Jed Rasula Knihy

"Jed Rasula is a preeminent scholar of avant-garde poetics, noted for his erudition, intellectual range, and critical independence. He's also a gifted writer-his recent books have won praise for their entertaining, clear prose in addition to their scholarship. He is also an alumnus of UAP's distinguished Modern and Contemporary Poetics series, which published his Syncopations fifteen years ago. Rasula returns to the MCP series with Wreading, A collection of essays, interviews and occasional writings that reflects the breadth and diversity of his curiosity. One of the referees likened Wreading to a "victory lap, but one that sets its own further record in the taking." This is a collection of highlights from Rasula's shorter critical pieces, but also a carefully assembled and revised intellectual autobiography. Wreading consists of two parts: an assortment of Rasula's solo criticism, and selected interviews and conversations with other critics and scholars (Evelyn Reilly, Leonard Schwartz, Tony Tost, Mike Chasar, Joel Bettridge, and Ming-Qian Ma). The collection opens with a trio of essays that complicate the idea of a "poet." By interrogating the selection of poets for anthologies in the 20th century, Rasula identifies a host of "forgotten" poets, once prominent but now forgotten. Another essay on the state of the poetry anthology reveals how much influence literary gatekeepers have, and what a reimagination of the anthology form could make possible. In subsequent chapters, Rasula finds surprising overlap between Dada and Ralph Waldo Emerson, charts the deep links between image and poetic inspiration, and reckons with Ron Silliman's The Alphabet, a UAP classic. In the book's second half, Rasula engages in detailed conversations with a roster of fellow critics. Their exchanges confront ecopoetics, the corporate university, the sheer volume of contemporary poetry, and more. This substantial set of dialogues gives readers a glimpse inside a master critic's deeply informed critical practice, and lists his intellectual touchstones. The balance between essay and interview achieves a distillation of Rasula's long-established idea of "wreading." In his original use, the term denotes how any act of criticism inherently adds to the body of writing that it purports to read- how Rasula "couldn't help but participate" in his favorite poems. In this latest form, Wreading captures a critical perception that sparks insight and imagination, no matter what it sees"-- Provided by publisher

On the 100th anniversary of T. S. Eliot's modernist masterpiece, this cultural history explores the creation, impact, and lasting influence of The Waste Land. Published in 1922, the poem catapulted its 34-year-old author to global fame and a Nobel Prize. As Jed Rasula notes, The Waste Land signifies a transformative event in literature, marking a clear divide between the past and modern poetry. It boldly proclaimed that poetry had entered a new era. Rasula examines how The Waste Land revolutionized poetry and heralded a modernist upheaval across the arts, influencing visual art and music. With its iconic opening line, "April is the cruellest month," and its closing Sanskrit mantra, "Shantih shantih shantih," the poem melds striking imagery, innovative techniques, and rich allusions, adhering to Ezra Pound's call to "make it new." The narrative delves into the poem's origins in Wagnerism and French Symbolism, its reception, and its captivating musicality that continues to resonate. It also highlights Eliot's influential circle, including figures like Wyndham Lewis and Virginia Woolf, as well as contemporaries such as Mina Loy and Marianne Moore, whose contributions are as significant as those of the "men of 1914." Filled with fresh insights, this work revives the explosive power of the twentieth century's most impactful poem.