NEW OBJECTIVISTS NOUVEAUX OBJECTIVISTES NUOVI OGGETTIVISTI

edited by sous la direction de a cura di

Cristina Giorcelli – Luigi Magno

LOFFREDO EDITORE UNIVERSITY PRESS

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Pubblicato con il contributo del Dipartimento di Studi Euro-Americani e del Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Straniere, Università degli Studi Roma Tre – Via Ostiense, 236 e Via Valco di San Paolo, 19 – 00146 ROMA

ISBN 978-8-887564-641-7

Finito di stampare nel mese di ottobre 2013

In copertina: Tony Smith, Marriage (1961)

© LOFFREDO EDITORE UNIVERSITY PRESS s.r.l. Via Kerbaker 19 – Napoli 80126 (NA) www.loff redo.it universita@loff redo.it

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Pubblicato con il contributo del Dipartimento di Studi Euro-Americani Indice e del Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Straniere, Università degli Studi Roma Tre – Via Ostiense, 236 e Via Valco di San Paolo, 19 – 00146 ROMA

I

Cristina Giorcelli ISBN 978-8-887564-641-7 Introduction 11

Bob Perelman 1 + 1 = 1: Louis Zukofsky and Question of Unity 17

Bob Perelman Finito di stampare nel mese di ottobre 2013 A Guide to Homage to Sextus Propertius 31 The Job 42 Rome 43

Rachel Blau DuPlessis Objectivist Poetics and the Work of Drafts 45 In copertina: Tony Smith, Marriage (1961) Rachel Blau DuPlessis Draft 104: The Book 61 Draft 106: Meant to Say 66

Noura Wedell Transforming Service: Radical Documentary and the Promise of Objectivism 71

© LOFFREDO EDITORE UNIVERSITY PRESS s.r.l. Maria Anita Stefanelli Via Kerbaker 19 – Napoli 80126 (NA) Bargaining with the American Language: www.loff redo.it universita@loff redo.it Lina Angioletti’s Translations 89

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Cristina Giorcelli William Carlos Williams’s Objectivism 105

II

Luigi Magno Objectivistes américains et nouveaux objectivismes dans la littérature française. Un parcours 123

Geneviève Cohen-Cheminet La mémoire vive de l’Objectivisme: un “héritage précédé d’aucun testament” 143

Benoît Auclerc “Rapport objectif (sic)” – A propos de Ponge 159

Jean-Marie Gleize Un Objectif 179

Jean-Marie Gleize Suite d’une histoire de la poussière 193

Annalisa Bertoni “Les choses existent une à une” dans l’œuvre de Suzanne Doppelt 199

Suzanne Doppelt Cosmic dérive 211

Jean-Jacques Poucel Radicaux-Subjectifs (de Reznikoff à Hocquard et après) 215

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Cristina Giorcelli III William Carlos Williams’s Objectivism 105 Cecilia Bello Minciacchi L’oggetto appeso, la parola incollata, il sasso. II Su alcuni montaggi di Nanni Balestrini (1961-1967) 233

Luigi Magno Antonio Loreto Objectivistes américains et nouveaux objectivismes dans Marco Giovenale e Michele Zaffarano: la littérature française. Un parcours 123 una matematica della realtà 249

Geneviève Cohen-Cheminet Marco Giovenale La mémoire vive de l’Objectivisme: un “héritage CDK 263 précédé d’aucun testament” 143 fi ve prose pieces 266 a girdle of color 269 Benoît Auclerc essential oil 271 “Rapport objectif (sic)” – A propos de Ponge 159 Michele Zaffarano Jean-Marie Gleize Prose marxiane / Marxian prose pieces 273 Un Objectif 179 Scavate buche nello spazio / Dig holes in space 278

Jean-Marie Gleize Massimiliano Manganelli Suite d’une histoire de la poussière 193 Nuove scritture italiane. Tra fasi e ridefinizioni: Alessandro De Francesco e Giulio Marzaioli 283 Annalisa Bertoni “Les choses existent une à une” dans l’œuvre de Suzanne Doppelt 199 Alessandro De Francesco Corpo estraneo in moto ascensionale – Suzanne Doppelt Foreign Body in Ascending Motion 295 Cosmic dérive 211 Ridefinizione – Redefinition 299

Jean-Jacques Poucel Giulio Marzaioli Radicaux-Subjectifs (de Reznikoff à Hocquard et après) 215 [estratti da] Quattro fasi 309

