George F. Butterick – författare

Praised by his contemporaries and emulated by his successors, Charles Olson (1910-1970) was declared by William Carlos Williams to be "a major poet with a sweep of understanding of the world, a feeling for other men that staggers me." This complete edition brings together the three volumes of Olson's long poem (originally published in 1960, 1968, and 1975) in an authoritative version.

A seminal figure in post-World War II literature, Charles Olson (1910-1970) has helped define the postmodern sensibility. His poetry is marked by an almost limitless range of interest and extraordinary depth of feeling. Olson's themes are among the largest conceivable: empowering love, political responsibility, historical discovery and cultural reckoning, the wisdom of dreams and the transformation of consciousness - all carried in a voice both intimate and grand, American and timeless, impassioned and coolly demanding. Until recently, Olson's reputation as a major figure in American literature has rested primarily on his theoretical writings and his epic work, the "Maximus Poems". With "The Collected Poems" an even more impressive Olson emerges. This volume brings together all of Olson's work and extends the poetic accomplishment that influenced a generation. Charles Olson was praised by his contemporaries and emulated by his successors. He was declared by William Carlos Williams to be 'a major poet with a sweep of understanding of the world, a feeling for other men that staggers me.'His indispensable essays, "Projective Verse" and "Human Universe," and his study of "Melville, Call Me Ishmael", remain as fresh today as when they were written.

A Guide to the Maximus Poems of Charles Olson offers an essential companion to Olson's monumental and intricate Maximus Poems. This scholarly guide navigates the complexities of Olson’s allusive and expansive verse, which spans themes from local Gloucester history to universal mythologies. With nearly 4,000 annotations, the guide meticulously decodes references to historical figures, literary works, geographical landmarks, and philosophical concepts. It moves line by line, offering insight into Olson’s sources and intellectual framework, including his borrowings from Algonquin legends, Arabic angelology, and Whitehead’s cosmology. Rich with unpublished material from Olson’s papers, as well as letters, interviews, and classroom notes, the guide aims to equip readers with the tools to actively engage with Olson's text, uncovering its layered meanings through his principle of ‘istorin—"to find out for oneself."Structured chronologically rather than alphabetically, the guide mirrors the progression of Olson’s three-volume epic, weaving historical scholarship with interpretive clarity. Each annotation situates Olson’s references in context, revealing the intricate interplay between history, myth, and the poet's life in Gloucester. The guide further illuminates Olson’s creative process, tracing the evolution of his ideas through drafts, personal correspondences, and published works. Designed as both a reference and an entry point into Olson’s ambitious poetic project, it not only deepens appreciation for The Maximus Poems but also serves as a model for literary scholarship, inviting readers to engage with Olson’s world on their own intellectual journey.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

A Guide to the Maximus Poems of Charles Olson offers an essential companion to Olson's monumental and intricate Maximus Poems. This scholarly guide navigates the complexities of Olson’s allusive and expansive verse, which spans themes from local Gloucester history to universal mythologies. With nearly 4,000 annotations, the guide meticulously decodes references to historical figures, literary works, geographical landmarks, and philosophical concepts. It moves line by line, offering insight into Olson’s sources and intellectual framework, including his borrowings from Algonquin legends, Arabic angelology, and Whitehead’s cosmology. Rich with unpublished material from Olson’s papers, as well as letters, interviews, and classroom notes, the guide aims to equip readers with the tools to actively engage with Olson's text, uncovering its layered meanings through his principle of ‘istorin—"to find out for oneself."Structured chronologically rather than alphabetically, the guide mirrors the progression of Olson’s three-volume epic, weaving historical scholarship with interpretive clarity. Each annotation situates Olson’s references in context, revealing the intricate interplay between history, myth, and the poet's life in Gloucester. The guide further illuminates Olson’s creative process, tracing the evolution of his ideas through drafts, personal correspondences, and published works. Designed as both a reference and an entry point into Olson’s ambitious poetic project, it not only deepens appreciation for The Maximus Poems but also serves as a model for literary scholarship, inviting readers to engage with Olson’s world on their own intellectual journey.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 1.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 2.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 3.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 4.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 5.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 6.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.

Two great poets thinking through life and literature in an unequalled correspondence: Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence: Volume 7.The ten-volume Charles Olson & Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence is an enormously valuable, often thrilling, record of the friendship between two major poets, their greatest work largely still ahead of them both. Working out their thoughts in letters, Olson credited Creeley with formulating one of the basic principles of a new poetry: the idea that “form is never more than an extension of content.” But there was also the larger issue of how a man of language must live in the world.The correspondence covers periods when both men were unsettled—Creeley restlessly moving his young family around isolated Mediterranean villages, Olson drifting indecisively between conflicting roles as mentor at Black Mountain and writer in Washington, D.C. Throughout, however, there is an intense, single-minded dedication to poetry and the unique difficulties of putting into language the creative rhythms of conscious thought. This collection of uncommon richness will charm, challenge and inspire.