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The Underground Poetry Metro Transportation System for Souls: Essays on the Cultural Life of Poetry
Tony HoaglandThe Underground Poetry Metro Transportation System for Souls collects 16 essays by late Tony Hoagland. Gathered by Hoagland himself into a volume for the Poets on Poetry series, these pieces grapple with an expansive range of poetic and cultural concerns—and the surprising and necessary knowledge to be found where they cross paths. His trademark humor and irony, at once approachable, thoughtful, and sophisticated, lead the way toward clear-eyed, sometimes difficult, considerations of contemporary American culture. Through his curiosity, he elevates the seemingly quotidian into a profound subject worthy of close consideration. Hoagland's generosity of spirit imbues his work with empathy for experiences beyond his own, and his honesty allows him to turn a critical eye on himself and to acknowledge the limits of his understanding. This collection will be rewarding not just for readers of contemporary poetry, but for anyone who wants to step back, take a look at our American reality, and know we'll be okay.
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Cover
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Title Page
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Copyright Page
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Contents
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Acknowledgments
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“What You See Is Nothing Compared to the Root”
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Ceremony and Discrimination
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What These Ithakas Mean
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Cast Swine before Pearls
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The Bravery of Trespass
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No Laughing Matter
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“I Seem to Be at a Great Feast”
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The Pursuit of Ignorance
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The Power of Coldness
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“I Live My Life in Growing Orbits”
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“Who Wished to Improve Us a Little by Living”
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The Poet as Wounded Citizen
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Mass Culture and the American Poet
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The Wild Life of Metaphor
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Poetry, the Dangers of Realism, and the Revisionist Power of Fantasy
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Greatness Is All Around Us
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Footnotes
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Citable Link
Published: 2019
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
- 978-0-472-12616-3 (ebook)
- 978-0-472-03757-5 (paper)