Situating Poetry: Covenant and Genre in American Modernism

Situating Poetry by Joshua Logan Wall explores the solidarity and division within and among ethnic and religious identities in American modernism through the lines of poetry. It illustrates how politically marginalized writers from different religious backgrounds wrestled with their status as American outsiders and produced a secularized version of America in which poetry governed individual obligations to one another across multiethnic barriers.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 06 December 2022
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

Situating Poetry, a groundbreaking work by Joshua Logan Wall, delves into the intricate tapestry of American modernism by exploring the profound interplay of solidarity and division within and among ethnic and religious identities through the lens of poetry. By challenging the conventional notion of poetry as an individual act, Wall invites us to consider the realm of modern poetry as a collective endeavor. This exploration demands that we delve into the fundamental questions that shape the genre, such as the precise location and trajectory of a poem within the broader landscape of modern literature.

In his meticulously researched study, Wall examines the works and careers of five poets who were integral to the New York literary scene during the period spanning from 1910 to 1940. These poets, James Weldon Johnson, Charles Reznikoff, Lola Ridge, Louis Zukofsky, and Robert Hayden, hailed from diverse religious backgrounds, including Black, Jewish, and Irish-American anarchism. What sets Situating Poetry apart is Wall's multiethnic and pluralist approach, which seeks to shed light on the shared desires of these poets to foster more democratic communities through their art and the covenantal publics that their poems created.

Despite their varying backgrounds and unconventional affiliations, Wall argues that each of these poets shared a profound longing to transcend the boundaries of solidarity and division within and among ethnic identities and their corresponding literatures. Through their poetry, they sought to establish a secularized version of America where poetry, rather than God, governed the obligations and connections between individuals across multiethnic barriers.

Wall's analysis is particularly insightful as it adopts a multiethnic and pluralist lens, allowing us to examine the complexities of solidarity and division within and among ethnic identities. By exploring the interplay between religious pluralism and modernist poetics, he provides a unique perspective on the boundaries of unity and difference within the American cultural landscape.

In conclusion, Situating Poetry is a groundbreaking work that offers a fresh and compelling perspective on the rich tapestry of American modernism. Through its exploration of solidarity and division within and among ethnic and religious identities, Wall challenges our assumptions about modern poetry and encourages us to consider the genre in a broader social and cultural context. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of identity, literature, and the power of art to shape society.

Weight: 394g
Dimension: 152 x 230 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421443799