Reading In-between Language, Image, and Things in the Writing of Lyn Hejinian Marina M. Mihova A thesis submitted in fufilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UNSW School of the Atis and Media Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences December 2012 THE UNIVERSITY Of NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Mihova l=irst name: Marina Other name/s: Mihova Abbreviation fOI' degree as given in the University calendar PhD School: School of Arts and Media Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Title: The dream of "La Faustienne"- Reading in-between language, image, and things in the writing of Lyn Hejinian Abstract This dissertation examines a terrain of liminality evident in the works of American poet, Lyn Hejilnian. whose writing utilizes imagery (ranging from the verbally visual to the explicitly graphic) and a form of Steinian materiality, in the development of a poetic which moves away from the domain of textual representation towards a new form of realism which challenges existing notions of ideology and perception. Drawing upon W.J.T. Mitchell's t.heories of visuality and Gaston Bachelard's theorization of the on,eiric qualities of writing. as well as on Freudian dream theory, this thesis maps out how the cross disciplinary dimensions ofHt!jinian's poetry, render into being a speaking female subject. Chapter one provides a contextual framework for Hej inian's writing, articulating the integral role notions of community and collaboration play in the development of a form of writing situated within a space of in-between. It examines the significant influence of L=-A=N=G=U=t\ :=G- E poetics on Hejinian as a key participant of the Language poetry group. while moving at the same time away from a focus on the specifics of her relation to the group, towards an analysis of hc:r broader writing oeuvre as conversant with a phenomenology of dreams and as a development of a multimodal textuality, distinct from the li nguistically centered focus of Language poetry. Chapters two and three present a case for the significance of the visual and the material throughout Hejinian 's writing career, as key textual elements in the composition of a language of experience. This experience-focused !language, through thematic concern and philosophical inquiry comprises an active representation of female knowledge and desire, which as Hej inian argues throughout her essay ·'La Faustienne". has. not by inadvertence but by definition (Hejinian. The Language of Inquiry: 249), been excluded from the narratives of Western history. Chapters five and six illustrate the multimodal female rhetoric developed in preceding chapters as being a language modeled upon a phenomenology of dreaming. Having been the subject of limited critical attention, Hejinian's published and unpublished literature on dreams, comprises the central focus of the final two chapters of this dissertation in the development of the chapters' central claim that, through the composition of a muhimodal language, framed and executed through the avenue of experience, Hejinian's writing project seeks to locate the voice of La Faustienne. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesls/dlaHI1atlon t hereby grant to the University of New South Wales Of its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole 01' in part in the University libraries in all fonTl$ of media, now 01' here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights. such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in MISe worils (such as articles Of books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Miaofilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract& International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). 4ao.~:-o. ....................... .. ______ ../ZIOLI?:??./4:..... Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests fOI' a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the aoPrOval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OfACE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements fOI' Award: ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 'I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.' Signe~~~.: ............................... .. ..... Date ... ./7./Q1/2.0l1. .. ..... ............................ COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 'I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed~~kb/.tJ., ... ......................................... Date ... ... ./7/C?..//Z.Of.q .. .......................... ............. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT 'I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.' Signed~~~··· · ············· ·· · ·· ······ · · ······ ·· ···· · ··· Date ..... ./.7//?!./?..t?./.1 ........ .................................. Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank Lyn Hejinian for her inspiring poetry which motivated me to seek further knowledge of new and alternative models of writing and embodied a point of association for me between my initially competing loves for the visual arts and English literature. I would like to express my further gratitude for her generous permissions which enabled me to cite from her personal papers stored at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego as well as from a selection of her visual materials. I am exceedingly grateful to my supervisor Dr. Brigitta Olubas for her creative vision, invaluable advice and direction, patient instruction and time. I thank her also for her thorough reading of my many chapter drafts. I extend my appreciation and thanks to my co-supervisor Associate Professor Anne Brewster for her constructive feedback throughout the course of my tenure. I am also most appreciative for her reading of my penultimate draft. I give grateful acknowledgement to the University of New South Wales for the grants and funding firstly of an Australian Postgraduate Award which enabled my study and secondly of the Postgraduate External Research Program which facilitated my travel to the University of California in San Diego to conduct research through the archives of Lyn Hejinian. I further extend my gratitude to the staff at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California for their warm welcome, consideration and patience during the course of my archival research. I offer my sincere appreciation and regards to my family and friends who have supported me and believed in me during the completion of this project – to my mum Tatiana, my dad Miho, my sister Nadia and also to my good friend Jacqui. Finally I would like to profoundly thank my partner Clyde Gonsalvez, for his enduring spirit, patience, positivity and encouragement throughout. The Dream of “La Faustienne” – Reading In-between Language, Image and Things in the Writing of Lyn Hejinian CONTENTS Introduction Terrain of In-between 1 L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E 5 Philosophical Inquiry – Language of In Between 10 In Reverie of Stein – A Visuality in Language 19 A Material Encounter 32 Assembling Knowledge 39 Note – Textual Analysis Lyn Hejinian’s Reader 47 Chapter One In-between Life and Text – Subjectivity/Collectivity 54 A Life Recorded 62 My Life 80 Leningrad 94 Letters Not About Love 110 Add-Verse 111 Letters and Archives 112 Commitment to an In-between 118 Chapter Two Image as Word – Reading Visuality 120 A Steinian Visuality 138 My Life 146 The Lake 155 Water 163 Saga/Circus 187 Image as Language – A Poetics of Female Experience 193 Chapter Three Word and Thing – Tactile Experience 195 Things 202 Strangeness/ “The Uncanny” 205 Writing Artist-Books 211 The Lake 216