James Longenbach
The Resistance to Poetry
- ISBN 13:
- 9780226492506
- author:
- James Longenbach
- format:
- Paperback
- publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- language:
- English
- Publication Year:
- 2004
- Pages:
- 144
- Dimensions:
- 13.97 x 1.02 x 21.59 centimetres
- Genre:
- Fiction & Literature, Literary Criticsm, Poetry,
- Condition:
- New
- Availability:
- Item usually sent within 10 working days
Description
The Resistance to Poetry by James Longenbach is a thought-provoking exploration of the nature of poetry. Poems inspire our trust, argues Longenbach, because they don't necessarily ask to be trusted. Their language is characterised by self-questioning metaphors and syntax that move in unexpected ways. Longenbach examines the work of various poets, from Virgil and Milton to Dickinson and Glück, to make his case for poetry's unique role. He suggests that poems convey knowledge only inasmuch as they refuse to be vehicles for efficient transmission of meaning. This self-resistance is the source of the reader's pleasure: we read poetry not to escape difficulty but to engage with it. A skilled study, The Resistance to Poetry honours poetry by allowing it to be what it is. Longenbach's work arrives at a critical moment, when many people are trying to mould and market poetry into something it is not.
Related Products
Related Products
Poetry Pie (Puffin Poetry)
Roger McGough
On Poetry
Davidson, Jonathan
Poetry in
Pip, Scroobius
The Poetry Toolkit: The Essential Guide to Studying Poetry
Williams, Rhian
Contemporary Poetry: Poets and Poetry since 1990
Brinton, Ian