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Penelope's Web: The Early Poetry of Joanne Kyger.
- Source :
- International Journal of the Classical Tradition; Apr2016, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p55-76, 22p
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- In this paper I aim to reintroduce the poetry of Joanne Kyger, a contemporary and intimate of the Beat poets, whose first volume of poetry, The Tapestry and the Web, re-reads classical mythology as a female-centered nontraditional narrative. Kyger eschews traditional definitions of 'epic' in favor of a poetics that allows for the inscription of the female poet as a 'maker' or artisan, who crafts a text like a tapestry, crossing and re-crossing the page in an effort to create an open space for the work of reading. Kyger deliberately employs a mythic cycle to break through limits that constrict one's ability to place oneself in the poetry, either as poet or reader. The use of myth prevents her poetry from becoming personal or confessional, yet, it is a female-centered 'epic,' a category that in and of itself breaks down conventional poetic barriers. Thus, Kyger's poetry transforms the Odyssey into a multi-vocal, transgressive narrative, which de-centers and destabilizes the epic masculine narrating 'I.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- POETRY (Literary form)
NARRATIVES
LITERARY style
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10730508
- Volume :
- 23
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- International Journal of the Classical Tradition
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 114604982
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12138-015-0380-4