Alan Davies (poet)
Encyclopedia
Alan Davies is a contemporary American poet, critic
, and editor who has been writing and publishing since the 1970s. Today, he is most often associated with the Language poets
.
, a town in central Alberta
, Canada
. By the mid-1970s, he was editing a poetry journal, Occulist Witnesses, in the Boston
area where he had stayed for a few years after attending Robert Creeley
’s poetry class at Harvard Summer School in 1972. By this time he had hand-published John Wieners
’ treatise on and for young poets, "The Lanterns along the Wall," which Wieners had written especially for Creeley's class. and began more actively publishing his own poetry. Soon, Davies was forming relations with an experimental group of writers whose practice became determining features of what grew into the Language School. This 'school' was not a group precisely, but a tendency in the work of many of its so-called practitioners.
Davies edited A Hundred Posters, one of the important "little" magazines of the "Language" movement. Subsequently, Davies was included in the crucial anthology devoted to "language-centred" writing: In the American Tree, edited by Ron Silliman
(National Poetry Foundation
, 1986; 2002).
Alan Davies, who is a Buddhist (as pointed out by Juliana Spahr
), is originally from Canada
. He has lived in Boston
and is currently living and working in New York City
.
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, and editor who has been writing and publishing since the 1970s. Today, he is most often associated with the Language poets
Language poets
The Language poets are an avant garde group or tendency in United States poetry that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
.
Life and work
Alan Davies was born in LacombeLacombe, Alberta
Lacombe is a city in Alberta, Canada. It is located north of Red Deer, the nearest major city, and south of Edmonton, the nearest metropolitan area...
, a town in central Alberta
Central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. By the mid-1970s, he was editing a poetry journal, Occulist Witnesses, in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area where he had stayed for a few years after attending Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
’s poetry class at Harvard Summer School in 1972. By this time he had hand-published John Wieners
John Wieners
John Joseph Wieners was an American lyric poet.-Biography:Born in Milton, Massachusetts, Wieners attended St. Gregory Elementary School in Dorchester, Massachusetts and Boston College High School. From 1950 to 1954, he studied at Boston College, where he earned his A.B...
’ treatise on and for young poets, "The Lanterns along the Wall," which Wieners had written especially for Creeley's class. and began more actively publishing his own poetry. Soon, Davies was forming relations with an experimental group of writers whose practice became determining features of what grew into the Language School. This 'school' was not a group precisely, but a tendency in the work of many of its so-called practitioners.
Davies edited A Hundred Posters, one of the important "little" magazines of the "Language" movement. Subsequently, Davies was included in the crucial anthology devoted to "language-centred" writing: In the American Tree, edited by Ron Silliman
Ron Silliman
Ron Silliman is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman wrote a single poem, The Alphabet...
(National Poetry Foundation
National Poetry Foundation
The National Poetry Foundation is a book publisher founded in 1971 by Carroll F. Terrell who built its reputation with Burton Hatlen at the University of Maine in Orono. Today it publishes poetry by individual authors as well as both journals and scholarship devoted to Ezra Pound and poets in the...
, 1986; 2002).
Alan Davies, who is a Buddhist (as pointed out by Juliana Spahr
Juliana Spahr
Juliana Spahr is an American poet, critic, and editor. She is the recipient of the 2009 Hardison Poetry Prize awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library to honor a U.S...
), is originally from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has lived in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and is currently living and working in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Selected publications
- split thighs. (Dorchester, MA: Other Publications, 1976): poetry
- Pursue Veritable Simples, (Annex PressAnnex PressANNEX PRESS is an experimental small press founded in 1973 by Julian Kabza, publisher, editor. In the 1970s and 80's, Annex published work of new music documentation, conceptual art and texts by French, Russian and American experimental writers: Bob Perelman, Blue Gene Tyranny, Ron Silliman,...
1983): prose-poetry-criticism - A AN AV ES. (Needham, MA: Potes & Poets Press, 1981): poetry
- Mnemonotechnics. (Hartford, CT: Potes & Poets Press, 1982): poetry
- ACTIVE 24 HOURS. (New York: Roof Books/Segue Foundation, 1982) ISBN 978-0-937804-11-7: poetry
- Signage. (New York: Roof Books, 1987) ISBN 978-0-937804-24-7: collection of writings on and about poetry and poets
- NAME. (Berkeley, CA : This Press, 1986): poetry
- Candor. (O Books, 1990) ISBN 978-1-882022-08-3: interweaves essays, reviews and poetry
- RAVE. (New York: Roof Books/Segue Foundation, 1994) ISBN 978-0-937804-55-1: poetry
- "untitled", Alan Davies, M.M. Winterford. (Gran Canaria : Zasterle Press, 1994) ISBN 978-84-87467-20-2: Untitled collaboration with the photographer M.M. Winterford
- Sei Shonagon (Hole, 1995) chapbookChapbookA chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
of poetry - Don't Know Alan: Notes on AD, with Miles Champion. (Philadelphia: Slought Books, 2002): essay in e-bookE-bookAn electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
format, link here Slought Foundation
External links
- "Extensions : Louis Cabri on Hole Magazine" Cabri's on-line essay becomes both a response to, and an engagement with, the work & poetics of Alan Davies
- What Goes Around Davies' essay/review & reflections on Brenda Iijima’s book Around Sea
- Alan Davies Author Page at EPC
- 7 Poems poems by Davies appearing in the on-line zineZineA zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
: oneedit, issue no. 10 (2008) - To Call Them by Their Dead Name Davies reflects upon the life and work of Emanuel Carnevali
- Interview with Alan Davies first appeared on-line, September 25, 2007, conducted by Tom Beckett at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S,a blog devoted to interviews with contemporary poets
- The Dea(r)th of Poetry essay/manifesto/critique published online in February 2010