Bryce Conrad, T. Crawford, R. Abella, Alisa Allkins, Yi-Ting Chang, J. Broome, Alec Marsh, Terence Diggory
ABSTRACT:This article explores connections between Dadaism and William Carlos Williams. Williams's attitude toward Dadaism was ambivalent. However, he made ample use of the radical strategies of Dadaism to compose four of his more experimental and less studied texts, namely: Kora in Hell (1920), Spring and All (1923), The Great American Novel (1923), and the purely Dadaist A Novelette (1932). Dadaism provided Williams with the techniques (illogicality, collage, parody, contradiction, playfulness, confrontation, automatic writing, chaos) and the conceptual scaffolding he needed to pursue his self-appointed—and intrinsically Dadaist—mission to both wipe out and revive American literature.
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Stokowski accepting his honorary membership in 1 5 8 L eopold Stokowski died in En-gland at the age of 95. Born in London in 1882, Stokowski rose to international prominence as a controversial and influential conductor. He was named an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society in 1958 for his outstanding contribution to the field-for his ability to combine audio engineering with esthetics to produce the ultimate in music. When Stokowski came to America in 1905 as an organist. he had almost no conducting experience. He took over the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1909 and three years later he became conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which moved from a secondary rank to a place of prominence under his direction. There his reputation as an intuitive and inspirational conductor was established and the legendary Stokowski sound was ordained. Always experimental and innovative , Stokowski created the first light and music presentation, and despite criticism continued to perform the music of new composers, asserting "the new generation [of Stravinsky, Schonberg and Shostakovich] must be heard." In 1931 he made some of the first commercial long-playing recordings: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Schonberg's "Gurrelieder." He soon became known as the "godfather of high fidelity. " In addition to his extraordinary reputation as a musician, Stokowski was considered somewhat of a maverick in his defense of all forms of music. He maintained that "the history of popular music showed that it was the true art form of the people." In fulfilling his goal "to make the greatest kind of music available to everyone" he recorded some 20 albums after the age of 90 under a contract which would have extended to his centennial. The man leaves a legacy ; and the Audio Engineering Society joins the many who mourn his death. E dwin Beemish, Life Member of the AES, died in New Jersey at the age of 70. In the course of his career, Mr. Beemish worked in shop production and field service of audio engineering, specializing in the areas of broadcasting and recording. A Charter Member of the Delaware Valley Radio Association, M r. Beemish ran his own radio business for 17 years. His work consisted of development, installation and operation of broadcast studios, wired music and recording studios. He was involved in designing and building audio equipment used in conjunction with synchronized mechanical displays.
{"title":"In Memoriam","authors":"Bryce Conrad","doi":"10.1353/wcw.2017.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/wcw.2017.0006","url":null,"abstract":"Stokowski accepting his honorary membership in 1 5 8 L eopold Stokowski died in En-gland at the age of 95. Born in London in 1882, Stokowski rose to international prominence as a controversial and influential conductor. He was named an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society in 1958 for his outstanding contribution to the field-for his ability to combine audio engineering with esthetics to produce the ultimate in music. When Stokowski came to America in 1905 as an organist. he had almost no conducting experience. He took over the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1909 and three years later he became conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which moved from a secondary rank to a place of prominence under his direction. There his reputation as an intuitive and inspirational conductor was established and the legendary Stokowski sound was ordained. Always experimental and innovative , Stokowski created the first light and music presentation, and despite criticism continued to perform the music of new composers, asserting \"the new generation [of Stravinsky, Schonberg and Shostakovich] must be heard.\" In 1931 he made some of the first commercial long-playing recordings: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Schonberg's \"Gurrelieder.\" He soon became known as the \"godfather of high fidelity. \" In addition to his extraordinary reputation as a musician, Stokowski was considered somewhat of a maverick in his defense of all forms of music. He maintained that \"the history of popular music showed that it was the true art form of the people.