Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Ebook290 pages7 hours
My Way: Speeches and Poems
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
About this ebook
"Verse is born free but everywhere in chains. It has been my project to rattle the chains." (from "The Revenge of the Poet-Critic")
In My Way, (in)famous language poet and critic Charles Bernstein deploys a wide variety of interlinked forms—speeches and poems, interviews and essays—to explore the place of poetry in American culture and in the university. Sometimes comic, sometimes dark, Bernstein's writing is irreverent but always relevant, "not structurally challenged, but structurally challenging."
Addressing many interrelated issues, Bernstein moves from the role of the public intellectual to the poetics of scholarly prose, from vernacular modernism to idiosyncratic postmodernism, from identity politics to the resurgence of the aesthetic, from cultural studies to poetry as a performance art, from the small press movement to the Web. Along the way he provides "close listening" to such poets as Charles Reznikoff, Laura Riding, Susan Howe, Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, and Gertrude Stein, as well as a fresh perspective on L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E, the magazine he coedited that became a fulcrum for a new wave of North American writing.
In his passionate defense of an activist, innovative poetry, Bernstein never departs from the culturally engaged, linguistically complex, yet often very funny writing that has characterized his unique approach to poetry for over twenty years. Offering some of his most daring work yet—essays in poetic lines, prose with poetic motifs, interviews miming speech, speeches veering into song—Charles Bernstein's My Way illuminates the newest developments in contemporary poetry with its own contributions to them.
"The result of [Bernstein's] provocative groping is more stimulating than many books of either poetry or criticism have been in recent years."—Molly McQuade, Washington Post Book World
"This book, for all of its centrifugal activity, is a singular yet globally relevant perspective on the literary arts and their institutions, offered in good faith, yet cranky and poignant enough to not be easily ignored."—Publishers Weekly
"Bernstein has emerged as postmodern poetry's sous-chef of insouciance. My Way is another of his rich concoctions, fortified with intellect and seasoned with laughter."—Timothy Gray, American Literature
In My Way, (in)famous language poet and critic Charles Bernstein deploys a wide variety of interlinked forms—speeches and poems, interviews and essays—to explore the place of poetry in American culture and in the university. Sometimes comic, sometimes dark, Bernstein's writing is irreverent but always relevant, "not structurally challenged, but structurally challenging."
Addressing many interrelated issues, Bernstein moves from the role of the public intellectual to the poetics of scholarly prose, from vernacular modernism to idiosyncratic postmodernism, from identity politics to the resurgence of the aesthetic, from cultural studies to poetry as a performance art, from the small press movement to the Web. Along the way he provides "close listening" to such poets as Charles Reznikoff, Laura Riding, Susan Howe, Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, and Gertrude Stein, as well as a fresh perspective on L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E, the magazine he coedited that became a fulcrum for a new wave of North American writing.
In his passionate defense of an activist, innovative poetry, Bernstein never departs from the culturally engaged, linguistically complex, yet often very funny writing that has characterized his unique approach to poetry for over twenty years. Offering some of his most daring work yet—essays in poetic lines, prose with poetic motifs, interviews miming speech, speeches veering into song—Charles Bernstein's My Way illuminates the newest developments in contemporary poetry with its own contributions to them.
"The result of [Bernstein's] provocative groping is more stimulating than many books of either poetry or criticism have been in recent years."—Molly McQuade, Washington Post Book World
"This book, for all of its centrifugal activity, is a singular yet globally relevant perspective on the literary arts and their institutions, offered in good faith, yet cranky and poignant enough to not be easily ignored."—Publishers Weekly
"Bernstein has emerged as postmodern poetry's sous-chef of insouciance. My Way is another of his rich concoctions, fortified with intellect and seasoned with laughter."—Timothy Gray, American Literature
Author
Charles Bernstein
CHARLES BERNSTEIN is author of Pitch of Poetry and All the Whiskey in Heaven: Selected Poems. He is the Donald T. Regan professor of english and comparative literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
Read more from Charles Bernstein
The Sophist Controlling Interests Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Politics of Poetic Form: Poetry and Public Policy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPitch of Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girly Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recalculating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Near/Miss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Transpoetic Exchange: Haroldo de Campos, Octavio Paz, and Other Multiversal Dialogues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAttack of the Difficult Poems: Essays and Inventions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reading the Difficulties: Dialogues with Contemporary American Innovative Poetry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRadical Poetics and Secular Jewish Culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5poetic license / poetic justice: a footnote to "the london march" by david antin, with a commentary by charles bernstein Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Objectivist Nexus: Essays in Cultural Poetics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Islets/Irritations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Topsy-Turvy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to My Way
Related ebooks
In the Blue Pharmacy: Essays on Poetry and Other Transformations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dissonance (if you are interested) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ocean, the Bird, and the Scholar: Essays on Poets and Poetry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Infrathin: An Experiment in Micropoetics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAttack of the Difficult Poems: Essays and Inventions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talk Poetry: Poems and Interviews with Nine American Poets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDisclosed poetics: Beyond landscape and lyricism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Poems of Robert Creeley, 1975–2005 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Circling the Canon, Volume II: The Selected Book Reviews of Marjorie Perloff,1995-2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLike to the Lark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPoetics in a New Key: Interviews and Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnending Design: The Forms of Postmodern Poetry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuard The Mysteries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeresy and the Ideal: On Contemporary Poetry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Songs of Degrees: Essays on Contemporary Poetry and Poetics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sleep That Changed Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Railsplitter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFather's Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStranger in the Mask of a Deer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCircling the Canon, Volume I: The Selected Book Reviews of Marjorie Perloff, 1969-1994 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecalculating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At the Foundling Hospital: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Best Canadian Poetry 2021 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSwallowed Light Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Poems in the Manner Of Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlasshouses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Li-Young Lee's "The Weight of Sweetness" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTopsy-Turvy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Object Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prose Poetry and the City Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Literary Criticism For You
Letters to a Young Poet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Reader’s Companion to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verity: by Colleen Hoover | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/512 Rules For Life: by Jordan Peterson | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 48 Laws of Power: by Robert Greene | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Man's Search for Meaning: by Viktor E. Frankl | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killers of the Flower Moon: by David Grann | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Virtues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Circe: by Madeline Miller | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain | Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Art of Seduction: by Robert Greene | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Great Alone: by Kristin Hannah | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.by Brené Brown | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Thorns and Roses: A Novel by Sarah J. Maas | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SUMMARY Of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lincoln Lawyer: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related podcast episodes
Helen Vendler: Helen Vendler discusses the poet Robert Lowell. 0% found this document usefulSharon Olds and Robin Coste Lewis | The Body in Question 0% found this document usefulThe Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story 0% found this document usefulJuliana Spahr: excerpts from "Will There Be Singing" 0% found this document usefulMark Doty: Mark Doty speaking at the Key West Literary Seminar. 0% found this document usefulInterview with T Kira Madden 0% found this document usefulMary Ruefle: In conversation with Jordan Kisner 0% found this document usefulRichard Siken: "Real Estate" 0% found this document usefulA Tribute to Wanda Coleman 0% found this document useful
Related articles
A Poet’s Craft The American Poetry ReviewArticle
A Poet’s Craft
Jan 1, 2020
To begin with a definition: A poem is a text structurally constrained by the repetition of any language element(s). The continuum of poetic constraint is extensive, stretching from operations that a reader will find completely imperceptible to overwh
9 min readCharles Simic Literally Writes in the Dark Literary HubArticle
Charles Simic Literally Writes in the Dark
Jun 29, 2017
4 min readThe Art of Poetry No. 108 The Paris ReviewArticle
The Art of Poetry No. 108
Jun 9, 2020
42 min readBeyond Lyric Shame: Ben Lerner on Claudia Rankine and Maggie Nelson Literary HubArticle
Beyond Lyric Shame: Ben Lerner on Claudia Rankine and Maggie Nelson
Nov 29, 2017
11 min read5 Writers Who Blur the Boundary Between Poetry and Essay Literary HubArticle
5 Writers Who Blur the Boundary Between Poetry and Essay
Jun 22, 2018
4 min readWill Harris On The Idea Of Poetry As Interconnectedness Literary HubArticle
Will Harris On The Idea Of Poetry As Interconnectedness
Aug 13, 2020
8 min readThe Tiny, Immense, And Immeasurable Gift Poets & WritersArticle
The Tiny, Immense, And Immeasurable Gift
Aug 16, 2023
11 min readLearning From Poetic Closure The American Poetry ReviewArticle
Learning From Poetic Closure
Jan 1, 2022
In the 1980s while scholars were obsessed with theory, I was in a course of study, Japanese language and literature, that barely seemed touched by such heady stuff. Fortunately, one professor offered a graduate class designed to familiarize us with B
14 min readNatalie Diaz On Writing Poetry As A Body Literary HubArticle
Natalie Diaz On Writing Poetry As A Body
Sep 30, 2020
3 min readFifteen Poets on Revision The MillionsArticle
Fifteen Poets on Revision
Feb 27, 2018
After 17 drafts over two weeks, Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “One Art” was completed on November 4, 1975. The poem began as notes, and evolved into a villanelle. She changed the title. She deleted words. She reached for possible rhymes. Brett Candlish Mil
4 min readReenvisioning theWriters Group Poets & WritersArticle
Reenvisioning theWriters Group
Feb 16, 2022
IF YOU’RE like me, the only thing more difficult than struggling to revise a draft that’s stalled is struggling to revise someone else’s draft that’s stalled. Let’s face it: Reading other people’s writing for the sole purpose of giving them feedback
7 min readPoetry Rx: There Is a Line That Could Make You Love Me Really The Paris ReviewArticle
Poetry Rx: There Is a Line That Could Make You Love Me Really
Jul 26, 2018
6 min read47 of Your Favorite Writers on Their Favorite Poems Literary HubArticle
47 of Your Favorite Writers on Their Favorite Poems
Apr 2, 2018
19 min readU.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón Poets & WritersArticle
U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón
Dec 14, 2022
2 min readA River Runs Through It OUTArticle
A River Runs Through It
Apr 14, 2020
1 min readIlya Kaminsky: ‘Fables Allow You to Break Bread With the Dead’ Literary HubArticle
Ilya Kaminsky: ‘Fables Allow You to Break Bread With the Dead’
Apr 23, 2020
12 min readLetters: How to Interpret a Poem The AtlanticArticle
Letters: How to Interpret a Poem
Mar 25, 2018
4 min readThe 11 Best Elizabeth Bishop Poems The MillionsArticle
The 11 Best Elizabeth Bishop Poems
Jun 28, 2019
She published only 100 poems in her lifetime and yet is still considered one of the most important and distinguished American poets of the 20th century. The post The 11 Best Elizabeth Bishop Poems appeared first on The Millions.
5 min readAda Limón: “I Have Never Done Anything Alone” Literary HubArticle
Ada Limón: “I Have Never Done Anything Alone”
Mar 15, 2019
1 min readEvery Poem Is a Love Poem to Something: An Interview with Nicole Sealey The Paris ReviewArticle
Every Poem Is a Love Poem to Something: An Interview with Nicole Sealey
Feb 22, 2018
8 min readAda Limón on Kanye West, Womanhood, Truth in Poetry, and More Literary HubArticle
Ada Limón on Kanye West, Womanhood, Truth in Poetry, and More
Aug 23, 2018
10 min readPoet Diana Khoi Nguyen on Family and Writing a Radical Eulogy for Her Brother Literary HubArticle
Poet Diana Khoi Nguyen on Family and Writing a Radical Eulogy for Her Brother
Oct 23, 2019
14 min readTracing Literary Lineage Creative NonfictionArticle
Tracing Literary Lineage
Oct 15, 2021
first corresponded in 2016, after an essay by Shah appeared in Brevity’s special issue on race, racism, and racialization. Boyd, then coeditor of the Crux series in literary nonfiction at the University of Georgia Press, wrote to ask if Shah had a ma
18 min readReviewers & Critics Poets & WritersArticle
Reviewers & Critics
Aug 18, 2021
WALTON Muyumba’s astute, engaging literary and cultural criticism can be found in a wide variety of influential media outlets, from magazines like the Atlantic, the New Republic, the Believer, and the Oxford American to newspapers like the New York T
4 min readRadical attention Poets & WritersArticle
Radical attention
Jun 14, 2023
12 min readDanez Smith: ‘Being a Poet Means Committing to Vulnerability’ Literary HubArticle
Danez Smith: ‘Being a Poet Means Committing to Vulnerability’
Feb 21, 2020
5 min readTwo Poems The American Poetry ReviewArticle
Two Poems
Jan 1, 2022
2 min readThe Art of Poetry No. 105 The Paris ReviewArticle
The Art of Poetry No. 105
Jun 15, 2019
26 min readA Conversation The American Poetry ReviewArticle
A Conversation
Sep 1, 2021
I’ve known Melissa Broder for almost a decade. I invited her to my first book party because I was a big admirer of her writing and I wanted to meet her. She was smart and funny and I could tell she wanted to know something about what any of us are do
11 min readDiane Seuss: I Don’t Want to Die Literary HubArticle
Diane Seuss: I Don’t Want to Die
Mar 25, 2020
4 min read
Related categories
Reviews for My Way
Rating: 3.0833333333333335 out of 5 stars
3/5
6 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
My Way - Charles Bernstein
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1