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Culture of One
A new collection that captures the austere serenity of the Southwest American desert.
Award-winning, Paris-based poet Alice Notley's adventurous new book is inspired by the life of Marie, a woman who resided in the dump outside Notley's hometown in the Southwestern desert of America. In this poetical fantasy, Marie becomes the ultimate artist/poet, composing a codex-calligraphy, writings, paintings, collage-from materials left at the dump. She is a "culture of one." The story is told in long-lined, clear-edged poems deliberately stacked so the reader can keep plunging headlong into the events of the book. Culture of One offers further proof of how Notley "has freed herself from any single notion of what poetry should be so that she can go ahead and write what poetry can be" ( The Boston Review ).
Award-winning, Paris-based poet Alice Notley's adventurous new book is inspired by the life of Marie, a woman who resided in the dump outside Notley's hometown in the Southwestern desert of America. In this poetical fantasy, Marie becomes the ultimate artist/poet, composing a codex-calligraphy, writings, paintings, collage-from materials left at the dump. She is a "culture of one." The story is told in long-lined, clear-edged poems deliberately stacked so the reader can keep plunging headlong into the events of the book. Culture of One offers further proof of how Notley "has freed herself from any single notion of what poetry should be so that she can go ahead and write what poetry can be" ( The Boston Review ).
- GenresPoetry
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2011
About the author
Alice Notley
85 books232 followersAlice Notley was an American poet. Notley came to prominence as a member of the second generation of the New York School of poetry—although she always denied being involved with the New York School or any specific movement in general. Notley's early work laid both formal and theoretical groundwork for several generations of poets; she was considered a pioneering voice on topics like motherhood and domestic life.
Notley's experimentation with poetic form, seen in her books 165 Meeting House Lane, When I Was Alive, The Descent of Alette, and Culture of One, ranges from a blurred line between genres, to a quotation-mark-driven interpretation of the variable foot, to a full reinvention of the purpose and potential of strict rhythm and meter. She also experimented with channeling spirits of deceased loved ones, primarily men gone from her life like her father and her husband, poet Ted Berrigan, and used these conversations as topics and form in her poetry. Her poems have also been compared to those of Gertrude Stein as well as her contemporary Bernadette Mayer. Mayer and Notley both used their experience as mothers and wives in their work.
In addition to poetry, Notley wrote a book of criticism (Coming After, University of Michigan, 2005), a play ("Anne's White Glove"—performed at the Eye & Ear Theater in 1985), a biography (Tell Me Again, Am Here, 1982), and she edited three publications, Chicago, Scarlet, and Gare du Nord, the latter two co-edited with Douglas Oliver. Notley's collage art appeared in Rudy Burckhardt's film "Wayward Glimpses" and her illustrations have appeared on the cover of numerous books, including a few of her own. As is often written in her biographical notes, "She has never tried to be anything other than a poet," and with over forty books and chapbooks and several major awards, she was one of the most prolific and lauded American poets. She was a recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.
Notley's experimentation with poetic form, seen in her books 165 Meeting House Lane, When I Was Alive, The Descent of Alette, and Culture of One, ranges from a blurred line between genres, to a quotation-mark-driven interpretation of the variable foot, to a full reinvention of the purpose and potential of strict rhythm and meter. She also experimented with channeling spirits of deceased loved ones, primarily men gone from her life like her father and her husband, poet Ted Berrigan, and used these conversations as topics and form in her poetry. Her poems have also been compared to those of Gertrude Stein as well as her contemporary Bernadette Mayer. Mayer and Notley both used their experience as mothers and wives in their work.
In addition to poetry, Notley wrote a book of criticism (Coming After, University of Michigan, 2005), a play ("Anne's White Glove"—performed at the Eye & Ear Theater in 1985), a biography (Tell Me Again, Am Here, 1982), and she edited three publications, Chicago, Scarlet, and Gare du Nord, the latter two co-edited with Douglas Oliver. Notley's collage art appeared in Rudy Burckhardt's film "Wayward Glimpses" and her illustrations have appeared on the cover of numerous books, including a few of her own. As is often written in her biographical notes, "She has never tried to be anything other than a poet," and with over forty books and chapbooks and several major awards, she was one of the most prolific and lauded American poets. She was a recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 26, 2013
I am in love with Notley's dialogic style, and particularly with this book, which hearkens back to her earliest works set in California.
April 24, 2015
Fish. Red and blue splotches. Life. Music. Trash. Letters. One thousand arms.
The whole book was about as fragmentary as the above sentence.
