What the moon says: Frank Stanford's quest for poetic identity
Abstract
The present study examines the brief life and prolific writing of southern poet Frank Stanford (1948–78). By the time he died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds two months shy of his thirtieth birthday, Stanford's poems and short stories had appeared widely in dozens of magazines. Moreover, he had published numerous books—including a 550 page epic, battlefield where the moon says I love you—and had co-produced an award-winning experimental film. Although he was hailed as a major voice of his generation, he is nearly forgotten now by critics, scholars, and readers. The present study endeavors to establish the poet's importance to a contemporary audience. It places Stanford in a historical, cultural, and social context, showing how he grappled poetically with his identity as a southern white male in postwar America. This discussion illustrates the poet's debt to the southern storytelling tradition and shows his ambivalence toward the legacy of the Fugitive-Agrarians; furthermore it positions Stanford poetically between the Deep Image and Beat writers. In order to strengthen its scholarly foundation, this exploration draws from Stanford's published and unpublished poetry, fiction, prose, and letters, as well as from personal interviews with the poet's family, friends, and acquaintances. Rather than trace a chronological narrative with his books serving as temporal markers, this investigation probes various issues that underlie Stanford's poetics, revealing how he inscribed class, race, gender, and place. While the first three chapters range freely throughout the poet's published and unpublished writing, the final three center on the epic battlefield. What becomes apparent is that, while his poetry dwells on southern landscapes and themes, it transcends these particulars. By drawing on the oral tradition of storytelling, he speaks in a vernacular language across cultural boundaries, articulating dreamlike, subconscious perceptions. The effect is a magical, incantatory quality in which resides perhaps his most significant contribution to American poetry of the Vietnam era.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Boruch, Purdue University.
Subject Area
American literature|Modern literature|Literature
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