Pastoral, Pragmatism, and Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Pastoral, Pragmatism, and Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics promotes and pursues topics in the burgeoning field of 20th and 21st century poetics. Critical and scholarly work on poetry and poetics of interest to the series includes social location in its relationships to subjectivity, to the construction of authorship, to oeuvres, and to careers; poetic reception and dissemination (groups, movements, formations, institutions); the intersection of poetry and theory; questions about language, poetic authority, and the goals of writing; claims in poetics, impacts of social life, and the dynamics of the poetic career as these are staged and debated by poets and inside poems. Topics that are bibliographic, pedagogic, that concern the social field of poetry, and reflect on the history of poetry studies are valued as well. This series focuses both on individual poets and texts and on larger movements, poetic institutions, and questions about poetic authority, social identifications, and aesthetics. Language and the Renewal of Society in Walt Whitman, Laura (Riding) Jackson, and Charles Olson The American Cratylus Carla Billitteri Modernism and Poetic Inspiration The Shadow Mouth Jed Rasula The Social Life of Poetry Appalachia, Race, and Radical Modernism Chris Green Procedural Form in Postmodern American Poetry Berrigan, Antin, Silliman, and Hejinian David W. Huntsperger Modernist Writings and Religio-scientific Discourse H.D., Loy, and Toomer Lara Vetter Male Subjectivity and Poetic Form in New American Poetry Andrew Mossin The Poetry of Susan Howe History, Theology, Authority Will Montgomery Ronald Johnson s Modernist Collage Poetry Ross Hair Pastoral, Pragmatism, and Twentieth-Century American Poetry Ann Marie Mikkelsen

Pastoral, Pragmatism, and Twentieth-Century American Poetry Ann Marie Mikkelsen

PASTORAL, PRAGMATISM, AND TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICAN POETRY Copyright Ann Marie Mikkelsen, 2011. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-10583-6 All rights reserved. Excerpts from poems and unpublished material by John Ashbery reprinted by permission of Georges Borchardt., Inc., on behalf of the author, and Houghton Library, Harvard University. Excerpts from unpublished material by William Carlos Williams Copyright 2010, by the Estates of Paul H. Williams and William Eric Williams. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation. Portions of Chapter 4 appeared previously as Fat! Fat! Fat! Fat! : Wallace Stevens Figurations of Masculinity, Journal of Modern Literature 27.1/2 (Fall 2003): 105 121. Indiana University Press. Reprinted with permission from the publisher. Portions of Chapter 3 appeared previously as The Truth About Us : Pastoral, Pragmatism, and William Carlos Williams s Paterson, American Literature 75.3 (September 2003): 601 627. Copyright 2003. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Duke University Press. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-29008-6 ISBN 978-0-230-11715-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230117150 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mikkelsen, Ann Marie. Pastoral, pragmatism, and twentieth-century American poetry / Ann Marie Mikkelsen. p. cm. (Modern and contemporary poetry and poetics) 1. Pastoral poetry, American History and criticism 2. American poetry 20th century History and criticism 3. Pragmatism in literature. I. Title. PS309.P37M55 2011 811.509358209734 dc22 2010028253 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: February 2011

For Dan, Saul, and Abe.

Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Pastoral Ideology and the Pragmatic Response 21 2 Tramp Culture and the Cult of Pan: Robert Frost s Pastoral of Class Mobility 39 3 The Truth About Us : Pastoral, Pragmatism, and William Carlos Williams s Paterson 67 4 Fat! Fat! Fat! Fat! : Wallace Stevens s Figurations of Masculinity 93 5 The Mooring of Starting Out : John Ashbery s Pastoral Origins 123 Conclusion: Late Twentieth-Century Pastoral: Gertrude Stein, Lyn Hejinian, Lisa Robertson, and the Continuity of a Mode 151 Notes 175 Bibliography 209 Index 229

