Olson, Charles, 1910-1970

Charles Olson, the leading voice of the Black Mountain poets, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was a notable student at Wesleyan University, where his groundbreaking work on Herman Melville evolved into the highly praised monograph, Call Me Ishmael. Inspired by Franklin Roosevelt, Olson worked his way up through the Democratic Party, but quit after Roosevelt's death, and began a brilliant career as a writer and educator. His manifesto, Projective Verse, influenced a generation of poets with its thesis that traditional verse was artificial; Olson's own poetry was widely praised, and he is seen as the successor of Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams in promoting modern verse.

From the description of Charles Olson letter to Frances Motz Boldereff, circa 1948. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 69937737

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