\" In fulfilling his goal \"to make the greatest kind of music available to everyone\" he recorded some 20 albums after the age of 90 under a contract which would have extended to his centennial. The man leaves a legacy ; and the Audio Engineering Society joins the many who mourn his death. E dwin Beemish, Life Member of the AES, died in New Jersey at the age of 70. In the course of his career, Mr. Beemish worked in shop production and field service of audio engineering, specializing in the areas of broadcasting and recording. A Charter Member of the Delaware Valley Radio Association, M r. Beemish ran his own radio business for 17 years. His work consisted of development, installation and operation of broadcast studios, wired music and recording studios. He was involved in designing and building audio equipment used in conjunction with synchronized mechanical displays.","PeriodicalId":53869,"journal":{"name":"WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS REVIEW","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/wcw.2017.0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41452786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article investigates William Carlos Williams's philosophical investment in relational ways of knowing the world by re-reading the poems in his 1923 collection Spring and All through the lens of the poet's prose. Bringing into focus the noisy aesthetic aims that Williams outlines in the prose passages and that are at play in the poems themselves, Spring and All is read not for what it means but for how it means, taking noisy Williams at his word and asking not how poetic language represents but how it mediates. The article extends pragmatist approaches to Williams's poetry by turning to Bruno Latour's theory of (non)modernity and new media theories in order to articulate the poet's interest in the translations and exchanges that occur beneath the binaries that moderns have produced.
{"title":"The (Non)Modern Imagination of a Noisy Williams","authors":"A. Hernandez","doi":"10.1353/WCW.2017.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/WCW.2017.0004","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates William Carlos Williams's philosophical investment in relational ways of knowing the world by re-reading the poems in his 1923 collection Spring and All through the lens of the poet's prose. Bringing into focus the noisy aesthetic aims that Williams outlines in the prose passages and that are at play in the poems themselves, Spring and All is read not for what it means but for how it means, taking noisy Williams at his word and asking not how poetic language represents but how it mediates. The article extends pragmatist approaches to Williams's poetry by turning to Bruno Latour's theory of (non)modernity and new media theories in order to articulate the poet's interest in the translations and exchanges that occur beneath the binaries that moderns have produced.","PeriodicalId":53869,"journal":{"name":"WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS REVIEW","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/WCW.2017.0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42791539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines scenes of looking and watching that recur throughout Williams's 1955 collection Journey to Love and suggests that acts of seeing provide a poetic paradigm for the book. In some of the best poems in Journey to Love Williams envisions the act of looking in relational terms, which prevents the book as a whole from becoming solipsistic. The article compares this late work to Williams's precise and unallegorical depiction of the world in his earlier poems. Williams ultimately turns from poetic iconoclasm to imaginative synthesis, connecting the parts of the world he singles out for attention through his characteristically keen observations.
{"title":"The Centrality of Seeing in Journey to Love","authors":"J. Westover","doi":"10.1353/WCW.2017.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/WCW.2017.0002","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines scenes of looking and watching that recur throughout Williams's 1955 collection Journey to Love and suggests that acts of seeing provide a poetic paradigm for the book. In some of the best poems in Journey to Love Williams envisions the act of looking in relational terms, which prevents the book as a whole from becoming solipsistic. The article compares this late work to Williams's precise and unallegorical depiction of the world in his earlier poems. Williams ultimately turns from poetic iconoclasm to imaginative synthesis, connecting the parts of the world he singles out for attention through his characteristically keen observations.","PeriodicalId":53869,"journal":{"name":"WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS REVIEW","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/WCW.2017.0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45974573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article underlines the influence of William Carlos Williams on English language poetry and focuses on his importance in particular to the British poet Thom Gunn. The issue of the academic resistance to acknowledging the importance of Williams to the development of American poetry is raised against the backdrop of his enduring impact on voices such as Gunn and also that of the article's author, August Kleinzahler.
