Counter-revolution of the Word : The Conservative Attack on Modern Poetry, 1945-1960

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit--if not destroy--the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these ""anticommunist antimodernists, "" as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist ""conspiracy"" against form and language. In Counter-revolution of the Word Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry.;Preface; Acknowledgments; PART I. THE FIFTIES' THIRTIES; 1 Better Rethink Your Aesthetics; 2 The Revolt against Revolt; 3 Guilty Are Those Who Are Punished; 4 Repressive Rereadings; 5 An Underground of the Unpublishable; 6 Anti-Anticommunist Poetics; PART II. ANTICOMMUNIST ANTIMODERNISM; 7 Poetry in the Hour of Need; 8 Invasion of the Modernists; 9 Deep Pinks, Medium Pinks, Door Openers; 10 Hard Times in Xanadu; 11 Lyricism, Freedom, and Art Education; 12 Formlessness Is Godlessness; 13 The Good Grammar of Citizenship; Notes; Permissions; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M.

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit&#151if not destroy&#151the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these anticommunist antimodernists, as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist conspiracy against form and language. In Counter-revolution of the Word Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics.

Although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic, Filreis argues. By analyzing correspondence, decoding pseudonyms, drawing new connections through the archives, and conducting interviews, Filreis shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde. Filreis's analysis provides new insight into why experimental poetry has aroused such fear and alarm among American conservatives.

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit--if not destroy--the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these "anticommunist antimodernists," as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist "conspiracy" against form and language. In Counter-revolution of the Word Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics.

Although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic, Filreis argues. By analyzing correspondence, decoding pseudonyms, drawing new connections through the archives, and conducting interviews, Filreis shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde. Filreis's analysis provides new insight into why experimental poetry has aroused such fear and alarm among American conservatives.

During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit--if not destroy--the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these "anticommunist antimodernists," as Alan Filreis dubs them, joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist "conspiracy" against form and language. In "Counter-revolution of the Word" Filreis narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics. Although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic, Filreis argues. By analyzing correspondence, decoding pseudonyms, drawing new connections through the archives, and conducting interviews, Filreis shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde. Filreis's analysis provides new insight into why experimental poetry has aroused such fear and alarm among American conservatives. This book examines the story of the coalition of poets, editors, and politicians who, after the Cold War, attempted to discredit - if not destroy - the American modernist avant-garde. Ideologically diverse, yet willing to bespeak their hatred of modern poetry through the rhetoric of anticommunism, these "anticommunist antimodernists," joined associations such as the League for Sanity in Poetry to decry the modernist "conspiracy" against form and language. The author argues that although the antimodernists expressed their disapproval through ideological language, their hatred of experimental poetry was ultimately not political but aesthetic. He shows that an informal network of antimodernists was effective in suppressing or distorting the postwar careers of many poets whose work had appeared regularly in the 1930s. Insofar as modernism had consorted with radicalism in the Red Decade, antimodernists in the 1950s worked to sever those connections, fantasized a formal and unpolitical pre-Depression High Modern moment, and assiduously sought to de-radicalize the remnant avant-garde Preface Acknowledgments PART I. THE FIFTIES' THIRTIES 1 Better Rethink Your Aesthetics 2 The Revolt against Revolt 3 Guilty Are Those Who Are Punished 4 Repressive Rereadings 5 An Underground of the Unpublishable 6 Anti-Anticommunist Poetics PART II. ANTICOMMUNIST ANTIMODERNISM 7 Poetry in the Hour of Need 8 Invasion of the Modernists 9 Deep Pinks, Medium Pinks, Door Openers 10 Hard Times in Xanadu 11 Lyricism, Freedom, and Art Education 12 Formlessness Is Godlessness 13 The Good Grammar of Citizenship Notes Permissions Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M. NO P R S T U V W Y Z. During the Cold War an unlikely coalition of poets, editors, and politicians converged in an attempt to discredit - if not destroy - the American modernist avant-garde. This title narrates the story of this movement and assesses its effect on American poetry and poetics.