Contributors / Auteurs / Autori 319

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“De la musique avant toute chose, Et pour cela préfère l’Impair” (Paul Verlaine, “Art Poétique”)

“the line is the meat, not what it says” (William Carlos Williams, “A New Line Is a New Measure”)

Poetry must be “precise about the thing and reticent about the feeling” it “presents the thing in order to convey the feeling” (L. S. Dembo, “The ‘Objectivist’ Poet”)

In 2012 I have had the great pleasure of holding a second Conferen- ce on Objectivism, actually, on New Objectivisms. This year I renew the pleasure by publishing its proceedings. In 1998, when I launched the Conference “The Idea and the Thing in Modernist American Poetry,”1 it was the first and only one dedicated to Objectivism in this country up to then. A collection of excellent essays resulted from that Conference – written by scholars such as Burton Hatlen, who would surely have been with us in 2012 and would be pre- sent in this volume if his life had not been tragically cut short. We do miss him! Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Bob Perelman, present at the “The Idea and the Thing in Modernist American Poetry” Conference and in its pro- ceedings, however, are lending continuity to this new enterprise. “New” in that some of our opinions may have changed and, with an additional fourteen years of reading and teaching, we may hopefully have achieved new insights. But “new” also because when, with Luigi, we decided to organize a Conference on New Objectivisms, we immediately resolved it should be “different” from the previous one. Thus, not only is the French pers pective now taken into consideration together with the American and the Italian ones, but creative writers of the three nationalities have been invited to

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participate not as showpieces, but as equal partners. I say this to make it clear that Luigi and I, as critics, are quite aware that our work is ancillary to that of the creative writers or, at best, it interacts with theirs. After so many years of voicing and preaching supremacist and totalizing critical theories, we felt that some sense of proportion had to be re-established. Luigi and I – and the audience at the Conference, together, possibly, with the present readers – were curious to know why the Objectivists, a small group of tenacious American poets who carried some of the Moder- nist tenets to their utmost extremes, who were marginalized in their own country for most or all of their lives, and who were rediscovered by the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets (among them, Bob Perelman, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Ron Silliman, Charles Bernstein, Lyn Hejinian) in the 1970s, have today a following both in France and in Italy. We wished indeed to explore the reasons why the contemporary French and Italian poets, who have adhered to the Modernist aesthetic theory of revivifying con- temporary verse by drawing new strength from alien sources, have turned, in their two non-English languages, towards the Objectivists – so idiosyncratic in their own land! Furthermore, we desired to find out whether it was precisely because of the Objectivists’ near rejection at home, of their being “voces claman- tes in deserto,” that these contemporary poets were attracted to them. And, therefore, whether they too feel as alien at home as the Objectiv- ists did. The answer, of course, is that all artists do to some extent, but by choosing to follow such ecrivains de niche, the question is: are these contemporary French and Italian poets deliberately making an elitist stand – that is, a marginal stand taken with pride, if not with defiance – or, on the contrary, do they simply and frankly think that the time has come for Objectivism to collect its due? And, in this case, why? We think we have discovered (in these matters, tentativeness is de ri- gueur!) that the Objectivists’ “influence” entails many distinguos – eighty- two years from the publication of the 1931 February issue of Poetry in which the poetics of Objectivism first saw the light have not passed in vain. Such distinguos are probably not due solely to the fact that the Ob-

