Leith - I am surprised that, in citing Olson's 'Maximus' poems, you make no
reference to William Carlos William's 'Paterson', where he employs a similar
approach; interpolating passages from correspondence, newspaper reports,
etc. I assume that 'Paterson' pre-dates 'Maximus'? ('Paterson' written in 5
vols. between 1946 and 1958, and 'Maximus' [?] - I only have parts IV, V &
VI in the 1968 Cape Goliard edition).
Some months ago (18? It was to the "old" poetryetc. list), I posted some
sections of a work in progress: "The Perth Poems", with the comment that,
having started the work and come to the usual (obligatory?) despair and
struggle stage, I decided to re-read both works to see how Williams and
Olson approached the task.
I must agree with your observation:
> Since the nineteenth century, surely the distinction between poetry and
> other forms of textual narrative has been blurred in poetic practice to
> the point where strict divisions or proscriptive rules are unworkable.
What fascinated me - particularly in the case of Williams - was the way he
incorporates a prose section and then - for wont of a better expression -
"bounces off it" into verse: references to be (tangentially) explored,
allusions to be explicated.... Some experiments from the "plastic arts"
(primarily in painting) from that period spring to mind as analogous (such
as incorporating newspaper cuttings, printed images, "real life" objects
into the painted work: to "bounce off", provide a focus/refocus, a tangible
context. Ach, beginning to stagger over my own words: I'd never make an art
critic!
But - to reiterate (and in agreement with you) - the prose sections in both
these works are definitely not "notes" in the sense of Eliot's to the
Wasteland and other examples cited; they are an integral part of the work.
And, yes, I still call both "poetry".
In closing, has there been any work comparing/contrasting Paterson &
Maximus? Would be interesting. Interesting also is that, on the dedication
page to Maximus 4,5,6 is this line:
"Some of these letters have appeared previously in:" - 'letters', not poems!
Cheers,
Viv
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|