In the world of poetry, the links between readership and long-term influence have always been tenuous. This is particularly true of the long poems of American modernism—such as Ezra Pound’s Cantos and William Carlos Williams’ Paterson—which may be referenced more frequently than read. Yet few poems have seen as great a disparity in influence and readership as Louis Zukofsky’s masterwork, “A.” In his own time, Zukofsky was credited with spearheading the “Objectivist” movement in poetry, which included writers such as William Carlos Williams, Charles Reznikoff and Kenneth Rexroth. Since then he’s been labeled a forebear of the language poets, and writers as diverse as Robert Creeley, Lorine Niedecker, Ron Silliman and Charles Bernstein have named him as a major influence. Yet “A,” which Zukofsky wrote from 1928 until 1973, has fallen out of print twice since its posthumous publication in 1978. Pound critic Hugh Kenner has called it “the most hermetic poem in English,” and Zukofsky himself has been described as “a poet’s poet’s poet.” In the past few years, even those readers who are undeterred by such warnings have had little chance to test their veracity. John Hopkins University Press took it off their list in 2006, and lately the book has been hard to come by. Only now, with the release of a new edition from New Directions, (which is famous for keeping its books in print) has “A” has finally found itself a permanent home. READ MORE
 “A” A collection of poems by Louis Zukofsky New Directions, 2011 846 pages Reviewed by Mary Wilson |
