
Held by Form
Feminism, Poetics, Critical Practice
Anna Moser(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 7. December 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-226-85493-9 (ISBN)
Description
How contemporary poetry illuminates the workings-and struggles-of commitment in feminism.
In this lucid and vigorous defense of poetics for feminism, Anna Moser situates the practice of contemporary poetry in an exploratory dialogue with the work of philosophical, critical, and historical thinkers-placing Denise Riley in conversation with Judith Butler, Lyn Hejinian with Hannah Arendt, m. nourbeSe philip with Saidiya Hartman, and Susan Howe with Emily Dickinson.
Moser's central theme is these poets' questioning, agonistic commitment to feminism. What, the book asks, does it mean to be committed? How does such a commitment materialize? What are its consequences? What does it mean not to take for granted an affiliation like "feminist" (or even "woman"), but rather to involve one's art in probing its historical formations, present conditions, and future trajectories? Moser explores both the risks and possibilities of making art in this equivocal condition. She reveals that the poetry of certain contemporary writers not only unfolds within this space of agonistic commitment, but that, in doing so, it offers an important contribution to feminist thinking. Moser's book also shows that while form is a constraint that limits these poets' freedom, it also holds them in a more sustaining sense, allowing something belatedly and imperfectly to be said.
In dialogue with feminist political theory, philosophy, historiography, and aesthetics, Held by Form reveals poetics as a unique mode of critical practice: one that models relations of care and collectivity, refigures inherited forms in ways that contest their hierarchies of value, and responds with generosity and openness to the complexities of living in gender.
In this lucid and vigorous defense of poetics for feminism, Anna Moser situates the practice of contemporary poetry in an exploratory dialogue with the work of philosophical, critical, and historical thinkers-placing Denise Riley in conversation with Judith Butler, Lyn Hejinian with Hannah Arendt, m. nourbeSe philip with Saidiya Hartman, and Susan Howe with Emily Dickinson.
Moser's central theme is these poets' questioning, agonistic commitment to feminism. What, the book asks, does it mean to be committed? How does such a commitment materialize? What are its consequences? What does it mean not to take for granted an affiliation like "feminist" (or even "woman"), but rather to involve one's art in probing its historical formations, present conditions, and future trajectories? Moser explores both the risks and possibilities of making art in this equivocal condition. She reveals that the poetry of certain contemporary writers not only unfolds within this space of agonistic commitment, but that, in doing so, it offers an important contribution to feminist thinking. Moser's book also shows that while form is a constraint that limits these poets' freedom, it also holds them in a more sustaining sense, allowing something belatedly and imperfectly to be said.
In dialogue with feminist political theory, philosophy, historiography, and aesthetics, Held by Form reveals poetics as a unique mode of critical practice: one that models relations of care and collectivity, refigures inherited forms in ways that contest their hierarchies of value, and responds with generosity and openness to the complexities of living in gender.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
10 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-85493-9 (9780226854939)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Anna Moser is a writer and artist based in West Sussex, UK.
Content
List of Figures
Introduction: Held by Form
1. The Variant: Form as Deliberative Practice
2. Critical Practices of the Figure: Contesting Formalization
3. The Poetics of Natality: Form as Constructive Principle
4. Resignifying Lyric: Feminist Styles of Immanent Critique
Coda: The Pont Neuf Wrapped
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction: Held by Form
1. The Variant: Form as Deliberative Practice
2. Critical Practices of the Figure: Contesting Formalization
3. The Poetics of Natality: Form as Constructive Principle
4. Resignifying Lyric: Feminist Styles of Immanent Critique
Coda: The Pont Neuf Wrapped
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index