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Unread 07-27-2001, 12:15 PM
Tony Tony is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Queens, NY , USA
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Knowing that you edited an anthology on Expansive poetry, I’m interested in your take on the subject, particularly in terms of the trend in relation to the word “expansive.” I had been unfamiliar with the term Expansive poetry until someone here, in relation to a piece that I posted, directed me to a website (Expansive Poetry and Music Online) that focuses on the subject. I assumed that expansive poetry was merely a descriptive term, and did not realize until reading further that a whole poetic trend or movement had taken that name. I decided to do some research; I picked up Kevin Walzer’s “The Ghost of Tradition”. (I haven’t yet seen your book.). I’ve read through about half of it now, through Mary Jo Salter plus your work and Tim Steele’s. (I particularly liked the snippet from your Samson poem, as well as “Approaching a Significant Birthday, He Peruses the Norton Anthology of Poetry”.) I’d hoped to ask Tim these same questions, but he left before I had the chance.

The two most prevalent common elements (though far from universal) that I noticed among the different authors and poems represented were a tendency to blank verse, much of it loosely metered, and a focus on narrative, often a blending of poetic and short-story sensibilities.

Walzer refers to Wade Newman’s 1988 essay in which the name was first used, and mentions expansiveness in terms of trying to expand the audience for poetry, as well as expanding the repertoire of usable forms at the poet’s disposal. He mentions Dick Allen’s quote: “Our poetry is Expansive—it moves outward from the Self to reestablish identities with historical, social, religious and scientific realities.” Allen’s seems more to the mark to me; after all, there are other populist trends such as slam poetry that seek or work to widen the audience for poetry.

What, in a nutshell, is your take on what the main characteristics of Expansive poetry are? What makes this poetry expansive? How well does the Expansive poetry trend or movement live up to its name?


[This message has been edited by Tony (edited July 28, 2001).]
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