Beautiful Enemies: Friendship And Postwar American Poetry: Friendship And Postwar American Poetry

Although it has long been commonplace to imagine the archetypal American poet singing a solitary "Song of Myself," much of the most enduring American poetry has actually been preoccupied with the drama of friendship. In this lucid and absorbing study, Andrew Epstein argues that an obsession with both the pleasures and problems of friendship erupts in the "New American Poetry" that emerges after the Second World War. By focusing on some of the most significant postmodernist American poets--the "New York School" poets John Ashbery, Frank O'Hara, and their close contemporary Amiri Baraka-- Beautiful Enemies reveals a fundamental paradox at the heart of postwar American poetry and culture: the avant-garde's commitment to individualism and nonconformity runs directly counter to its own valorization of community and collaboration. In fact, Epstein demonstrates that the clash between friendship and nonconformity complicates the legendary alliances forged by postwar poets, becomes a predominant theme in the poetry they created, and leaves contemporary writers with a complicated legacy to negotiate. Rather than simply celebrating friendship and poetic community as nurturing and inspiring, these poets represent friendship as a kind of exhilarating, maddening contradiction, a site of attraction and repulsion, affinity and rivalry. Challenging both the reductive critiques of American individualism and the idealized, heavily biographical celebrations of literary camaraderie one finds in much critical discussion, this book provides a new interpretation of the peculiar dynamics of American avant-garde poetic communities and the role of the individual within them. By situating his extensive and revealing readings of these highly influential poets against the backdrop of Cold War cultural politics and within the context of American pragmatist thought, Epstein uncovers the collision between radical self-reliance and the siren call of the interpersonal at the core of postwar American poetry

Although it has long been commonplace to imagine the archetypal American poet singing a solitary Song of Myself, much of the most enduring American poetry has actually been preoccupied with the drama of friendship. In this lucid and absorbing study, Andrew Epstein argues that an obsession with both the pleasures and problems of friendship erupts in the New American Poetry that emerges after the Second World War. By focusing on some of the most significant postmodernist American poets—the New York School poets John Ashbery, Frank O'Hara, and their close contemporary Amiri Baraka—Beautiful Enemies reveals a fundamental paradox at the heart of postwar American poetry and culture: the avant-garde's commitment to individualism and nonconformity runs directly counter to its own valorization of community and collaboration. In fact, Epstein demonstrates that the clash between friendship and nonconformity complicates the legendary alliances forged by postwar poets, becomes a predominant theme in the poetry they created, and leaves contemporary writers with a complicated legacy to negotiate. Rather than simply celebrating friendship and poetic community as nurturing and inspiring, these poets represent friendship as a kind of exhilirating, maddening contradiction, a site of attraction and repulsion, affinity and rivalry.

Challenging both the reductive critiques of American individualism and the idealized, heavily biographical celebrations of literary camaraderie one finds in much critical discussion, this book provides a new interpretation of the peculiar dynamics of American avant-garde poetic communities and the role of the individual within them. By situating his extensive and revealing readings of these highly influential poets against the backdrop of Cold War cultural politics and within the context of American pragmatist thought, Epstein uncovers the collision between radical self-reliance and the siren call of the interpersonal at the core of postwar American poetry.

Although it has long been commonplace to imagine the archetypal American poet singing a solitary "Song of Myself," much of the most enduring American poetry has actually been preoccupied with the drama of friendship. In this lucid and absorbing study, Andrew Epstein argues that an obsession with both the pleasures and problems of friendship erupts in the "New American Poetry" that emerges after the Second World War. By focusing on some of the most significant postmodernist American poets--the "New York School" poets John Ashbery, Frank O'Hara, and their close contemporary Amiri Baraka--Beautiful Enemies reveals a fundamental paradox at the heart of postwar American poetry and culture: the avant-garde's commitment to individualism and nonconformity runs directly counter to its own valorization of community and collaboration. In fact, Epstein demonstrates that the clash between friendship and nonconformity complicates the legendary alliances forged by postwar poets, becomes a predominant theme in the poetry they created, and leaves contemporary writers with a complicated legacy to negotiate. Rather than simply celebrating friendship and poetic community as nurturing and inspiring, these poets represent friendship as a kind of exhilarating, maddening contradiction, a site of attraction and repulsion, affinity and rivalry.

Challenging both the reductive critiques of American individualism and the idealized, heavily biographical celebrations of literary camaraderie one finds in much critical discussion, this book provides a new interpretation of the peculiar dynamics of American avant-garde poetic communities and the role of the individual within them. By situating his extensive and revealing readings of these highly influential poets against the backdrop of Cold War cultural politics and within the context of American pragmatist thought, Epstein uncovers the collision between radical self-reliance and the siren call of the interpersonal at the core of postwar American poetry. Despite the deep-seated notion that the archetypal American poet sings a solitary “Song of Myself,” much of the most enduring American poetry has actually been preoccupied with friendship and its pleasures, contradictions, and discontents. This book examines this obsession with the problems and paradoxes of friendship, tracing its eruption in the New American Poetry that emerges after World War II as a potent avant-garde movement. The book argues that a clash between friendship and non-conformity is central to post-war American poetry and its development. By focusing on some of the most important and influential postmodernist American poets, the book offers a new interpretation of the peculiar dynamics of American avant-garde poetic communities and the role of the individual within them. At the same time, this study challenges both the reductive critiques of American individualism and the idealized, heavily biographical celebrations of literary camaraderie one finds in much critical discussion. The book foregrounds a fundamental paradox: that at the heart of experimental American poetry pulses a commitment to individualism and dynamic movement that runs directly counter to an equally profound devotion to avant-garde collaboration and community. It demonstrates that this tense dialectic between an aversion to conformity and a poetics of friendship actually energizes post-war American poetry, drives the creation, meaning, and form of important poems, frames the interrelationships between certain key poets, and leaves contemporary writers with a complicated legacy to negotiate Abbreviations Introduction 1. Situation the Avant-Garde in Postwar America Community, Individualism, and Cold War Culture 2. Emerson, Pragmatism, and the ""New American Poetry"" 3. ""My Force Is in Mobility"" Selfhood and Friendship in Frank O'Hara's Poetry 4. Growing Up with Our Brothers All Around John Ashbery and the Interpersonal 5. Amiri Baraka and the Poetics of Turning Away 6. ""Against the Speech of Friends"" Baraka's White Friend Blues 7. ""A Rainy Wool Frankie and Johnny"" O'Hara, Ashbery, and the Paradoxes of Friendship Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index Content: Situating the avant-garde in postwar America: community, individualism, and Cold War culture -- Emerson, pragmatism, and the "new American poetry" -- "my force is in mobility": selfhood and friendship in Frank O'Hara's poetry -- Growing up with our brothers all around: John Ashbery and the interpersonal -- Amiri Baraka and the poetics of turning away -- "Against the speech of friends": Baraka's white friend blues -- "A rainy wool Frankie and Johnny": O'Hara, Ashbery, and the paradoxes of friendship. Focusing on the work and interrelations of some of the most important and influential postmodernist American poets, this text offers an interpretation of the peculiar dynamics of American avant-garde poetic communities, as it tells the story of a vibrant intellectual community where friendship and writing intersect in fascinating ways