Overheard Voices: Address and Subjectivity in Postmodern American Poetry

by Keniston; Ann

• ISBN13: 9780415976275
• ISBN10: 0415976278
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Overheard Voicesexamines poetic address and in particular apostrophe (the address of absent or inanimate others) in the work of four post-World War II American poets, with a focus on loss, desire, figuration, audience, and subjectivity. By approaching these crucial issues from an unexpected angle--through a study of the seldom-examined lyric "you"--Overheard Voicesoffers new insight into both contemporary lyric and the lyric genre more generally. The book offers detailed readings of Sylvia Plath, James Merrill, Louise Gluck, and Frank Bidart.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction "The fluidity of damaged Form": Theorizing Postmodern Address	1	(26)
Chapter One Recovering You: Sylvia Plath's Ariel	27	(24)
Chapter Two Ghostly Projections: James Merrill's The Changing Light at Sandover	51	(20)
Chapter Three Buried with the Romantics: Louise Glück's The Wild Iris	71	(24)
Chapter Four Homo Faber: Frank Bidart's Desire	95	(26)
Conclusion "A dream of this room": Self-Effacement and Lyric Space	121	(14)
Notes	135	(22)
Works Cited	157	(8)
Index	165