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Charles Olson: The Allegory of a Poet's Life
by
Tom Clark
An incandescent biography of the inventor of "projective" verse, this comprehensive portrait distinguishes the convivial, bluff public figure from the tormented inner man. A lapsed Catholic, Olson (1910-1970) turned to Sumerian myths, Mayan legends and Islamic mysticism for cosmic insights that would inform poems of cyclic sweep. Torn by contradictory feelings toward his p...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
May 4th 2000
by North Atlantic Books
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Olson was a giant (six-eight or so) bundle of contradictions. Intellectually and poetically courageous, his pursuits into the ancient mysteries and towards a more sanctified, whole and wondrous mode of life through the living word are easy for me to identify with. But he was such a moral failure, at times close to a psychotic-myopic disregard of others' feelings and pursuits. Really also a helpless child in regard to matters of basic humanness and also practical living - eg, he simply never lear...more
Jun 05, 2008
barry
marked it as to-read
I've tried to get lost in the Maximus Poems a great number of times. Olson's irascibility, his reputation, Gloucester Massachusetts, the peculiar shorthanded grammar, the evocative mythology, the blue-collar immediacy-- it all adds up, I think, to the ultimate work of literature for me. But, I just get flummoxed. Fascinated, exhiliarated, but flummoxed all the same.
So, I'm about to embark on reading about Olson rather than reading his work itself. I'm hoping to be hooked and gain some insight I...more
So, I'm about to embark on reading about Olson rather than reading his work itself. I'm hoping to be hooked and gain some insight I...more
Dec 23, 2012
Summers Baker
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Clark is an American poet, editor and biographer. Clark was educated at the University of Michigan and served as poetry editor of "The Paris Review" from 1963 to 1973 and published numerous volumes of poetry with Black Sparrow Press. His literary essays and reviews have appeared in "The New York Times," "Times Literary Supplement," and many other journals.
More about Tom Clark...
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