Fair Copy: Relational Poetics and Antebellum American Women's Poetry

Jennifer Putzi's book Fair Copy studies the composition, publication, and circulation of American women's poetry in the antebellum United States. She proposes a theory and methodology of relational poetics, focusing on poetry written by working-class and African American women poets. Putzi argues that relational practices like imitation, community, and collaboration distinguished the poetry of antebellum American women, especially those whose access to print was mediated by class or race. She recovers poetry by the factory girls of the Lowell Offering, African American poet Sarah Forten, and domestic servant Maria James, whose volume Wales, and Other Poems was published in 1839. Putzi's work reveals a careful navigation of the path to print for each of these writers and a fierce claim to poetry and all that it represented in the antebellum United States.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 05 November 2021
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

In her groundbreaking study, "Fair Copy: The Composition, Publication, and Circulation of American Women's Poetry in the Antebellum United States," Jennifer Putzi delves into the intricate tapestry of American women's poetry during the antebellum era. Challenging the traditional scholarly emphasis on originality and individuality or the recovery method centered on author-based interventions, Putzi presents a novel theory and methodology of relational poetics. Focusing on the works of working-class and African American women poets, she showcases how an emphasis on relationships between and among people and texts shaped the poetic expressions of these women. Through a meticulous analysis, Putzi demonstrates how these poets navigated the complexities of print culture, gained access to publication, and crafted their poems to resonate within various print communities.

However, it is the very relationality of these poems and the poets who published them that has often led to their marginalization within literary history. In her audacious endeavor, "Fair Copy," Putzi offers a transformative reading and recovery of this neglected body of work. Spanning from Lydia Huntley Sigourney to Elizabeth Akers Allen and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Putzi argues that relational practices such as imitation, community, and collaboration marked the distinctive poetry of antebellum American women, particularly those whose access to print was shaped by factors like class or race. To substantiate her claims, Putzi resurrects the poetry of factory girls from the Lowell Offering, African American poet Sarah Forten, and domestic servant Maria James, whose volume "Wales, and Other Poems" was published in 1839. Through her meticulous research, Putzi unveils the intricate pathways these writers took to gain recognition and establish their poetic voices in the antebellum United States.

Moreover, her work reveals a fierce claim to poetry and all that it represented in this period. Putzi's study not only sheds light on the overlooked contributions of antebellum American women poets but also challenges the dominant narratives of literary history. By emphasizing the relational aspects of their poetic practices, she offers a fresh perspective on the nineteenth-century American literary landscape. "Fair Copy" is a groundbreaking contribution to the field, destined to reshape our understanding of women's poetry and its role in shaping American cultural and social history.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812253467