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The Resistance to Poetry
James Longenbach
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Description for The Resistance to Poetry
Paperback. A skilled study in which each chapter brings a fresh perspective to a crucial aspect of poetry, showing that the power of language depends less on meaning than on the way in which it means. The author argues that poetry is its own best enemy. Num Pages: 144 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: DSB; DSC. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 216 x 181 x 11. Weight in Grams: 212.
Poetry, argues James Longenbach, is its own best enemy. Examining a wide array of poets, from Callimachus to Louise Gluck, he explains that the resistance to poetry is, quite specifically, the wonder of poetry. Poems do convey knowledge, he suggests, but they do so in forms that continually work against their being facile vehicles for its efficient transmission. In fact, this self-resistance is the source of the reader's pleasure: we read poetry not to escape difficulty but to embrace it. Longenbach makes his case through a sustained engagement with the language of poems. Each chapter brings a fresh perspective to ... Read more
Poetry, argues James Longenbach, is its own best enemy. Examining a wide array of poets, from Callimachus to Louise Gluck, he explains that the resistance to poetry is, quite specifically, the wonder of poetry. Poems do convey knowledge, he suggests, but they do so in forms that continually work against their being facile vehicles for its efficient transmission. In fact, this self-resistance is the source of the reader's pleasure: we read poetry not to escape difficulty but to embrace it. Longenbach makes his case through a sustained engagement with the language of poems. Each chapter brings a fresh perspective to ... Read more
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2005
Publisher
University Of Chicago Press
Number of pages
144
Condition
New
Number of Pages
144
Place of Publication
, United States
ISBN
9780226492506
SKU
V9780226492506
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-50
About James Longenbach
James Longenbach is the Joseph Henry Gilmore Professor of English at the University of Rochester and the author of four distinguished critical studies of modern literature, most recently Modern Poetry after Modernism. His two books of poems, Threshold and Fleet River, are published by the University of Chicago Press.
Reviews for The Resistance to Poetry
"An intelligent, elegant and valuable defense of poetry." - John Palattella, Nation "James Longenbach's exhilarating and subtle book makes the eloquent case for the necessary unpopularity of poetry." - Adam Philips, Guardian (UK) "Longenbach's spare method is that of a poet, his careful exposition like that of a poem.... A beautiful little book." - Library Journal "Throughout nine small and ... Read more