Counter-revolution of the Word

The Conservative Attack on Modern Poetry, 1945-1960

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Poetry History & Criticism
Cover of the book Counter-revolution of the Word by Alan Filreis, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alan Filreis ISBN: 9781469606637
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: September 1, 2012
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Alan Filreis
ISBN: 9781469606637
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: September 1, 2012
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit--if not destroy--the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these "anticommunist antimodernists," as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist "conspiracy" against form and language. In Counter-revolution of the Word Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics.

Although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic, Filreis argues. By analyzing correspondence, decoding pseudonyms, drawing new connections through the archives, and conducting interviews, Filreis shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde. Filreis's analysis provides new insight into why experimental poetry has aroused such fear and alarm among American conservatives.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit--if not destroy--the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these "anticommunist antimodernists," as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist "conspiracy" against form and language. In Counter-revolution of the Word Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics.

Although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic, Filreis argues. By analyzing correspondence, decoding pseudonyms, drawing new connections through the archives, and conducting interviews, Filreis shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde. Filreis's analysis provides new insight into why experimental poetry has aroused such fear and alarm among American conservatives.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book All the Agents and Saints by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Southern Cultures: 2013 Global Southern Music Issue, Enhanced Ebook by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book The American Ascendancy by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Game of Privilege by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book The Party at Jack's by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book A Crisis of Community by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book GIs and Fräuleins by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book From Coveralls to Zoot Suits by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Shifting Loyalties by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book The End of Days by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book The Divided Path by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Housing Desegregation and Federal Policy by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Slippery Characters by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Yankee Destinies by Alan Filreis
Cover of the book Blurred Borders by Alan Filreis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy