George Oppen’s Late Poetry

This book is a study of George Oppen’s late poetry, first and foremost as he conceived it himself. He was a determined explorer into the nature of his own creative cognitive process and the drive to understand that became most evident in the final decade of his writing life. His copious correspondence and notes give us a direct window into his thinking. Through close reading of the poems, it also becomes clear that Oppen’s searches correlate closely with the emerging cognitive sciences of his day evolving into the insights familiar to current cognitive theory. By re-examining the late work, we are brought to a fresh appreciation of Oppen’s achievement as an innovative poet. We also find ourselves growing familiar with the language and ideas of literary-specific cognitive studies now at the forefront of literary critical scholarship.