Saturday, December 03, 2011

Dove: Digging Deeper



I've been reading further on Rita Dove's decision to exclude Ginsberg and Kerouac from the new Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Verse and I've unearthed a couple of interesting details. First this old quote from Dove, which demonstrates she has no particular prejudice towards Ginsberg (I'd never heard of her before I read about the anthology, so what did I know?):

Allen Ginsberg's importance was in its twilight for so many years that it took his death to bring it to the front page. He electrified an entire world! And he continues to do so! There are generations who stumble across HOWL and find it speaks to them. Yet it takes a tragedy to make people notice. http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/dove/dove-interview.html

Dove says in her introduction, apparently, that she couldn't afford to blow her whole budget on hefty permission fees from copyright owners. I don't know if she refers specifically to HarperCollins and Rupert Murdoch (I am so out of the political loop in literary matters I didn't know they were owned by the liberal's own antichrist Rupert Murdoch), but I suppose the inference is there even if the declaration isn't. So, then, she simply couldn't afford Ginsberg.

That's a credible argument. Perhaps, then, Dove's mistake was tactical rather than political, in that she has included in her anthology a whole lot of people who could have been excluded so that the most significant American poet of the 1950s - in cultural as well as literary terms - didn't have to be. And if it was a question of late negotiation with HarperCollins when most of the money had already been spent, the same applies. It's bad housekeeping. Blaming the capitalist monster Murdoch and the devils of the Ginsberg estate might be fun but it's too easy.

And I still wonder what really motivated Dove's selections for the book. While including four of her own poems, Dove excludes Sylvia Plath too, and Plath's poetry is taught in every university from here to the other side of Mars. I don't like it personally but even a pig-headed bastard like me has to admit it's technically brilliant. Is Plath owned by the horned Australian one also? Most of the stuff I've read seems to indicate that Dove just hates her poetry, which is fair enough, but not a good basis for the editing of a poetry anthology.

As for Kerouac...well, some of the reviews of the anthology have been kind about his writing while discussing its absence from the book, but prejudice against him is so deep-rooted in 'respectable' circles an editor who could afford to buy Manhattan probably wouldn't include him. The professor of American Literature at Northampton University described Jack's Essentials of Spontaneous Prose as 'hippie shit' in a lecture only last year. I forced him to admit he was wrong in a private discussion in his office a few days later, but I'm sure his submission was only made to prevent me from breaking the furniture.

5 comments:

Jimmie Aaron Kepler said...

Without Allen Ginsberg it should be retitled, "Penguin PARTIAL Anthology of Twentieth Century American Verse (excluding one of the most influential poets ever!)". What a poor decision to exclude Ginsberg - it's like saying The Beat generation never existed. He's the one who taught so many a love for poetry and how to "Howl". As Howl opens "I saw the best minds of my generation..." Dove has chosen to make the next word of his epic poem be "EXCLUDED" .

Bruce Hodder said...

You're absolutely right.

Bruce Hodder said...

I feel I should inform anybody as unaware as I was a few moments ago that Mr Viebahn, who has been so keen to rubbish any of my arguments against Rita Dove and Penguin Books in the matter of the Ginsberg-less anthology, is - according to the bio that comes up when you click his name in the comments field - the husband of Rita Dove. That doesn't NECESSARILY make his rabid pursuit of me across every blog he could find or his contradiction of every claim made against Ms Dove and Penguin unjustified, but he is certainly not a disinterested observer, now is he?

Unknown said...

longchamp, oakley sunglasses, nike roshe run, louboutin outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, louboutin pas cher, burberry, polo ralph lauren outlet, nike free, nike air max, louis vuitton outlet, ugg boots, louboutin shoes, prada handbags, ray ban sunglasses, nike free, sac longchamp, cheap oakley sunglasses, nike air max, gucci outlet, ray ban sunglasses, oakley sunglasses, tiffany and co, air jordan pas cher, ugg boots, prada outlet, chanel handbags, louboutin, replica watches, louis vuitton outlet, oakley sunglasses, uggs on sale, jordan shoes, air max, christian louboutin outlet, louis vuitton, oakley sunglasses, longchamp outlet, michael kors, tiffany jewelry, longchamp pas cher, ralph lauren pas cher, replica watches, nike outlet, kate spade outlet, ray ban sunglasses, tory burch outlet, louis vuitton, longchamp outlet, louis vuitton

Unknown said...

nfl jerseys, north face outlet, bottega veneta, reebok shoes, baseball bats, mont blanc, nike air max, asics running shoes, iphone cases, oakley, giuseppe zanotti, hollister, nike roshe, abercrombie and fitch, instyler, nike air max, hollister, soccer jerseys, ray ban, celine handbags, mcm handbags, nike trainers, new balance, lululemon, babyliss, ghd, north face outlet, converse outlet, ferragamo shoes, gucci, ralph lauren, louboutin, herve leger, hollister, longchamp, insanity workout, mac cosmetics, vans, soccer shoes, vans shoes, timberland boots, jimmy choo shoes, chi flat iron, valentino shoes, nike huarache, lancel, birkin bag, wedding dresses, beats by dre, p90x workout