Nuovi oggettivisti_7bozza.indd 12 14/11/13 10:03 12 13 participate not as showpieces, but as equal partners. I say this to make it jectivists’ poetic credo has been fertile in languages and cultures differ- clear that Luigi and I, as critics, are quite aware that our work is ancillary ent from their own. Another significant reason may be that the world is to that of the creative writers or, at best, it interacts with theirs. After so no longer what it was and, consequently, the words to express it and the many years of voicing and preaching supremacist and totalizing critical attitudes behind the need to give expression to one’s observations/emo- theories, we felt that some sense of proportion had to be re-established. tions, have changed – in many ways, dramatically. In addition, the con- Luigi and I – and the audience at the Conference, together, possibly, stant, reiterative exposure to novelties that come from the most diverse with the present readers – were curious to know why the Objectivists, a fields – visual arts, photography, popular music, advertisements, films – small group of tenacious American poets who carried some of the Moder- may also have offered these contemporary poets many different and nist tenets to their utmost extremes, who were marginalized in their own stimulating contributions to be added to that of Objectivism. country for most or all of their lives, and who were rediscovered by the Moreover, we were eager to assess whether for these contemporary L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets (among them, Bob Perelman, Rachel Blau poets – as for their precursors – words are still audio-visual “things” in DuPlessis, Ron Silliman, Charles Bernstein, Lyn Hejinian) in the 1970s, their own right, “material objects,” sensory objects made of letters and have today a following both in France and in Italy. We wished indeed sounds emitted by breath: objects in space, particles of matter in mo- to explore the reasons why the contemporary French and Italian poets, tion, material artefacts to be torn apart and recomposed for the sake of who have adhered to the Modernist aesthetic theory of revivifying con- punning and self-reflexivity as well as for the sake of revealing their roots, temporary verse by drawing new strength from alien sources, have their etymology, that is, their entire history. And we wanted to appre- turned, in their two non-English languages, towards the Objectivists – hend if for these poets language is still a code to be scrutinized in order so idiosyncratic in their own land! to disclose, if only partially, how “opaque, impenetrable, mysterious, and Furthermore, we desired to find out whether it was precisely because resistant,”2 that is, how problematic, words are. of the Objectivists’ near rejection at home, of their being “voces claman- We were much interested both in learning how – if at all – the Objec- tes in deserto,” that these contemporary poets were attracted to them. tivists’ “sincerity” had been re-interpreted, what meaning Zukofsky’s “ob- And, therefore, whether they too feel as alien at home as the Objectiv- jectification” as “rested totality” had assumed, what had become of what ists did. The answer, of course, is that all artists do to some extent, but he called “clarity,” if “thinking with the things as they exist” was still a goal by choosing to follow such ecrivains de niche, the question is: are these for these contemporary poets as it was for him; and also in estimating contemporary French and Italian poets deliberately making an elitist whether these contemporary poets are de-centering the lyrical “I” and cen- stand – that is, a marginal stand taken with pride, if not with defiance tering representation, instead, on the “eye,” the organ of vision. Such terms – or, on the contrary, do they simply and frankly think that the time has and word-play (but much more than just that) were very important for come for Objectivism to collect its due? And, in this case, why? the Objectivists, even if these concepts and choices did not always entail We think we have discovered (in these matters, tentativeness is de ri- the same meaning and applications for all of them. Since the Objectivists gueur!) that the Objectivists’ “influence” entails many distinguos – eighty- were anything but “naive empiricists,”3 as Hatlen aptly put it, our concern two years from the publication of the 1931 February issue of Poetry in was to see whether these contemporary French and Italian poets are achiev- which the poetics of Objectivism first saw the light have not passed in ing similar ends without having to resort to “thorny cadences, impacted vain. Such distinguos are probably not due solely to the fact that the Ob- syntax, and shifts of verbal registers,”4 as Zukofsky did.

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The questions we had in store for these contemporary poets were nu- merous. A few examples: is their purpose still that of writing poems that are “modes of social observation”5? And does denotation, for them too, take precedence over connotation as well as metaphor and, therefore, to avoid symbolism and description, is the dynamics of relationships still a constructive principle for them? Just as crucial, perhaps, was our intent to ascertain what impact the Objectivists’ elders – foremost among them, Pound, Stein, Williams (and in a less immediate and direct way, Marianne Moore and Wallace Stevens, and even a Modernist, experimental novelist like Willa Cather), with their insistence on an “economy of words,” on playing with calem- bours, on writing poetry that would express “no ideas but in things,” and on creating upon the page “the inexplicable presence of the thing not named, the overtone divined by the ear but not heard by it,”6 – what impact, if any, such predecessors have had on these contemporary poets, either directly or through the mediation of translations: some of them by poets who, while transferring the works of these American artists in- to their own language, could not but also interpret them. But we were also anxious to figure out whether the Objectivists’ epis- temological delving into language had been turned by these poets into a moral quest, as was the case for the Objectivists; and, at a time of gen- eral disheartenment about the possibilities of communication, of an honest and profitable exchange between people, to estimate whether these poets still believe that the world outside is relevant, real, true, and knowable, as it was for the Objectivists. Finally, we were hoping to un- derstand whether these contemporary poets still maintain – as it was with the Objectivists – the belief that, palingenetically, a new attention to the word, freed from its auxiliary (“predatory,” as Zukofsky called it) function as transmitter of meaning, will be able to create a new world.

