My Silver Planet: A Secret History of Poetry and Kitsch (Hopkins Studies in Modernism)

Update: 2025-09-09

Description

Explores the intricate and often subversive relationship between poetry and kitsch, arguing for kitsch as a significant, though frequently dismissed, aspect of poetic history. The text examines how kitsch has been defined and understood, particularly in contrast to concepts like art and the avant-garde, and highlights its genealogical ties to various poetic movements and forms, including Romantic poetry, ballads, and even modernist epics like Ezra Pound's Cantos. It also investigates the role of forgery, collaboration, and deliberate aesthetic choices in the development of poetic kitsch, tracing these elements through figures such as Thomas Chatterton, Thomas Gray, and even the New York School poets. Furthermore, the source uncovers connections between kitsch and broader cultural phenomena, such as melodrama, advertising, and even queer identity, suggesting that kitsch can function as a "counterfeit capital" that challenges established artistic and social norms. Ultimately, the excerpts aim to reframe our understanding of kitsch as a complex and influential force within the history of poetry and culture.

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