Space, Place and Poetry in English and German, 1960–1975 (Geocriticism and Spatial Literary Studies)

__Space, Place and Poetry in English and German, 1960-1975__ examines the work of Paul Celan, J. H. Prynne, Derek Mahon, Sarah Kirsch, Edwin Morgan and Ernst Jandl, bringing together postwar English- and German-language poetry and criticism on the theme of space, place and landscape. Nicola Thomas highlights hitherto underexplored connections between a wide range of poets working across the two language areas, demonstrating that space and place are vital critical categories for understanding poetry of this period. Thomas’s analysis reveals weaknesses in existing critical taxonomies, arguing for the use of ‘late modernist’ as a category with cross-cultural relevance, and promotes methodological exchange between the Anglophone and German traditions of landscape, space and place oriented poetic criticism, to the benefit of both. Series Editor’s Preface 6 Acknowledgements 8 Contents 9 List of Abbreviations 11 Chapter 1: Introduction: The Case for Comparison 12 Inventing the Moon: Spatial Revolutions in the 1960s 12 Returning from Silence: Some Literary Contexts 17 Spatial Turn(s) 22 The Case for Comparison 25 Summary and Overview 28 References 32 Chapter 2: Language as Landscape in J. H. Prynne and Paul Celan 37 A Shared Textual Landscape 37 Language and Space: The Meridian 42 Language and Place: Huts, Graves, Crypts 46 Language and Landscape: Geology and Excavation 50 Conclusion: A Complex Tectonics 56 References 58 Chapter 3: Excavation, Expansion and Enclosure: Paul Celan’s ‘Engführung’ (1959) and J. H. Prynne’s ‘The Glacial Question, Unsolved’ (1969) 62 ‘Gras, auseinandergeschrieben’: Celan’s ‘Engführung’ 63 ‘Cut back down, to the shore’: Prynne’s ‘The Glacial Question, Unsolved’ 80 References 87 Chapter 4: Negotiating Home in the Work of Derek Mahon and Sarah Kirsch 89 World, Community, Home 89 Negotiating World 91 Negotiating Community 98 Negotiating ‘Home’ 102 Conclusion 111 References 114 Chapter 5: Form and Community: Derek Mahon’s ‘Beyond Howth Head’ (1972) and Sarah Kirsch’s ‘Wiepersdorf’ Cycle (1973) 116 ‘Immer | Sind wir allein’: Kirsch’s ‘Wiepersdorf’ Cycle 117 ‘Through the roar’: Mahon’s ‘Beyond Howth Head’ 131 References 141 Chapter 6: Remapping Space and Place in Edwin Morgan and Ernst Jandl 143 Why is Remapping Needed? 143 Subjectivity, Perspective and Polyvocality 150 Polyphony and Asperspectivity in Sound and Concrete Poems 159 ‘kleine erdkunde’ 170 Conclusion 171 References 174 Chapter 7: Public Space and Power: Edwin Morgan’s ‘The Starlings in George Square’ (1968) and Ernst Jandl’s ‘wien: heldenplatz’ (1966) 177 ‘sweet frenzied whistling’: Morgan’s ‘The Starlings in George Square’ 179 ‘maschenhafte[...] männchenmeere’: Jandl’s ‘wien: heldenplatz’ 187 References 194 Chapter 8: Conclusion: Geometries and Geographies of Comparison 197 References 208 Index 211 Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: The Case for Comparison (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 1-25 Language as Landscape in J. H. Prynne and Paul Celan (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 27-51 Excavation, Expansion and Enclosure: Paul Celan’s ‘Engführung’ (1959) and J. H. Prynne’s ‘The Glacial Question, Unsolved’ (1969) (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 53-79 Negotiating Home in the Work of Derek Mahon and Sarah Kirsch (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 81-107 Form and Community: Derek Mahon’s ‘Beyond Howth Head’ (1972) and Sarah Kirsch’s ‘Wiepersdorf’ Cycle (1973) (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 109-135 Remapping Space and Place in Edwin Morgan and Ernst Jandl (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 137-170 Public Space and Power: Edwin Morgan’s ‘The Starlings in George Square’ (1968) and Ernst Jandl’s ‘wien: heldenplatz’ (1966) (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 171-190 Conclusion: Geometries and Geographies of Comparison (Nicola Thomas)....Pages 191-204 Back Matter ....Pages 205-208 "Space, Place and Poetry in English and German, 1960-1975 examines the work of Paul Celan, J. H. Prynne, Derek Mahon, Sarah Kirsch, Edwin Morgan and Ernst Jandl, bringing together postwar English- and German-language poetry and criticism on the theme of space, place and landscape. Nicola Thomas highlights hitherto underexplored connections between a wide range of poets working across the two language areas, demonstrating that space and place are vital critical categories for understanding poetry of this period. Thomas's analysis reveals weaknesses in existing critical taxonomies, arguing for the use of 'late modernist' as a category with cross-cultural relevance, and promotes methodological exchange between the Anglophone and German traditions of landscape, space and place oriented poetic criticism, to the benefit of both."-- Provided by publisher Annotation Space, Place and Poetry in English and German, 1960-1975 examines the work of Paul Celan, J.H. Prynne, Derek Mahon, Sarah Kirsch, Edwin Morgan and Ernst Jandl, bringing together postwar English- and German-language poetry and criticism on the theme of space, place and landscape. Nicola Thomas highlights hitherto underexplored connections between a wide range of poets working across the two language areas, demonstrating that space and place are vital critical categories for understanding poetry of this period. Thomas's analysis reveals weaknesses in existing critical taxonomies, arguing for the use of 'late modernist' as a category with cross-cultural relevance, and promotes methodological exchange between the Anglophone and German traditions of landscape, space and place oriented poetic criticism, to the benefit of both