
The Poetics of Transition
Emerson, Pragmatism, and American Literary Modernism
Jonathan Levin(Author)
Duke University Press
Published on 9. February 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-8223-2296-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Poetics of Transition examines the connection between American pragmatism and literary modernism by focusing on the concept of transition as a theme common to both movements. Jonathan Levin begins with the Emersonian notion that transition-the movement from one state or condition to another or, alternately, the figural enactment of that movement-is infused with power. He then offers a revisionary reading of the pragmatists' view of the permeability of subjective and objective realms and of how American literary modernists stage this permeability in the language and form of their writing.
Levin draws on the pragmatist and neopragmatist writings of William James, John Dewey, George Santayana, Richard Rorty, and Cornel West to illuminate the work of modernist literature. In turn, he illuminates the poetic imperatives of pragmatism by tracing the ways in which Henry James, Gertrude Stein, and Wallace Stevens capture the moment of transition-a paradoxical moment that, once it is represented in language or art, requires its own perpetual overcoming. Throughout, he explores how modernist writers, who are masters at recording such "illegible" moments of transition in their poetry and prose, significantly contribute to an expanded understanding of pragmatism and its underlying aesthetics. By linking Emerson with the progressive philosophy of turn-of-the-century pragmatism and the experimentation of American literary modernism, Levin offers new insight into Emerson's lasting influence on later American philosophers, novelists, and poets.
The Poetics of Transition will interest scholars and students in the fields of literary criticism, neopragmatism, literary modernism, and American literature.
Levin draws on the pragmatist and neopragmatist writings of William James, John Dewey, George Santayana, Richard Rorty, and Cornel West to illuminate the work of modernist literature. In turn, he illuminates the poetic imperatives of pragmatism by tracing the ways in which Henry James, Gertrude Stein, and Wallace Stevens capture the moment of transition-a paradoxical moment that, once it is represented in language or art, requires its own perpetual overcoming. Throughout, he explores how modernist writers, who are masters at recording such "illegible" moments of transition in their poetry and prose, significantly contribute to an expanded understanding of pragmatism and its underlying aesthetics. By linking Emerson with the progressive philosophy of turn-of-the-century pragmatism and the experimentation of American literary modernism, Levin offers new insight into Emerson's lasting influence on later American philosophers, novelists, and poets.
The Poetics of Transition will interest scholars and students in the fields of literary criticism, neopragmatism, literary modernism, and American literature.
Reviews / Votes
"Lucid and solidly argued, The Poetics of Transition will immediately be recognized as an essential and instructive contribution to the now thriving study of pragmatism, especially in its relation to the uses of language in American poetry and fiction."-Richard Poirier, author of Poetry and PragmatismMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
North Carolina
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8223-2296-2 (9780822322962)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/1999
1st Edition
Duke University Press Books
€198.99
Available for download
Person
Jonathan Levin is Associate Professor of English at Columbia University and Associate Editor of Raritan Review.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Life, Transition, the Energizing Spirit
Chapter One
Diving Overflowings: Emerson's Pragmatic Idealism
Chapter Two
William James and the Metaphorics of Transition
Chapter Three
The Aesthetics of Pragmatism
Chapter Four
Santaana, Dewey and the Politics of Transition
Chapter Five
Henry James and the Drama of Transition
Chapter Six
Gertrude Stein and the Movement of Words
Chapter Seven
Wallace Stevens and the Pragmatist Imagination
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Life, Transition, the Energizing Spirit
Chapter One
Diving Overflowings: Emerson's Pragmatic Idealism
Chapter Two
William James and the Metaphorics of Transition
Chapter Three
The Aesthetics of Pragmatism
Chapter Four
Santaana, Dewey and the Politics of Transition
Chapter Five
Henry James and the Drama of Transition
Chapter Six
Gertrude Stein and the Movement of Words
Chapter Seven
Wallace Stevens and the Pragmatist Imagination
Notes
Index