Acknowledgments This project on pastoral has had many shepherds. When this book was no more than a vague idea, several people at the University of California, Irvine, helped me turn it into something more substantial. Laura O Connor has been an insightful reader, adviser, and friend, always ready to offer advice from the front lines of the profession. Ever attentive to nuance, J. Hillis Miller always took the time to read and listen, even in retirement. Chris Beach, Brook Thomas, and Michael P. Clark were extremely liberal with their time and encouragement. I continue to be thankful to Cathy Jurca and Cindy Weinstein for inviting me to join their seminar on Place in American Literature at the Huntington Library, and especially for Cathy s continued enthusiasm for my work. From the moment I heard her glorious readings of Joyce in seminar, I have considered myself lucky to count Margot Norris as a mentor. Her steady confidence and quiet determination have emboldened me and countless others. I also deeply appreciate the support of a Faculty Fellowship and a Regents Fellowship from University of California, Irvine, as well as a W. M. Keck Foundation Fellowship from the Huntington Library. As a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, I was privileged to spend many enjoyable hours in the company of Joseph Entin, Andrew Jewett, Page Fortna, Jay Grossman, David Greenberg, Eric Bettinger, Rob Chodat, Jona Hansen, Matthew Lindsey, Eileen Babbitt, Crystal Feimster, Adam Webb, and Jim Carroll. I am grateful to the Academy for hosting me for two years, and to Leslie Berlowitz, who inaugurated the Visiting Scholars program. I was especially privileged to meet Leo Marx as well as Bonnie Costello during my years in Cambridge, both of whom offer inspiring models of scholarship and generosity. At Harvard s History and Literature program, I could not have asked for a better director than Steve Biel. I am especially grateful for the intellectual challenge and

x Acknowledgments wonderful collegiality provided by my friends and fellow lecturers Raphael Allison, Michele Martinez, Kim Reilly, Amy Kittelstrom, and Lisa Szefel. My co-teachers John O Keefe and Andy Muldoon deserve special thanks for their patience and good humor. Marit MacArthur, Liesl Olsen, Beth Roberts, Maria Farland, and Tim Gray offered much appreciated support over the years as fellow readers of poetry. During my years at Florida State University, I was fortunate to have exceptionally welcoming and intellectually engaged colleagues. I especially miss the good company of Robin Goodman, Barry Faulk, Andrew Epstein, Leigh Edwards, Meegan Kennedy, Nancy Warren, and Hunt Hawkins. This manuscript would have been even longer in the making without a First Year Assistant Professor Grant from Florida State during the spring of 2006. I am thankful for Jay Clayton s hospitality and that of the Vanderbilt English department. Alistair Newbern provided an array of advice, legal and otherwise, here in Nashville, and you couldn t ask for a better fiddler. Ed Rubin at Vanderbilt Law School kindly facilitated my work here in Nashville. At Palgrave Macmillan, an anonymous reader as well as Michael Thurston offered bracing and beneficial advice, helping me give the manuscript its final form. Many thanks to Rachel Blau DuPlessis for including me in her exciting new series. Sarah Burley, Ajitha Reddy, and Rachel Cohen have been there since the beginning. Sarah Bilston, Crystal Feimster, Jane Rosenzweig, and Kim Reilly have provided the best of companionship as well as models of scholarship. Helen Oestherheld, Melissa Sanchez, Chris Diffee, Jennifer Williams, and Erika Nanes gave me friendship and intellectual fellowship. Over all the years, my sister Erika Mikkelsen Halford was always only a phone call away. My parents, Curtis and Mary Mikkelsen, have been extremely supportive of my work and unstinting in their praise. I will always be grateful beyond words for their generosity and love. Iris Mikkelsen always believed in me and is still missed. Saul and Abe Sharfstein have transformed my life completely and always for the better. Daniel Sharfstein has made everything possible: best friend, attentive editor, fellow writer, kindred spirit, and husband. I never thought I would be so lucky.