{"title":"Thom Gunn and William Carlos Williams","authors":"August Kleinzahler","doi":"10.1353/WCW.2017.0000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/WCW.2017.0000","url":null,"abstract":"This article underlines the influence of William Carlos Williams on English language poetry and focuses on his importance in particular to the British poet Thom Gunn. The issue of the academic resistance to acknowledging the importance of Williams to the development of American poetry is raised against the backdrop of his enduring impact on voices such as Gunn and also that of the article's author, August Kleinzahler.","PeriodicalId":53869,"journal":{"name":"WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS REVIEW","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/WCW.2017.0000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41787517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ABSTRACT:This article underlines how Williams explores a range of ideologies associated with observation, inviting readers to consider how ideological frames of reference impact what we see. Williams's work on seeing and the positioning of the viewer is here aligned with the work of painters, Degas in particular, occasionally positioning the viewer as an observer, a voyeur, of people unaware of that observation. Williams's poem "The Young Housewife," is analyzed for its voyeuristic frames of reference, while the power dynamics of seeing and surveillance are examined in Paterson through Williams's inclusion of the Cress letters. The article considers Williams's relationship to such dynamics and asks what we sacrifice when we cease to question the parameters of surveillance and the potential abuses of power associated with it.
摘要:本文强调了威廉姆斯如何探索一系列与观察相关的意识形态，并邀请读者思考意识形态参考框架如何影响我们的观察。威廉姆斯关于观看和观众定位的作品在这里与画家的作品一致，尤其是德加，偶尔将观众定位为一个观察者，一个偷窥者，一个没有意识到这种观察的人。威廉姆斯的诗《年轻的家庭主妇》(The Young Housewife)因其偷窥的参考框架而被分析，而在《帕特森》中，通过威廉姆斯对克雷斯信件的引用，观察和监视的权力动态被审视。这篇文章考虑了威廉姆斯与这种动态的关系，并提出了当我们停止质疑监控的参数和与之相关的潜在权力滥用时，我们牺牲了什么。
{"title":"The Eye of the Beholder: Voyeurism and Surveillance in Williams's Speaker/Reader Matrix","authors":"Irena Praitis","doi":"10.1353/WCW.2017.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/WCW.2017.0003","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT:This article underlines how Williams explores a range of ideologies associated with observation, inviting readers to consider how ideological frames of reference impact what we see. Williams's work on seeing and the positioning of the viewer is here aligned with the work of painters, Degas in particular, occasionally positioning the viewer as an observer, a voyeur, of people unaware of that observation. Williams's poem \"The Young Housewife,\" is analyzed for its voyeuristic frames of reference, while the power dynamics of seeing and surveillance are examined in Paterson through Williams's inclusion of the Cress letters. The article considers Williams's relationship to such dynamics and asks what we sacrifice when we cease to question the parameters of surveillance and the potential abuses of power associated with it.","PeriodicalId":53869,"journal":{"name":"WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS REVIEW","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/WCW.2017.0003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43958496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Drawing on Thom Gunn's poetry, criticism, and teaching notes, this article explores Williams's influence on an Anglo-American better known for his traditional forms—an unlikely apprentice. From his first labored imitations to his late amalgams, Gunn follows what he calls Williams's "essential tenderness": an attention to the lives of ordinary people. In poems that focus on severely disregarded, dehumanized individuals—the homeless, as well as the institutionalized—Gunn builds on the affinities he shares with Williams, while adapting the older poet's distinct strengths to his own abilities. He brings Williams's resonant perceptions into poems grounded in bodily sensation: he thereby invites his readers to consider the lives of the overlooked from a new perspective.
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I argue that while William Carlos Williams has been interpreted, to borrow Marjorie Perloff’s phrase regarding Frank O’Hara, as a poet among painters, what I have not seen in the criticism, and try to address in my article, is a discussion of Williams in relation to work by aestheticians. The writings of George Dickie and Arthur C. Danto in the 1960s and 70s provide framework models which are powerful tools for approaching Williams’s “found” poems such as “This Is Just to Say,” which I read closely here. Danto on his major subject, Andy Warhol, can teach us to consider “This Is Just to Say” in a philosophical manner and I argue that the poem is an example of Danto’s view of Pop as transfigurative of otherwise indecipherable objects. At the same time, I critique Danto’s understanding of Warhol’s Brillo Box as the “ur” text of an art that is indecipherable to the eye, but only discernible as art because of a philosophical understanding of it as belonging to the art world. My intention is to link Brillo Box and “This Is Just to Say” as both decipherable—visually decipherable—in ways Danto must significantly downplay for his conceptual theory of art to add up. I argue that the works by Warhol and Williams I look at signal to their audiences the intention to—in Danto’s key words—“transfigure the commonplace” through the formal work of establishing differences between objects of little or no value—soap pad cartons and forgive me notes—and versions that are conceptually significant containers of meaning belonging to the art world.