For reasons that it is worthwhile to investigate, some of the Objec- tivists – lumped together as co-sharers of the same poetics, but actually quite different from one another – have been “opted” in one of these

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The questions we had in store for these contemporary poets were nu- two European countries rather than the other. In Italy, as far as I could merous. A few examples: is their purpose still that of writing poems that detect, only parts of Zukofsky’s Some Time have been translated by Sal- are “modes of social observation”5? And does denotation, for them too, vatore Rosati in Botteghe Oscure in 1950 and parts of “A” have been take precedence over connotation as well as metaphor and, therefore, to translated by Giovanni Galtieri in book-form in 1970; parts of Reznikoff’s avoid symbolism and description, is the dynamics of relationships still Holocaust have been published in a journal, L’Ulisse, N. 15, and trans- a constructive principle for them? lated by Andrea Raos in 2012; and only Oppen’s Of Being Numerous has Just as crucial, perhaps, was our intent to ascertain what impact the been translated by Irene Floriani in book-form in 2006. Rakosi does not Objectivists’ elders – foremost among them, Pound, Stein, Williams seem to have been translated at all. (and in a less immediate and direct way, Marianne Moore and Wallace American predecessors to the Objectivists, such as Emerson and Whit- Stevens, and even a Modernist, experimental novelist like Willa Cather), man, whose poetic project they carried on, can unavoidably be traced in with their insistence on an “economy of words,” on playing with calem- the nineteenth century. The present day French poets have their own nine- bours, on writing poetry that would express “no ideas but in things,” and teenth-century predecessors who may have paved the way for a reception on creating upon the page “the inexplicable presence of the thing not of the Objectivists: Flaubert, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, and Apollinaire, for named, the overtone divined by the ear but not heard by it,”6 – what instance. The Italian poets do not come from such an innovative nine- impact, if any, such predecessors have had on these contemporary poets, teenth-century poetic tradition – except, perhaps, for Leopardi who can either directly or through the mediation of translations: some of them be considered, from a certain perspective, a formidable forerunner, intel- by poets who, while transferring the works of these American artists in- lectually and poetically – but they may have some less remote twentieth- to their own language, could not but also interpret them. century fathers, like Eugenio Montale or, in prose fiction, Carlo Emilio But we were also anxious to figure out whether the Objectivists’ epis- Gadda. Therefore, how did the Italian poets chance upon the Objectivists temological delving into language had been turned by these poets into and how did they come to profit by their lesson? a moral quest, as was the case for the Objectivists; and, at a time of gen- The routes are complex and intricate. The many questions I raise eral disheartenment about the possibilities of communication, of an (none of them purely rhetorical) may help convey the expectations that honest and profitable exchange between people, to estimate whether the Conference, in the first place, and now this volume are likely to en- these poets still believe that the world outside is relevant, real, true, and gender: about the comprehension of the Objectivists, of course (since knowable, as it was for the Objectivists. Finally, we were hoping to un- so much has still to be unearthed), of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets, derstand whether these contemporary poets still maintain – as it was and, especially, of the younger generation of poets in France and Italy, with the Objectivists – the belief that, palingenetically, a new attention who have openly, if only partially at times, elected the Objectivists as to the word, freed from its auxiliary (“predatory,” as Zukofsky called it) their maestri. function as transmitter of meaning, will be able to create a new world. With this volume we aspire to fill a gap in the knowledge of what lies behind some of these contemporary poets’ achievements, and to discover For reasons that it is worthwhile to investigate, some of the Objec- what makes them so enticing.* tivists – lumped together as co-sharers of the same poetics, but actually quite different from one another – have been “opted” in one of these Cristina Giorcelli

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Notes

1 The Idea and the Thing in Modernist American Poetry, ed. Cristina Giorcelli (Ro- ma: Ila Palma, 2001), pp. 372. 2 Burton Hatlen, “A Poetics of Marginality and Resistance: The Objectivist Poets in Context,” The Objectivist Nexus. Essays in Cultural Poetics, ed. Rachel Blau DuPles- sis and Peter Quartermain (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1999), p. 52. 3 Ibidem, p. 42. 4 Mark Scroggins, The Poem of a Life. A Biography of Louis Zukofsky (Washington, DC: Shoemaker and Hoard, 2007), p. 368. 5 Blau DuPlessis and Quartermain, “Introduction,” The Objectivist Nexus. Essays in Cultural Poetics, cit., p. 3. 6 Willa Cather on Writing, Ead., “The Novel Démeublé” (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1988), p. 50.

* Due to financial restrictions, we apologize for having imposed strict page limita- tions on all contributors.

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