Modernist Poetry and Poetics: The Objectivists

Consideration of Zukofsky, Niedecker, Oppen, and Reznikoff.

This course focuses on the work of Louis Zukofsky, George Oppen, Lorine Niedecker, and Charles Reznikoff--poets whose work has been categorized as Objectivist by literary history. Influenced by Pound and Williams, this "group" of writers nearly became a footnote to Imagism until a resurgence of interest stimulated by poet-critics influenced by their work in the 1970s. We explore Objectivist poetics, reflecting on whether there are common principles shared between the five poets and, drawing upon companion essays in The Objectivist Nexus, study the poets' relation to the cultural moment and the reception of their work.

The February 1931 "Objectivist" issue of Poetry (Chicago) proposes the  status of this "school" as the first issue for discussion and ultimately leads to a discussion of questions relevant to these poets but also to literary study in general: What constitutes a literary movement? What kinds of authorial performances lend themselves to canonization? How might literary criticism evaluate formally innovative or indeterminate texts?

In addition to readings of recent essays in cultural poetics, an important component of the course is additional readings on such topics as the "canon," "representation," "culture," and "influence."  This facilitates a meta-critical discussion that deepens students' appreciation for this group of poets but also contributes directly to their overall development of graduate-level critical skills.