我认为，虽然威廉·卡洛斯·威廉姆斯被解读为画家中的诗人，借用马乔里·佩尔洛夫关于弗兰克·奥哈拉的话，但我在批评中没有看到，并试图在我的文章中指出的是，威廉姆斯与美学家作品的关系。乔治·迪基(George Dickie)和阿瑟·c·丹托(Arthur C. Danto)在20世纪60年代和70年代的作品提供了框架模型，这些模型是研究威廉姆斯“发现的”诗歌的有力工具，比如我在这里仔细阅读的《这只是为了说》(This Is Just to Say)。丹托的主要主题，安迪·沃霍尔，可以教会我们以一种哲学的方式来思考“这只是说”，我认为这首诗是丹托的观点的一个例子，他认为波普是对其他无法理解的物体的变形。与此同时，我批评丹托对沃霍尔的《布里洛盒子》的理解，认为它是一种用眼睛无法解读的艺术的“ur”文本，但只有在哲学上理解它属于艺术世界，才能将其视为艺术。我的意图是将《布里洛盒子》和《这只是要说》联系起来，因为两者都是可解读的——视觉上可解读的——丹托必须在很大程度上淡化这种解读方式，这样他的艺术概念理论才能得到补充。我认为，我所看到的沃霍尔和威廉姆斯的作品向他们的观众传达了一种意图——用丹托的关键词来说——“改造平凡”，通过正式的工作，在价值很少或没有价值的物品之间建立差异——肥皂纸盒和原谅我的笔记——以及在概念上具有重要意义的属于艺术世界的意义容器。
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ABSTRACT: In this article I assess the aesthetic, interpersonal, and historical contexts—American and European—in which William Carlos Williams wrote his poem “The Great Figure” and to which his artist friend, Charles Demuth, responded with his 1928 work I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold. Emphasizing what a work of art or poem “is,” as well as what it “does,” I discuss Williams’s poem and Demuth’s art in terms of the development of modern abstraction, but more importantly, in terms of Demuth as a visual heir to Williams. Celebrating new kinds of representation, modernism introduced new ways of seeing and saying. I argue that abstraction for both the poet and painter reflect creative responses to “angst, uncertainty, and confusion.” Discussing developments in cinema, jazz, advertising, photography, and experimental fiction (Joyce and Woolf), and dance as ways of understanding “The Great Figure” and I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, I offer a close reading of both works. I also show how the city shaped literary and visual arts in the early decades of the twentieth century.
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ABSTRACT: In my article, I examine the relationship between the work of William Carlos Williams and John Dewey’s Art as Experience (1934) and show how their shared concerns create links to post-Second World War performance artists such as Laurie Anderson, the theatrical storyteller Spalding Gray, as well as Happenings master Allan Kaprow. I examine Williams’s impact on what is regarded as early postmodernism in the United States, by tracing Williams connections to Objectivists such as Louis Zukofsky and George Oppen from the 1930s and other culture workers who display what I call a “performative ethos” indebted to John Dewey. I contextualize poetry in relation to everyday experience, but also focus on the semantics of form, in which form emerges through exigencies of a work’s creation. Context and experience produce organic forms, as in the writings of Black Mountain and West Coast poets such as Charles Olson, Robert Creeley and Robert Duncan, each of whom emphasized breath groups and the visual “field” of the page when imagining a prosody that was structural, but antithetical to accentual syllabic verse. Like performance artists who followed in his wake, I argue that Williams challenged readers to co-create texts to re-evaluate experience as art and art as experience.
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