Essays and Interviews on Contemporary American Poets, Poetry, and Pedagogy

“Daniel Morris has been a leading critic of contemporary American poetry for decades. This collection of his work reasserts his leadership in the field and does much more than that. As Morris’s personal reflection on the work of his career, this collection shows how Morris thinks and teaches. I have been learning from Daniel Morris for many years, and this book reminded me why. It’s a richly satisfying whole that exceeds the sum of its parts.” — Leonard Cassuto, author of Academic Writing as if Readers Matter

“With engaging self-awareness about the contradictions, tensions, strength, and foibles of his own morphing subject position(s) in relation to contemporary poetry and poetics, Daniel Morris embraces a wide array of topics and aesthetics from the mainstream (Kathleen Spivak, Louise Glück) to the esoteric (Daniel Y. Harris, Adeena Karasick) with literary verve and scholarly insight.” — Maria Damon, Full Professor of Poetry Studies, Pratt Institute, United States

“Drawing on his extensive experience as a scholar, teacher, and poet, Daniel Morris provides insights on a wide-ranging group of writers not usually discussed together in one volume, including “secular Jewish” poet Louise Glück, “Language writer” Barrett Watten, and contemporary innovator Tyrone Williams. Especially welcome are Morris’s reflections on teaching different genres, from the relationship of graphic novels to modern and contemporary poetry, resisting trends in teaching introductions to poetry, and understanding Amiri Baraka’s play “Dutchman.” This book will appeal to readers wanting to know more about American literary history and contemporary poetry, teachers at various levels, and to poets themselves.” — Kathy Lou Schultz, Professor of English, University of Memphis, United States

“In this autobiographical yet encyclopedic book, Daniel Morris gives us the inside story on a century and more of poetry and poetics: Why, for instance, is a high priestess of lyric poetry like Louise Glück considered a midrash cousin of Bob Dylan? Morris’s readers will wake up wiser the following morning.” —Michael Collins, Professor of English, Texas A&M University

“The organizing principle behind Morris’s often idiosyncratic exegeses is Morris himself. This deeply informed collection—literary, pedagogical, and personal—is an invaluable record of a prolific, prodigious scholar, an accomplished poet, and educator admired by his Purdue students. Analytical and personal, Morris’s unique insights, especially in dissolving categorical distinctions between art and poetry, elevate us all.” —Burt Kimmelman, Distinguished Professor of Humanities, NJIT

“The opening chapter of Daniel Morris’s book presents a wide-ranging account of his journey as a poet-critic. By mapping his personal development onto the history of postwar verse, Morris offers real insights into the work of canonical American writers, as well as his own reflections on the art of poetry.” —Dr. Florian Gargaillo, Associate Professor, Dual Enrollment Coordinator, Department of Languages and Literature, Austin Peay State University; President, Wallace Stevens Society