Robert Duncan

Profoundly original yet insistent on the derivative quality of his work, transgressive yet affirmative of tradition, Robert Duncan (1919-1988) was a generative force among American poets, and his poetry and poetics establish him as a major figure in mid- and late- 20th-century American letters. This second volume of Robert Duncan’s collected poetry and plays presents authoritative annotated texts of both collected and uncollected work from his middle and late writing years (1958-1988), with commentaries on each of the five books from this period: The Opening of the Field, Roots and Branches, Bending the Bow, and the two volumes of Ground Work.



The biographical and critical introduction discusses Duncan as a late Romantic and postmodern American writer; his formulation of a homosexual poetics; his development of the serial poem; the notation and centrality of sound as organizing principle; his relations with such fellow poets as Robin Blaser, Charles Olson, and Jack Spicer; his indebtedness to Alfred North Whitehead; and his collaborations with the painter Jess Collins, his lifelong partner. Texts include his anti-war poems of the 1960s and 70s, his homages to Dante and other canonical poets, and his translations from the French of Gérard de Nerval, as well as the complete Structure of Rime and Passages series.

 

Profund original, dar insistent asupra calitatii derivate a operei sale, transgresiv, dar afirmativ al traditiei, Robert Duncan (1919-1988) a fost o forta generatoare in randul poetilor americani, iar poezia si poetica sa il consacra ca o figura majora la mijlocul si la sfarsitul anului Scrisori americane din secolul XX. Acest al doilea volum al poeziei si pieselor colectate ale lui Robert Duncan prezinta texte autorizate adnotate atat din lucrarile culese, cat si din cele colectate din anii sai de scriere medii si tarzii (1958-1988), cu comentarii la fiecare dintre cele cinci carti din aceasta perioada: Deschiderea campului , Radacini si ramuri, indoirea arcului si cele doua volume de lucrari la sol.