He studied with the poet at the state university of new york at buffalo, prepared the definitive guide to the maximus poems of charles olson, and served as curator of literary archives at the university of connecticut storrs, which houses charles olson s papers. Im now going to try and justify this claim with a mix of personal ramblings and extracts from this sprawling monster. The maximus poems are divided into three volumes, meant to be read as a long, single poem olson refers to it as such. In addition, there is a critical survey of the works of robert creeley, robert duncan, denise levertov, paul blackburn, and other poets who show olsons. Mackeys poems are hypnotic praises, dirges, feverish dream songs of an unnamed diasporic voyage, songs that are always reaching for, but never arriving at, a destination. In and about the maximus poems i the maximus poems 110 1953. The maximus poems 110 appeared in the summer, in stuttgart, thanks to jonathan williams, a student of olson s at black moun tain. Charles olson and the nature of destructive humanism by craig. I, maximus of gloucester, to you by charles olson poetry foundation. It is something the poet himself eliminated in a rewrite of the poem see appendix d. Charles olson society on the cusp of the postmodern. For many american poets living at midcentury and after, charles olson.
Charles olson was a didactic poet, poetical pedagogue, a poetteacher 1 par excellence. Charles olson and the nature of destructive humanism by. Eliots the waste land 1922, william carlos williamss paterson or charles olsons maximus poems, unlike olson however views time as more relevant than space whose importance he denies follows the journey of the uprooted protagonist from a specific new mexico town along the rio grande river. Charles olson draws on at the opening of maximus poems. Selected poems by charles olson, edited by creeley, university of california press, 1993.
Charles olson was an innovative poet and essayist whose work influenced numerous other writers during the 1950s and. Charles olson 27 december 1910 10 january 1970, was a second generation american modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as ezra pound and william carlos williams and the new american poets, which includes the new york school, the black mountain school, the beat poets, and the san francisco renaissance. Selected poems charles olson, the maximus poems michael palmer, any one book carl phillips, quiver of arrows. The maximus poems university of california press, 1987 more about this poem. Charles olson, i, maximus of gloucester, to you from the maximus poems. Dogtown, the wild, rockstrewn centre of cape ann, next to gloucester, is an important place in the maximus poems. Charles olson reads from maximus poems iv, v, vi by. Weve passed the 100th year of charles olsons birth and there have. When it came to supplying the first ten maximus poems to jonathan williams for the collection of 1953, olson first put in the origin version slightly revised. Butterick had a long familiarity with olson s writings.
Robert creeley has long been an advocate of charles olson s work. I come back to the geography of it, the land falling off to the left where my father shot his scabby golf and the rest of us played baseball into the summer darkness until no flies could be seen and we came home to our various piazzas where the women buzzed. Charles olson, maximus, to himself from the maximus poems. Charles olson was an innovative poet and essayist whose work influenced numerous other writers during the 1950s and 1960s. The maximus poems, charles olson, 1983, 0520055950. He served as curator of the literary archives at the university of connecticut, which houses charles olson s papers. Born in florida in 1947 and raised in a workingclass family in southern california, mackey attended princeton to study math and instead turned to poetry. The maximus poems, charles olson, 1983, 0520055950, 9780520055957. In this long series of poems written over the last decades of his life, olson uses gloucester history, the lives of past and present gloucester residents, geological history, and current civic events to anchor maximus to gloucester. In his influential essay on projective or open verse, olson asserts that a poem is energy transferred from where the poet got it he will have. Notes on the recording charles olson reads from maximus. Robert creeley has long been an advocate of charles olsons work. Equal parts bear and shaman, he stood 6 feet 7 inches tall and looked like paul volcker on a bender. Robert duncans patron edition of the maximus poems 1122 1956, one of 25 copies.
