Charles Olson Study Group
led by Peter Anastas and James Cook
at The Bookstore of Gloucester
WEEK ONE
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Childhood & Parents, School & Research, Government & War, 1910-1950
Guiding Question: How did Olson's life and work up to about 1950 – especially his childhood in
During week one we will explore Olson's life up to "Projective Verse" and the beginning of the Maximus Poems and focus particularly upon how the experiences of his first forty years contributed to his later writings.
OLSON’S CHILDHOOD
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory note on "Parents" by Ralph Maud (p. 5)
- "The Post Office" (nonfiction narrative) by Charles Olson (p. 6-23)
Also:
- Peter will read from Olson's essay on the influence of parents in Contemporary Authors.
- James will read "As the Dead Prey Upon Us" (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 24).
- We will discuss places in the Maximus Poems where Olson invokes childhood memories of
OLSON AS A SCHOLAR
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- "Letter 10" (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 59-63)
- "Capt Christopher Levett (of
Also:
- Peter will share an excerpt from Call Me Ishmael, Olson’s book on Moby Dick and much more.
OLSON, GOVERNMENT, and WORLD WAR II
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud (p. 1)
- "La Preface" (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 2-3)
- "The Resistance (for Jean Riboud)" (prose) by Charles Olson (p. 3-4)
Also:
- Peter will offer more information about the
- James will talk about the “In Thicket” section of A Charles Olson Reader
WEEK TWO
Thursday, September 16, 2010
"Projective Verse" & "The Human Universe"
Guiding question: How are “Projective Verse” & “The Human Universe” seminal essays? What is their relationship to literary & intellectual history?
During week two our aim is for study group participants to understand how and why Olson matters in literary & intellectual history.
PROJECTIVE VERSE
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- "Projective Verse" (essay) by Charles Olson (p. 39-49)
- "The Kingfishers" (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 32-38)
Also:
- Peter will talk about Olson’s relationship to the poetic tradition from Whitman through Pound and Williams; James will take it forward from there into the present day.
HUMAN UNIVERSE
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- “Human Universe” (essay) by Charles Olson (p. 112-123)
- “Variations Done for Gerald Van De Wiele” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 123-128)
Also:
- James and Peter will present the “Bona Dea” poem from The Maximus Poems.
Week Three
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Maximus & the Polis
Guiding question: What does Olson mean by polis? How are the first Maximus poems affected by Olson’s distance from Gloucester
This week we will explore poems from the first volume of The Maximus Poems – and one poem that Olson “withheld” from that volume – in order to gain an understanding of his use of polis and his relationship with Gloucester
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- “Letter 3” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 50-55)
- “Songs of the Maximus” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 55-59)
- “Maximus to
Also:
- We will refer back to “Letter 10” & “Capt Christopher Levett (of
- James will present “Letter 6” for discussion.
Week Four
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Cosmology & Causal Mythology
Guiding questions: How are the Maximus Poems from the second volume (called Maximus IV, V, VI) different from the earlier poems? How is Olson using Gloucester
This week we will explore poems from Maximus IV, V, VI. We will also touch upon Olson’s concept of “Causal Mythology”. The focus will be on Olson’s use of Gloucester
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- “Maximus, from Dogtown-I” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 131-137)
- “Maximus, from Dogtown-II” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 138-143)
- “The Poimanderes” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 143)
- “I forced the calm grey waters” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 143-144)
- “Maximus, At the Harbor” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 145-146)
- “A Later Note on Letter #15” (poem) by Charles Olson (147-148)
- “after the storm was over” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 150)
- “3rd letter on Georges, unwritten” (poem) by Charles Olson (p. 151)
Also:
- Peter will talk about the poem “128 a mole/to get at
- James will present excerpts from Olson’s “Causal Mythology” and Charles Stein’s The Secret of the Black Chrysanthemum in which Stein presents useful glosses on several of the poems above.
Week Five
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Earthly Paradise
Guiding questions: How do these final poems extend the work begun in the earlier poems? What, if anything, strikes you as new or different here? What is the relationship between the poems and the letters to the editor? How do they cast light upon each other?
This week we will explore the final Maximus Poems, which were collected into a “Volume Three”. We will look at these poems in relation to letters Olson wrote to the Gloucester Daily Times.
We’ll discuss the following selections from A Charles Olson Reader:
- Prefatory notes by Ralph Maud
- “having descried the nation”
- “Maximus to himself June 1964”
- “Cole's
- “Maximus of
- “The first of morning was always over there”
- “I live underneath the light of day”
Also:
- Peter, editor of Maximus to
- James will present a letter Olson wrote to historian Joe Garland – a letter which includes the remarkable sentence: “The nature of my involvement in the subject of