Notley's Culture of One purports to be a novel in poems, but "novel" is not really the best way to describe this book. There is a set of characters that form the core of the book; there is something that kind of resembles a story arc; the poems do move in a "narrative mode", but are, in general, fundamentally lyric. The story is not clear, and is highly fragmented. Now, this book is either absolutely genius, or is a total failure. Which it is depends on how charitable you are to Notley and her potential use of structure to convey ideas. There are a number of aspects that would traditionally be considered flaws, especially in fiction, but may be intentional. The first of these is the distinct lack of cohesiveness in the storyline; this could just be poor plotting, or a function of the genre, or it could be meant to be an expression of the fundamental confusion of human existence. This does end up being a thematic focus in the book, as Notley discusses the character of Marie, a fictionalized version of a real woman who lived in the town dump when Notley was growing up, creating her "codex", her "culture of one", which is an unfocused, artistic expression and definition of her identity. By the same token, the poems have many speakers, including Marie; Leroy, a pathological liar,; Alice Notley herself; the "mean girls"; and Mercy. None of these voices are distinct, which may also have been intentional. This could be read as a symbolic expression of interconnectedness, or the futility of individual identity, or a similar idea, especially in the blending of the voices of Notley and Mercy, which are truly indistinguishable. If this view is taken, only Notley is ever speaking. She is simply channeling these other persons; they are all part of her and she of them in a sort of endless linked isolation.
Stylistically, Notley's poems are often as fragmented and discontinuous as her story. There are a number of recurring motifs in the poems: the colors red and blue (usually together), the arms of Mercy, cut or scabbed limbs (usually thighs), female sexual organs, fish/sharks, and the "codex" itself, but often these motifs reach to connect poem to poem and add little to the coherency of individual pieces. One example of this is from "Rabbit Skin":
The music of the poetry is also similarly hard to find; it's there, even in the odd pieces (at least usually), but I was about three-quarters of the way through before I could put the book down and pick the up the music of the poetry immediately after starting to read again.
I will say I found the frequent use of "fuck" and explicit references to female sexual organs--including a word that begins with a "c"--to be typically jarring and shake me out of the flow of the words. Sometimes they were effective, but often it felt unnecessary and bothersome. It was sometimes a problem, but there it was not as great a problem as similar word choices have been in other books (like Midpoint and Other Poems).
An interesting read, but I am very ambivalent about what I really think about its success as a piece of literature.
The whole book was about as fragmentary as the above sentence.
Notley's Culture of One purports to be a novel in poems, but "novel" is not really the best way to describe this book. There is a set of characters that form the core of the book; there is something that kind of resembles a story arc; the poems do move in a "narrative mode", but are, in general, fundamentally lyric. The story is not clear, and is highly fragmented. Now, this book is either absolutely genius, or is a total failure. Which it is depends on how charitable you are to Notley and her potential use of structure to convey ideas. There are a number of aspects that would traditionally be considered flaws, especially in fiction, but may be intentional. The first of these is the distinct lack of cohesiveness in the storyline; this could just be poor plotting, or a function of the genre, or it could be meant to be an expression of the fundamental confusion of human existence. This does end up being a thematic focus in the book, as Notley discusses the character of Marie, a fictionalized version of a real woman who lived in the town dump when Notley was growing up, creating her "codex", her "culture of one", which is an unfocused, artistic expression and definition of her identity. By the same token, the poems have many speakers, including Marie; Leroy, a pathological liar,; Alice Notley herself; the "mean girls"; and Mercy. None of these voices are distinct, which may also have been intentional. This could be read as a symbolic expression of interconnectedness, or the futility of individual identity, or a similar idea, especially in the blending of the voices of Notley and Mercy, which are truly indistinguishable. If this view is taken, only Notley is ever speaking. She is simply channeling these other persons; they are all part of her and she of them in a sort of endless linked isolation.
Stylistically, Notley's poems are often as fragmented and discontinuous as her story. There are a number of recurring motifs in the poems: the colors red and blue (usually together), the arms of Mercy, cut or scabbed limbs (usually thighs), female sexual organs, fish/sharks, and the "codex" itself, but often these motifs reach to connect poem to poem and add little to the coherency of individual pieces. One example of this is from "Rabbit Skin":
Write like and angel Marie writes, with a BIC pen, on a piece
of rabbit skin. How do angels write?
I lost thee, I the stone head called dawn, glyph shaped
like a double face--three eyes two noses two mouths.
Night's form a brown-black head, made of cubes,
a monumental Olmec sculpture. I mean, just some cubes.
The music of the poetry is also similarly hard to find; it's there, even in the odd pieces (at least usually), but I was about three-quarters of the way through before I could put the book down and pick the up the music of the poetry immediately after starting to read again.
