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The Stamp of Class: Reflections on Poetry and Social Class
" The Stamp of Class addresses an important area that has not received sufficient attention. Lenhart directly confronts and deeply analyzes these questions while offering readers his clear, informative discussion."
-Lorenzo Thomas
The Stamp of Class explores the nature of reading poetry in the context of class and its themes and sheds new light on how this important yet little-heralded subject affects the poet's life and work.
While numerous works have taken up the question of race and gender as they relate to literary creation, this is the first book of its kind to probe the interplay between class and American poetry. Author Gary Lenhart considers poetry and class across a wide variety of time periods and poetic trends and reflects on a range of influential poets from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries.
The essays in The Stamp of Class deal with the question of class as reflected in the works of Tracie Morris, Tillie Olsen, Melvin Tolson, William Carlos Williams, Walt Whitman, and others. The work is rooted in the author's own experiences as a working-class poet and teacher and is the result of more than a decade of exploration.
Poet and scholar Gary Lenhart is Lecturer in English at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. His most recent books of poetry are Father and Son Night , Light Heart , and O ne at a Time . His essays and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including the American Poetry Review , American Book Review , and Exquisite Corpse .
-Lorenzo Thomas
The Stamp of Class explores the nature of reading poetry in the context of class and its themes and sheds new light on how this important yet little-heralded subject affects the poet's life and work.
While numerous works have taken up the question of race and gender as they relate to literary creation, this is the first book of its kind to probe the interplay between class and American poetry. Author Gary Lenhart considers poetry and class across a wide variety of time periods and poetic trends and reflects on a range of influential poets from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries.
The essays in The Stamp of Class deal with the question of class as reflected in the works of Tracie Morris, Tillie Olsen, Melvin Tolson, William Carlos Williams, Walt Whitman, and others. The work is rooted in the author's own experiences as a working-class poet and teacher and is the result of more than a decade of exploration.
Poet and scholar Gary Lenhart is Lecturer in English at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. His most recent books of poetry are Father and Son Night , Light Heart , and O ne at a Time . His essays and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including the American Poetry Review , American Book Review , and Exquisite Corpse .
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 13, 2008
I thought this was a decent overview of class issues in poetry. I wish, honestly, that it discussed more fully the social awkwardnesses and other disconnects between working-class students and their middle-class/upper-class peers. If anyone has read similar books to this, I'd be interested in getting titles from you.
November 8, 2013
Gary Lenhart talks about things I'd rarely thought of before, and never so thoughtfully. I don't always agree, but always admire how he manages to present his arguments almost a-
politically. He writes criticism like the poet he is. A terrific small book about an enormous but neglected subject.
politically. He writes criticism like the poet he is. A terrific small book about an enormous but neglected subject.
December 9, 2011
Very enjoyable so far, and right up my alley...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews