cfp.english.upenn.edu

The New American Poetry: Fiftieth Anniversary Conference
University of Warwick, Saturday, 23 October 2010

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

2010 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Donald Allen’s The New American Poetry: 1945-1960, arguably the most important anthology of English-language poetry published in the past century. Consisting largely of poets who were almost entirely unknown at the time of its publication, Allen’s volume served as a prescient guide to the subsequent history of American poetry, featuring such widely studied and influential figures as John Ashbery, Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, Barbara Guest, LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Koch, Denise Levertov, Frank O’Hara, Charles Olson, James Schuyler, and Jack Spicer. Due in part to its timing, The New American Poetry set the agenda for non-academic, countercultural, and experimental poetics for at least the next thirty years. To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of The New American Poetry, the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick is hosting a one-day commemorative conference.

Conference Organisers: Daniel Katz (d.katz@warwick.ac.uk)
Nick Lawrence (n.lawrence@warwick.ac.uk)

Programme

9.30-10.00 – Coffee and introductions
10.00-11.00 – David Herd (Kent), Plenary Address: “‘In the Dawn that is Nowhere’: The New American Poetry and the State of Exception”
11.15-12.15 – Session 1
Amy Evans (KCL), “Beyond Black Mountain: Atomic Anxiety and the American Poem Form”
Daniel Kane (Sussex), “Ephemerality, Canon and The New American Poetry”
12.15-1.15 – Lunch
1.15-2.15 – Session 2
Olivier Brossard (Paris Est), “‘I Dislike a Great Deal of Contemporary Poetry’: Frank O’Hara and The New American Poetry”
Sam Ladkin (Sheffield), “Late Modernism: Frank O’Hara and the New York School”
2.15-3.15 – Session 3
Richard Parker (Sussex), “Louis Zukofsky and/or The New American Poetry”
Helen Dennis (Warwick), “Knowing a Man: Robert Creeley, Jazz Collaboration and Timing”
3.15-3.30 – Coffee
3.30-4.30 – Session 4
Ian Brinton, “The New American Poetry in England”
Stephen Ross (Oxford), “American Hybrid and the Legacy of the New American Poetry”
4.30-5.30 – General discussion, chaired by Peter Middleton (Southampton)
5.30-7.00 – Dinner
7.00-8.00 – Poetry reading

Registration

Please mail your completed registration form by October 1, 2010, to:
New American Poetry Conference
Dept. of English and Comparative Literary Studies
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL

Name:

Affiliation:

Address:

email:

Fees: 20£ (including lunch); free for students and unwaged (lunch may be ordered for 10£).

I enclose my cheque for ( ) 20 £ ( ) 10£ ( ) no cheque

Make all cheques payable to the University of Warwick. Additional information concerning venues, transportation, and lodging will be provided after registration. For any other enquiries, feel free to contact Nick Lawrence (n.lawrence@warwick.ac.uk) or Daniel Katz (d.katz@warwick.ac.uk).