I will say I found the frequent use of "fuck" and explicit references to female sexual organs--including a word that begins with a "c"--to be typically jarring and shake me out of the flow of the words. Sometimes they were effective, but often it felt unnecessary and bothersome. It was sometimes a problem, but there it was not as great a problem as similar word choices have been in other books (like Midpoint and Other Poems).
An interesting read, but I am very ambivalent about what I really think about its success as a piece of literature.
July 22, 2011
A novel in poem fragments, Culture of One is a text in which characters, narrative voices, and places blur into one another as a kind of testament to our shared experience. Yet, in response to this, Notley asserts the importance of finding one’s unique voice. In balancing these two ideas, Culture of One is, in a sense, a sort of manual for how to attempt to live consciously, how to look a bit beyond the societal veil and be more aware and more connected to one’s self and, by extension, one’s environment. Endeavoring to do so requires a willingness to stand apart, as Marie realizes: “I entered the desert long past the middle / of my life, knowing that I could only have what I wanted on paper.” (pp. 88-89). But it's also crucial to reach out in an effort to truly connect with others, something that necessitates a significant amount of mercy (which happens to be a character, as well as a central theme, in the text).
Ultimately, Culture of One is a reminder that, while we are all mostly confined to a shared experience (much of which is out of our control), in speaking out—unequivocally asserting our own voice, which may be angry, vivid, or lyrical (all of which Notley’s poetry is)—we can win back a bit of our independence, however little, and write our own story: “Do you believe this stuff or is it a story? / I believe every fucking word, but it is a story.” (p. 74) A small victory, to be sure, but no less significant if one is profoundly changed in doing so, whether it is Leroy’s ability to finally stop lying or Marie’s creation of a codex that only she will ever understand. This epiphany may be confined to one’s self, but that is no less significant, as Marie comes to understand: “It means that I make perfect sense.” (p. 142)
Ultimately, Culture of One is a reminder that, while we are all mostly confined to a shared experience (much of which is out of our control), in speaking out—unequivocally asserting our own voice, which may be angry, vivid, or lyrical (all of which Notley’s poetry is)—we can win back a bit of our independence, however little, and write our own story: “Do you believe this stuff or is it a story? / I believe every fucking word, but it is a story.” (p. 74) A small victory, to be sure, but no less significant if one is profoundly changed in doing so, whether it is Leroy’s ability to finally stop lying or Marie’s creation of a codex that only she will ever understand. This epiphany may be confined to one’s self, but that is no less significant, as Marie comes to understand: “It means that I make perfect sense.” (p. 142)
March 24, 2017
I'm really not sure. I'm not sure if this is pretentious horse shit, or if it's really good and Im just too dense to understand it, so 3 stars until further notice. In her defense, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought this would just be a collection of poetry, rather than the disembodied, fragmented novel poem that it is. I like her language. I like her moxie. I feel like at times it speaks to me without my understanding how, like it's a spiritual witnessing. I REALLY want to love this. But I need to let it digest for awhile.
January 11, 2017
Get to know Marie for your own liberation.
February 4, 2025
how do you rate a book when you recognize how interesting and unique its form is, how creative the author had to be to achieve it, and when you admire it as a completed piece of work, but then ultimately just didn’t connect to it?
although some moments did hit me quite deeply (a lot of the poems about the satanist girl, the dog…) I just could not separate the voices of the different characters (maybe on purpose but it did not work for me at all) and most of what was happening felt soooo distant from me. my brain would just not transform the words I was reading into images, which is very unlike me!! the images just fully eluded me :///
although some moments did hit me quite deeply (a lot of the poems about the satanist girl, the dog…) I just could not separate the voices of the different characters (maybe on purpose but it did not work for me at all) and most of what was happening felt soooo distant from me. my brain would just not transform the words I was reading into images, which is very unlike me!! the images just fully eluded me :///
April 15, 2020
It was to abstract poetry for me :/
August 1, 2021
“Amazing” would be an understatement. An incredible story woven with beautiful, tragic, and powerful imagery.
April 21, 2011
I'll just quote Notley: "I believe every fucking word, but it is a story" (74).
February 19, 2012
"This is a sorry culture, babe. You have to make your own."
"We must redefine Mercy now; it can't belong as concept to leaders and exploiters."
"The dogs open their mouths to word me."
"We must redefine Mercy now; it can't belong as concept to leaders and exploiters."
"The dogs open their mouths to word me."
November 19, 2024
Una absoluta locura de libro.
En general me pareció un estilo de poesía muy difícil de accesar. Se requiere paciencia y prestar mucha atención para aclimatarse al concepto y ritmo pero vale la pena explorarlos.
