Marjorie Perloff
Encyclopedia
Marjorie Perloff is an Austrian-born U.S. poetry critic.
Perloff was born Gabriele Mintz into a secularized Jewish family in Vienna
. Faced with Nazi terror, her family emigrated in 1938 when she was six-and-a-half, going first to Zürich
and then to the United States, settling in Riverdale
, New York. After attending college at Oberlin
in Ohio, she graduated from Barnard College
in New York in 1953, doing graduate work at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
(MA, 1956; PhD 1965).
After teaching at Catholic University (1966–71) she became Professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park
(1971–76) and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California
(1976–86) and then at Stanford University
(1986–90). She then became Sadie Dernham Patek Professor of Humanities at Stanford (1990—2000, Emerita from 2001). She is currently scholar-in-residence at the University of Southern California
.
Her work has been especially concerned with explicating the writing of experimental and avant-garde
poets and relating it to the major currents of modernist and, especially, postmodernist activity in the arts, including the visual arts
and cultural theory.
Perloff has done much to promote poetics that are not normally part of the discourse in the United States such as Louis Zukofsky
and Brazilian poetry
. Her work on contemporary American poetry and in particular poetry associated with the avant-garde
(such as Language poetry and the Objectivist poets
) has significantly opened up the "Official Verse Culture" to critique and dialogue from outside the classroom and lecture hall: even as poetry in the U.S.
today continues its division between categories like "experimental", "mainstream", and "spoken word".
Perloff was born Gabriele Mintz into a secularized Jewish family in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Faced with Nazi terror, her family emigrated in 1938 when she was six-and-a-half, going first to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and then to the United States, settling in Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
, New York. After attending college at Oberlin
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Ohio, she graduated from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
in New York in 1953, doing graduate work at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(MA, 1956; PhD 1965).
After teaching at Catholic University (1966–71) she became Professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
(1971–76) and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(1976–86) and then at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(1986–90). She then became Sadie Dernham Patek Professor of Humanities at Stanford (1990—2000, Emerita from 2001). She is currently scholar-in-residence at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Her work has been especially concerned with explicating the writing of experimental and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
poets and relating it to the major currents of modernist and, especially, postmodernist activity in the arts, including the visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
and cultural theory.
Perloff has done much to promote poetics that are not normally part of the discourse in the United States such as Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky was an American poet. He was one of the founders and the primary theorist of the Objectivist group of poets and thus an important influence on subsequent generations of poets in America and abroad.-Life:...
and Brazilian poetry
Literature of Brazil
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
. Her work on contemporary American poetry and in particular poetry associated with the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
(such as Language poetry and the Objectivist poets
Objectivist poets
The Objectivist poets were a loose-knit group of second-generation Modernists who emerged in the 1930s. They were mainly American and were influenced by, amongst others, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams...
) has significantly opened up the "Official Verse Culture" to critique and dialogue from outside the classroom and lecture hall: even as poetry in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
today continues its division between categories like "experimental", "mainstream", and "spoken word".
Selected works
- Unoriginal Genius: Poetry by Other Means in the New Century (University of Chicago Press, 2010) ISBN 9780226660615
- Differentials: Poetry, Poetics, Pedagogy (University of Alabama Press, 2004) ISBN 9780817314217
- The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir (New Directions Books, 2004) ISBN 9780811215718
- The Futurist Moment: Avant-Garde, Avant Guerre, and the Language of Rupture, with a New Preface (University of Chicago Press, 2003) pbk. ISBN 9780226657387
- Poetry On and Off the Page: Essays for Emergent Occasions (Northwestern University Press, 1998) ISBN 9780810115606
- Frank O'Hara: Poet Among Painters (University of Chicago Press, 1998) ISBN 9780226660592
- The Dance of the Intellect: Studies in the Poetry of the Pound Tradition (Northwestern University Press, 1996) pbk. ISBN 9780810113800
- Wittgenstein's Ladder: Poetic Language and the Strangeness of the Ordinary (University of Chicago Press, 1996) pbk. ISBN 9780226660585
- Radical Artifice: Writing Poetry in the Age of Media (University of Chicago Press, 1991) ISBN 9780226657332
- Poetic License: Studies in the Modernist and Postmodernist Lyric (Northwestern University Press, c1990) ISBN 9780810108431
External links
- Official Website
- Author Page at EPC
- Stanford homepage
- A response to the literary critic Harold BloomHarold BloomHarold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
- Interview with David Clippinger for The Argotist Online
- Interview with Jeffrey Side for The Argotist Online
- Audio of Marjorie Perloff's 2004 lecture, "The Aura of Modernism"
- Review of The Vienna Paradox poet Ron SillimanRon SillimanRon 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...
discusses Perloff's memoir on his blog September 12, 2005 - Three one-hour radio interviews on Entitled OpinionsEntitled OpinionsEntitled Opinions is a literary talk show hosted by Robert P. Harrison, a professor of French and Italian at Stanford University. The show is also available as a podcast. Topics range broadly on issues related to literature, ideas, and lived experience...
with Robert P. HarrisonRobert P. HarrisonRobert P. Harrison is the Rosina Pierotti Chair of Italian Literature at Stanford University.He was born in Izmir, Turkey, and raised in Rome. He is the host of the podcast Entitled Opinions . He plays lead guitar for the cerebral rock band Glass Wave.- External links :* * *...
about Ezra Pound, W.B. Yeats, and the Avant-Gardes - Photo of Perloff by Emma Bee Bernstein