Charles olsons the maximus poems are discussed in terms of their spatial. The collected poems of charles olson by professor charles. New and selected poems thylias moss, small congregations. The maximus poems is one of the high achievements of twentiethcentury american letters and an essential poem in the postmodern canon. In an era when poetry is increasingly compressed to fit our iphone screens, nathaniel mackey has been writing two astonishing long poemsmu and song of the andoumboulouacross multiple books for the past thirtyfive years. In cold hell, in thicket preceded it, the fullest early collection of. He began work on his opus, the maximus poems, in the mid1940s, and continued to expand and revise them until his death in 1970. Olson, i, maximus of gloucester to you page 3, lines 6086. This recording is available on cd or cassette from smithsonian folkways recordings. Charles olson, the poet who coined the word postmodern and helped shape the generation that would emerge from under its mantle, is known for the range of his intellectual and poetic reach. Maximus poems is olsons adherence to the method of field composition in which stance. Mu and song of the andoumboulou are two ongoing sequences beaded with his.
Published as liner notes to the 1975 folkways records album. Butterick had a long familiarity with olsons writings. Charles olson 191070 was not someone youd want to run into in a dark alley. He studied with the poet at the state university of new york at buffalo, prepared the definitive guide to the maximus poems of charles olson, and served as curator of literary archives at the university of connecticut storrs, which houses charles olsons papers.
Charles olson was a second generation american modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as ezra pound and william carlos williams and the new american poets, which includes the new york school, the black mountain school, the beat poets, and the san francisco renaissance. New and selected poems frank ohara, selected poems sharon olds, strike sparks. Butterick was the editor of the complete maximus poems and author of a guide to the maximus poems california, 1978. He served as curator of the literary archives at the university of connecticut, which houses charles olsons papers. His poetry is marked by an almost limitless range of interest and extraordinary depth of feeling. But i have to read heroditus and know something about tyre and also the deep history of virginia and boston and the kinds of salt to keep fish and what exactly a shoal feels like and if adam smith really was a poet, if he was cured of his skins burns and meubles and thucidides and furthermore orontes, which c. In his influential essay on projective or open verse, olson asserts that a poem is energy transferred from where the poet got it he will have some several causations, by way of the poem itself to, all the way over to, the reader. Charles olsons most popular book is the maximus poems. Olsons historical research is exhibited in maximus. With the collected poems an even more impressive olson emerges. Nine volumes of their correspondence have been published by black sparrow press. Maximus, to himself by charles olson about this poet. Apr 04, 2009 charles olson 191070 was not someone youd want to run into in a dark alley.
Stream charles olson reads maximus, to himself 1963 by brainpicker from desktop or your mobile device. This complete edition of the maximus poems brings together the three volumes of charles olsons long poem. Weve passed the 100th year of charles olsons birth and there have been major conferences reflecting this important date. A seminal figure in postworld war ii literature, charles olson has helped define the postmodern sensibility. In his influential essay on projective or open verse, olson asserts that a poem is energy. I teach in the english department at uc berkeley and have set up this web site primarily as a guide for individuals who wish to read the maximus poems. Charles olson reads from maximus poems iv, v, vi by charles. Educated at wesleyan and harvard universities and the recipient of two guggenheim fellowships, charles olson had a distinguished career in academia and politics before becoming a serious poet. Olson cites the norse creation in this volume in book vi in a poem called gylfaginning vi. American poetry in the 1950s charles olson is among the first american poets to use the contested term postmodern in a letter to robert creeley dated august 1951, and the 1950s may be taken as a pivotal decade in american poetics. Jan 23, 2010 this feature is not available right now. Olson is best known for his maximus poems in which he creates an allencompassing walt whitmanlike persona. The maximus poems will do as they do and i will read them all one day but not now. In charles olson to his projective poetics was the maximus poems various volumes published in 1960, 1968, and 1975.
Charles olson charles olson, the maximus poems, ed. The maximus poems 1983 and the collected poems of charles olson 1987. The letters and poems of charles olson to the gloucester times, 19621969, edited by peter anastas, ten pound island press, 1993. Here are some links and pdf files you might find interesting about this great american poet.