Cabe mencionar que existen atmósferas muy densas en estos poemas, cómo de brujería negra y del inframundo. Pese a lo oscuro, los poemas contienen mucho análisis cultural y una respuesta completamente rebelde ante la vida y la sociedad.
La autora juega con la ficción aunque sospecho que existe algo profundamente autobiográfico en estas páginas.
En general me pareció un estilo de poesía muy difícil de accesar. Se requiere paciencia y prestar mucha atención para aclimatarse al concepto y ritmo pero vale la pena explorarlos.
Cabe mencionar que existen atmósferas muy densas en estos poemas, cómo de brujería negra y del inframundo. Pese a lo oscuro, los poemas contienen mucho análisis cultural y una respuesta completamente rebelde ante la vida y la sociedad.
La autora juega con la ficción aunque sospecho que existe algo profundamente autobiográfico en estas páginas.
November 30, 2024
No one writes quite like Alice Notley. Her collection, The Descent of Alette, is one of my favorite books of poetry. Ever. Her book Culture of One is similar in that it is a cohesive concept project, this time channeling Marie, an artist who lives in the American desert and collects items found at the local dump. It's a mosaic arrangement of found materials and collages, slowly forming her own lore, her own aesthetic, her own myths. As we dive deeper into the collection, we better understand the world of Marie and her surroundings. These are persona poems, yes, but they are so much more.
May 8, 2021
‘They try to make mercy less scary than it is by calling it art.’
‘Marie came into this world to master it in her own way
She changed your thoughts, because you had to see Her some-
times, instead of the semi-naked girls with vinyl buttocks
imploring everyone to love them.’
‘This is a sorry culture, babe. You have to make your own.’
‘We must redefine mercy now; it can’t
belong as concept to leaders and exploiters.’
‘He’d offer you a position: Secretary of Consequences.’
‘Marie came into this world to master it in her own way
She changed your thoughts, because you had to see Her some-
times, instead of the semi-naked girls with vinyl buttocks
imploring everyone to love them.’
‘This is a sorry culture, babe. You have to make your own.’
‘We must redefine mercy now; it can’t
belong as concept to leaders and exploiters.’
‘He’d offer you a position: Secretary of Consequences.’
May 9, 2026
Well —— wow!!!!
Never read anything like it besides maybe, maybe Clarise Lispector? But Alice, you are different…
Never read anything like it besides maybe, maybe Clarise Lispector? But Alice, you are different…
December 16, 2014
I was fascinated by the story of this book--the idea of Marie living in a dump outside Bisbee Arizona creating her "culture of one" via a codex she works on throughout the text. However, as a literary work, I found "Culture of One" relatively weak. Notley populates this work with a number of characters: Marie's friend Leroy, the "mean girls" and the Satanist girl, rock star Eve Love, the poet herself. However, Notley does not possess the novelist's gift of voice: all of the characters speak in the same voice. As such, there is very little individuation of the characters. They all sound alike; the reader only knows which one is speaking because the character's name is mentioned in the poem.
So, as "prose," "Culture of One" is weak. Unfortunately, as poetry it is also weak: as it relies on an overarching narrative structure, most of the poems tend to feature rather prosaic language. Only a very few stand apart as compelling poems.
Nevertheless, the story is interesting. It would have been even more interesting in the hands of a skilled writer of fiction.
So, as "prose," "Culture of One" is weak. Unfortunately, as poetry it is also weak: as it relies on an overarching narrative structure, most of the poems tend to feature rather prosaic language. Only a very few stand apart as compelling poems.
Nevertheless, the story is interesting. It would have been even more interesting in the hands of a skilled writer of fiction.
March 14, 2012
I love Notley, and I think that there are some great moments in this novel-in-verse that work for the narrative as a whole narrative as well as poems that were amazing as individual poems. In addition, her language is personal and universal at the same time, which I find to be inviting. But I personally was tripped up by the different characters-- I couldn't tell which parts of this book were meant to be Notley as the poet-I, Marie, Mercy, Eve Love... etc. Unless the poet-narrator revealed themselves, I was confused. It seemed, also, like Notley as the poet-I was interacting with herself as she was writing her characters, which was interesting in a very non-gimmicky "meta" way, but also lessened the "reality" of the characters for me in a distancing way. There were so many beautiful lines and killer moments emotionally, but as a whole, there were times when I would feel immediately distant from something I had just read that I didn't think I was supposed to feel so distant from.
May 25, 2011
The poems in here were interwoven with the thread of a story, which was interesting, but without the story, without KNOWING it was a story, I think I would've missed a lot because the poems don't really stand on their own.
Did Not Finish
October 4, 2015this book is boring
May 29, 2011
how would i live if alice notley never had? i don't know
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews