Fables of Representation: Essays

By Paul Hoover

From the acclaimed author of Winter (Mirror) and Rehearsal in Black, Fables of Representation is a powerful collection of essays on the state of contemporary poetry, free from the stultifying theoretical jargon of recent literary history.

With its title essay, "Fables of Representation," one of the most cogent studies ever written of the New York School of poets (a group that includes the influential poet John Ashbery), this book is required reading for anyone who seeks to understand the poetry and culture of the postmodern period.

Author Paul Hoover's wide-ranging subjects include African-American interdisciplinary studies; the position of poetry in the electronic age; the notion of doubleness in the work of Harryette Mullen and others; the lyricism of the New York School poets; and the role of reality in American poetry. Hoover also introduces two provocative essays sure to generate attention and discussion: "The Postmodern Era: A Final Exam" and "The New Millennium: Fifty Statements on Literature and Culture."

Paul Hoover is the editor of the anthology Postmodern American Poetry and author of nine poetry collections, including Totem and Shadow: New and Selected Poems and Viridian. His poetry has appeared in American Poetry Review, The New Republic, and The Paris Review, among others. He is Poet-in-Residence at Columbia College, Chicago.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472068563
• ISBN13: 9780472068562
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Clear and Wise Essays

Paul Hoover knows everything there is to know about the NY School. His essays on poets Mullen and Mackey are also original and clear. Read this book.