He put the by ear version into don allen s anthology new american poetry 19451960 published by grove press in may 1960, but for the maximus poems only a few. The maximus poems should be read, at least in part, as a critique of western civilization for the same reason. American poetry in the 1950s charles olson is among the first american poets to use the contested term postmodern in a letter to robert creeley dated august 1951, and the 1950s may. A seminal figure in postworld war ii literature, charles olson 19101970 has helped define the postmodern sensibility. The maximus poems began as a series of letters to fellow gloucester poet vincent ferrini, and in the first poem in the sequence, i, maximus of gloucester, to you, olson. In and about the maximus poems iowa research online. Notes on the recording charles olson reads from maximus poems. But i have to read heroditus and know something about tyre and also the deep history of virginia and boston and the kinds of salt to keep fish and what exactly a shoal feels like and if adam smith really was a poet, if he was cured of his skins burns and meubles and thucidides and furthermore. Listen to the complete recording and read program notes for the episode at jacket2.
This volume brings together all of olsons work and extends the poetic. Other volumes of charles olsons poetry are published by the university of california press. I, maximus of gloucester, to you by charles olson poetry. There are only a few contenders for the greatest long poem in english of the 20th century and maximus is one of them, along with david jones the anathemata, his in parenthesis and pounds the cantos. A dense and careful exploration of gloucester, this collection documents a time and. This is one of my favorite things, and i have to touch base with it this is olson s heroic long poem in tribute to gloucester, massachusetts and to the people who lived there in which he tells much of its history as a fishing port, even going back to its place in. Charles olson, the collected poems of charles olson, excluding the maximus. The matter would be easily settled if there existed in the storrs file a. In this collection of poems, robert creeley has sought to present a. Link to this blog on the poetry and poetics of olson 3.
Studio recording at black mountain college, made by robert creeley c. Pbs show focuses on poet charles olson the boston globe. Maximus to gloucester, letter 27 withheld by charles olson. This volume brings together all of olson s work and extends the poetic. It stands out, in hayden carruths words, as a huge and truly angelic effort, matching the dimensions of its heros name and returning. Here are two elusive pieces of the context of midcentury american poetics. This inclination, however, must be understood as more than the mere juxtaposition or conjunction of two separate but equal vocations. Charles olson reads from maximus poems iv, v, vi some n otes on the recording. The maximus poems is one of the high achievements of twentiethcentury american letters and an. Charles olson reads from maximus poems iv, v, vi, an album by charles olson on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Charles olson, the collected poems of charles olson, excluding the maximus poems, ed. Charles olson 27 december 1910 10 january 1970 was a second generation american poet who was a link between earlier figures such as ezra pound and william carlos williams and the new american poets, which includes the new york school, the black mountain school, the beat poets, and the san francisco renaissance. The collection includes maximus to himself and maximus to gloucester, a series of poems to the town that were printed in the local newspaper. Considerable attention is devoted to olsons theory of projectivism, the themes and techniques of his short poems, and the strategies and content of his major work, the maximus series.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Charles olson was a second generation american modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as ezra pound and william carlos williams and the new american poets, which includes the new york school, the black mountain school, the. The largerthanlife figure of maximus is both maximus of tyre and olson himself. Maximus, to himself by charles olson poetry foundation. Anonymous note found in a copy of the maximus poems page 5, line 124. Charles olson has 71 books on goodreads with 6455 ratings. Buy the maximus poems new ed by olson, charles isbn. This is one of my favorite things, and i have to touch base with it this is olsons heroic long poem in tribute to gloucester, massachusetts and to the people who lived there in which he tells much of its history as a fishing port, even going back to its place in. A guide to the maximus poems of charles olson george f. Other volumes of charles olson s poetry are published by the university of california press.
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