Civil Disobediences: Poetics and Politics in Action (Paperback)

by Anne Waldman (Editor), Lisa Birman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado was founded by poet Waldman and Allen Ginsberg in 1974; it functions as a non-academic pedagogical laboratory (Waldman prefers Hakim Bey’s phrase, "temporary autonomous zone") for synthesizing the energies loosed by the Beats, the poets of the Black Mountain School and other proponents of the literary counterculture, both ancient and modern. Its many teachers over the years have included Ted Berrigan, Robert Creeley, Joanne Kyger, Alice Notley and Michael Ondaatje, all of whom are represented in this culling of 40 presentations and colloquia from the school’s famous Summer Writing Program. With a conscious nod toward Thoreau, Waldman in her introduction attempts to articulate a varied poetics of engagement for our time. The various essays, lectures and teaching materials are divided into six sections (including Ancestral Presences, Dharma Poetics, Revolutionary Poetics, and Gnosis & Aesthetics) and cover a wide range of subjects (including gender, the environment and Buddhism) in ways that are refreshingly theory-free and conversational (many of the pieces were first presented as talks), while remaining erudite and informative. Highlights include a transcription of Ted Berrigan’s motormouth advice on "how to be a poet" from a workshop class in 1978, Peter Warshall’s presentation of the findings of the Maniacal Naturalist Society on the subject of "together living" or symbiosis, and James Grauerholz’s essay on William Burroughs and Zen. Taken as a whole, these various texts reaffirm the intersection of poetry and politics as a point where word and action can fuse powerfully.
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Product Description

As cultural absurdities, apathy-inspiring ambient noise, and political and ecological disasters threaten the 21st-century world, art's role in engaging society and coalescing dissent becomes more apparent and more urgent. Civil Disobediences offers a manual for understanding poetry's history and enacting its ultimate power to dismantle and recreate political and cultural realities.

Composed of essays, lectures and teaching materials by leading Beat and contemporary poets and scholars, this anthology explores the craft of poetry, as well as the history of poetic/political action in the U.S. and abroad, the development of ancient and modern poetic forms, the legacy of world-renowned poets, and the intersections between poetry and spirituality. It also provides concrete advice about bringing poetry into your local community and ensuring that "poetry is news that stays news."

Contributors include: Helen Adam, Ammiel Alcalay, Amiri Baraka, Ted Berrigan, Robin Blaser, Reed Bye, Jack Collum, Robert Creeley, Samuel R. Delany, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alan Gilbert, Allen Ginsberg, James Grauerholtz, Barbara Guest, Bobbie Louise Hawkins, Anselm Hollo, Laird Hunt, Pierre Joris, Joanne Kyger, Eileen Myles, Alice Notley, Michael Ondaatje, Sonia Sanchez, Edward Sanders, Eleni Sikelianos, Gary Snyder, Cole Swenson, Arthur Sze, Steven Taylor, Robert Tejada, Lorenzo Thomas and many more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Coffee House Press; First Printing edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566891582
• ISBN-13: 978-1566891585
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #433,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Offers a series of essays, lectures, and teaching materials , September 10, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

The collaborative compilation and editorial organization of Anne Waldman (poet, performer, cultural activist, and Distinguished Professor of Poetics at Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics) and Lisa Birman (Australian poet and co-founder of "Movie Star Press, and Co-Director of Naropa University's Summer Writing Program), Civil Disobediences: Poetics And Politics In Action offers a series of essays, lectures, and teaching materials contributed by leading contemporary poets and scholars. Within the pages of this unique volume are writings by Alice Notley, Robert Creeley, Samuel R. Delany, and many others, exploring the craft of poetry and the history of poetic/political action both here and abroad. Perhaps one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking assertions is that "poetry is news that stays news". Civil Disobediences is strongly recommended to the attention of anyone who appreciates informed and informative discourse that has as its parameters the politics of poetry and the poetry of politics.

4.0 out of 5 stars YOUR DUTY AS A POET, July 1, 2006

By	Jenne L. Vargas (Boulder, Co) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's your duty as a poet to speak the world into a new existence! Hurray! This anthology is packed with inspiring essays and fueled with Ms. Waldmans passion for "keeping the world safe for poetry". Be inspired!