speak Pidgin No Mean I Dumb" is reprinted by perrnis
sion of Diane Kahanu. Diane Kahanu now uses Hina Kahanu as her name
in support of the original people of Hawai'i who continue to be punished
for truly having what we all want, Hawai'i. Excerpts reprinted from Smldl
Kid Time Hawaii are used by permission of Bamboo Ridge Press.
On the cover is a sculpture by Janet Zweig, Thinking Contest, 1995. (The
two computers have two different vocabularies. Each computer thinks up
things using its own vocabulary and writes them down. The big red needle
gauges their brainpower.)
We need to think abour the practical educative force of poetry and, from
another angle, about the performative poetic practice of pedagogy. Auden's
dictum that "poetry makes nothing happen" is the pervasive assumption
that we will question. Poetry has a political role in society and in the schools
that serve society. Schools so often treat poetry as ornamental or value it for
its conceptual form, but not for its performative practice. Poets, for their
part, often don't seem willing to take seriously the political role of poetry.
They don't want to do the work of changing education, and they sort of
enjoy Auden's boast that poetry makes nothing happen. With Richard
Rorty, I believe that it is not arguing weil but speaking differently that
changes a culture. Poetry is the place where speaking differently is most
prevalent.
-Paul Conllolly, director, Institute for Writing and
Thinking (1982-1998) in email correspondence
with Joan Retallack in 1998 on the need for a
conference at Bard College on poetry and pedagogy.
This book is dedieated to all those poets and teaehers who suspeet that there are
vital things that ean be explored only by means ofpoetry and wtmt to engage in
thllt e>'1Jloration with their students.
Introduction: Why Teach Contemporary Poetries?
JOlm Retllilack Ilnd Julitmll Spllhr
I WHAT'S THE USE OF
CONTEMPORARYPOETR~
"Isn't the Avant-garde Always Pedagogical": Experimental
Poetics and/a s Pedagogy 13
Alan Golding
2 FFFFFailing with Poetry: The Centrifugal Classroom 30
Lynn Keller
3 Reading for Affect in the Lyric: Prom Modern to Contemporary 39
C'harles Altieri
4 )Writing Writing( 63
Jonathlln Monroe
5 NewWorid Studies and the Limits ofNational Literatures 80
Roland Greene
6 Beyond Rainbows: What Hawai'i's "Local" Poetry Has
Taught Me about Pedagogy 105
A10rris Young
11 A NEW "HOW TO"
7 Post-Literary Poetry, Counterperformance, and Micropoetries 129
MariaDamon
8 The Difflcult Poem 148
Charles Bernstein
9 Deformance and Interpretation 151
Jerome McGann and Lisa Samuels
10 Performance as Critical Practice: Nourbese
Philip's "Discourse on the Logic of Language" 181
A11lrk McMorris
11 The Didactic: Learning at Goethe's Knee 194
LytleShaw
12 Stages of Encounter with a Difficult Text 205
Lyn H~jinian
13 "My Sllsan Howe" or "Howe to Teach" 213
G. Mattheu; Jenkins
14 Language as Visible Vapor: Skywriting throllgh
Lyn Hejinian's Happily 224
Jim Keller
15 "Other" Voices: Teaching Kimiko Hahn's
The Unbearable Heart 234
Juliana Chang
16 Gumshoe Poetry 239
Jena Osman
17 Giving Beginning Adult Language Learners a Voice:
A Case for Poetry in the Foreign Language Classroom 251
HiramMaxim
18 Sex Oo11s, Mice, and Mother's Suitcase 260
Derek Ou;ens
19 CreativeWreading: A Prim er 275
Charles Bernstein
20 Between Jihad and McWorld: A Place for Poetry 282
Harryette Mullen
21 He Has More Than One Ear 293
Diane Glancy
22 Notes toward Exploding "Exploding Text:
Poetry Performance" 295
Bob Holman
Some Places to Find Neu; Poetries and Pedagogies 299
Notes on Contributors 303
Index 307
List of Figures
16.1 Page 10 from the 1980 edition of
Tom Phillips's A Humumertt 242
16.2 Page 10 from the 1997 edition of
Tom Phillips's A /Jumument 243
16.3 Ronald Johnson's mark-up of his 1892 edition of
Paradise Lost 244
18.1 Work by Roseanne Gatto; photo by Derek Owens 265
18.2 Work by Terrence Riley; photo by Derek Owens 266
18.3 Work by Nicolette Porochnia; photo by Derek Owens 268
18.4 Work by Kevin DiCamillo; photo by Derek Owens 268
18.5 Work by Antonia Alberga; photo by Derek Owens 269
18.6 Work by Alana PheitTer; photo by Derek Owens 270
18.7 Work by LaUfen Fratangelo; photo by Derek Owens 270
