Sleepers Awake

Overview: Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972) was a major American experimental poet and novelist influenced by Dadaism and Surrealism. A dedicated pacifist throughout his life, Patchen shared with the Dadaists and Surrealists a dislike for the traditional moral and aesthetic objectives of literature. He did not make his work conform to preconceived literary patterns or expectations but was concerned rather with the way language can create or reflect subtle moods and emotional states, and his work was extremely experimental in seeking that end.