Date Thesis Awarded

9-2011

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

English

Advisor

Christopher J. MacGowan

Committee Members

Christy L. Burns

Nancy Gray

Roy Chan

Abstract

Although writers and critics usually recognize Alfred Kreymborg for his historical importance as a pioneering figure in the development of the New York avant-garde around the First World War, the larger scope of his career is often forgotten or overlooked today. As a way of understanding Kreymborg's place in the history of modern American poetry, I examine his life and work in relation to other Modernists by analyzing his correspondence, editorial work, criticism, and selected poetry, fiction, and drama. Because the majority of the correspondence that he received was discarded amidst his many moves, I accessed the many unpublished letters he wrote to other poets and artists, specifically looking at the extensive correspondence housed in Yale's Beinecke Library and the New York Public Library. Working with Professor MacGowan as my advisor, I aimed to illuminate key aspects of Kreymborg's career throughout its entirety, as no comprehensive study currently exists. Ultimately, I examine how Kreymborg provided a medium in which experimental writers could have their work published, exchanged ideas with his contemporaries and embraced innovative techniques in his own verse, and drew attention to writers who may have been otherwise neglected.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Comments

Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.

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