Charles Olson’s Epic Advances

Timothy J. Cook examines the poetic development of Charles Olson while also highlighting his lasting impact on avant-garde literature and the epic poetic tradition in the United States from after World War II through to the present. Cook delves into the movement in United States poetry that worked to establish a “homemade” epic poetic tradition through a smattering of U.S. writers undertaking the arduous task of casting their imaginative worlds through poetry’s master form. Emerging as an an agent of change from modernism to postmodernism, Olson utilized the field of poetry to enhance his process and positioning in the world. This books presents the decades-long story of epic U.S. poetry passing from Pound to Olson, and onto Jack Clarke and Albert Glover. Arguing in favor of the establishment of an epic U.S. tradition with Olson as the connecting figure this study surveys the advances of Olson’s “projective” poetic tradition, painting a detailed portrait of Olson and the fields that he inhabited and inspired.