A Poetics (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

The pieces collected in "A Poetics" are remarkable not only for the ever-changing spin they put on language, but also for expanding our sense of the consequences of this rethinking of poetic form(s) in the broadest sense. -- Jan Plug "L'Esprit Createur" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The pieces collected in A Poetics are remarkable not only for the ever-changing spin they put on language, but also for expanding our sense of the consequences of this rethinking of poetic form(s) in the broadest sense.
--Jan Plug (L'Esprit Créateur )

Charles Bernstein's critical prose is the extension of his increasingly important poetic oeuvre. In their theoretical sophistication, their radical formal construction, and, above all, their great boldness and originality, many of the essays in this book have already become underground classics, providing us with a roadmap for how to come to terms with the verbal/visual art and culture of our own time. Part manifesto, part critique, part stringent analysis, A Poetics carries on the tradition of Pound's ABC of Reading and Stein's Lectures in America.
--Marjorie Perloff, Stanford University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674678575
• ISBN-13: 978-0674678576
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #622,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I AGREE: GREAT FIRST ESSAY, January 24, 2006

By	John Ashes "cccertainly" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Responding to what the previous poster wrote: The first chapter in the book, "Artifice as Absorption" is a captivating and provocative essay on what makes so-called "difficult" literature valuable. As if to prove his point about how "anti-absorptive" works (such as the writing of Beckett, Gertrude Stein, LANGUAGE poets like Bernstein) are sometimes more engaging than your typical potboiler, Bernstein has produced an unlikely page-turner here. Among the chapter's "artificial" effects: it's written in verse, and it has footnotes. And one warning: it probably will be difficult to decipher if you're not somewhat conversant with literary theory. But if you're interested in literature, especially poetry, Bernstein's is an invaluable take on some of the debates currently raging over what makes verse, especially difficult or avant-garde verse, worth worrying over. I particularly like his point that "common-voice" poetry (like Gary Snyder's or Robert Bly's), though the accepted model for "honest" poetry, is really doubly artificial, because it's hiding its artifice behind a masquerade of plainspokenness.

Full disclousre: I'm a grad student and a poet (though not as avant- as Bernstein) and I really loved this essay. I'm still working through the rest of the book, which I checked out from the library.

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chuck amok, December 10, 2000

By	dadoodoflow (chicago, il United States) - See all my reviews

READ THE FIRST ESSAY IN THIS BOOK REPEAT