Page 90 - Vinkler, Jonatan, Ana Beguš and Marcello Potocco. Eds. 2019. Ideology in the 20th Century: Studies of literary and social discourses and practices. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 90
Ideology in the 20th Century: studies of literary and social discourses and practices
ly shaped under the influence of the poetry of his friend and mentor Al
Purdy (1918–2000). The ‘folk verse’, as William H. New calls the col-
loquial language and rhythm that he notices in Acorn as well as some
other poets of the period, originates in Purdy’s poetry (New 1991, 238–
39). Purdy’s colloquial, kinetic, free verse can be linked with the recep-
tion of Charles Bukowski’s poetry, despite the fact that—or precisely due
to this—Purdy made some negative remarks about the Black Mountain
school and even more generally the poets included in the famous antholo-
gy by Donald Allen, The New American Poetry (MacKendrick 1991, 138–
39). Furthermore, Acorn’s free verse can also be associated directly with
Olson, Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Jewinski 1991, 53), which
can be seen most clearly in the poem I Shout Love from the shortlisted
collection I’ve Tasted My Blood. The poem, which is often compared to
90 Ginsberg’s Howl, was written in its first variant in 1958, but Acorn sig-
nificantly expanded the text in 1963, two years after the publication of
Ginsberg’s Howl, as Gudgeon claims, “in a conscious effort to recreate
the effect and impact’ of Ginsberg’s poem (Gudgeon 1996, 103). This im-
pression is not superficial, since I Shout Love displays a number of char-
acteristics in common with Ginsberg’s poetics: above all, the intention
to be a ‘sonic’, performed, spoken poem, written for a poetry happening,9
which is related to the exploration of (the length of) verse and the breath
(Jewinski 1991, 53), the use of catalogue as a verse or stanza unit, as well
as anaphora, or—in Acorn’s case— parallelisms as the additional founda-
tion of the poem’s rhythm.
It thus comes as no surprise that Robert Weaver, one of the Governor
General’s Award jury members, noted that there were many more simi-
larities between Acorn’s and Bowering’s poetry as the Toronto-based po-
ets were willing to acknowledge. “Although many writers would attempt
to deny the influence of American writers during this period, the fact is
that writers like [W.C. Williams, Ginsberg and Olson] inspired new di-
rections”, notes Ed Jewinski. This is especially true of Acorn, also due to
the fact that there is a recognisable Canadian nationalism present in all
of his poetry (Jewinski 1991, 29).
If the nationalist poets who opposed Bowering due to ‘americanis-
ation’ had recognised Acorn’s dialogue with Ginsberg and Olson, they
would have also recognised that their symbolic figure of the national poet
is related to a matrix or idiom coming from the United States. Their sit-
uation was similar to that of Confederation Poets. In such recognition,
there would have been seeds of acknowledging that the continental bi-
9 Acorn recited the second version of the poem in public, in one of Toronto’s parks.
ly shaped under the influence of the poetry of his friend and mentor Al
Purdy (1918–2000). The ‘folk verse’, as William H. New calls the col-
loquial language and rhythm that he notices in Acorn as well as some
other poets of the period, originates in Purdy’s poetry (New 1991, 238–
39). Purdy’s colloquial, kinetic, free verse can be linked with the recep-
tion of Charles Bukowski’s poetry, despite the fact that—or precisely due
to this—Purdy made some negative remarks about the Black Mountain
school and even more generally the poets included in the famous antholo-
gy by Donald Allen, The New American Poetry (MacKendrick 1991, 138–
39). Furthermore, Acorn’s free verse can also be associated directly with
Olson, Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Jewinski 1991, 53), which
can be seen most clearly in the poem I Shout Love from the shortlisted
collection I’ve Tasted My Blood. The poem, which is often compared to
90 Ginsberg’s Howl, was written in its first variant in 1958, but Acorn sig-
nificantly expanded the text in 1963, two years after the publication of
Ginsberg’s Howl, as Gudgeon claims, “in a conscious effort to recreate
the effect and impact’ of Ginsberg’s poem (Gudgeon 1996, 103). This im-
pression is not superficial, since I Shout Love displays a number of char-
acteristics in common with Ginsberg’s poetics: above all, the intention
to be a ‘sonic’, performed, spoken poem, written for a poetry happening,9
which is related to the exploration of (the length of) verse and the breath
(Jewinski 1991, 53), the use of catalogue as a verse or stanza unit, as well
as anaphora, or—in Acorn’s case— parallelisms as the additional founda-
tion of the poem’s rhythm.
It thus comes as no surprise that Robert Weaver, one of the Governor
General’s Award jury members, noted that there were many more simi-
larities between Acorn’s and Bowering’s poetry as the Toronto-based po-
ets were willing to acknowledge. “Although many writers would attempt
to deny the influence of American writers during this period, the fact is
that writers like [W.C. Williams, Ginsberg and Olson] inspired new di-
rections”, notes Ed Jewinski. This is especially true of Acorn, also due to
the fact that there is a recognisable Canadian nationalism present in all
of his poetry (Jewinski 1991, 29).
If the nationalist poets who opposed Bowering due to ‘americanis-
ation’ had recognised Acorn’s dialogue with Ginsberg and Olson, they
would have also recognised that their symbolic figure of the national poet
is related to a matrix or idiom coming from the United States. Their sit-
uation was similar to that of Confederation Poets. In such recognition,
there would have been seeds of acknowledging that the continental bi-
9 Acorn recited the second version of the poem in public, in one of Toronto’s parks.
