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Poetry and Popular Culture

he1918mayoralraceinSt.Paul,Minnesota,wasinpartareferendumonpopularpoetry.ThatyearDemocraticcandidateLaurenceC. Hodgson (18741937)a Twin Cities newspaper personality better knownasthepoetLarryHodefeatedhisRepublicanandLaborparty challengers to become the citys twenty-eighth mayor. Reflecting on the election a year later the Modern Highway newsletter reminded readers of anironicdisconnectbetweentheworldofpoetryandtheworldofpolitics that had come to the fore of the campaign, explaining that even though Hodgsons plurality was a big one, only by some queer caper of fate couldapoet-giveramanwhosegreatestpastimeissunshinemaking and who could see a shining soul right through the dirtiest skin of the leastinvitingnewsboyhavebeenelectedtopublicoffice.1AMinnesota native,HodgsonhadbeenapoliticalreporterfortheSt. PaulDispatch,the Minneapolis Times,andtheMinneapolis Tribuneandhadworkedingovernmentbefore,mostnotablyassecretarytothespeakerofthehouseaswell assecretarytotwoSt.Paulmayors,includinghisimmediatepredecessor, Vivian R. Irwin. But as the Modern Highway suggests, it was the poetry HodgsonpublishedasLarryHothattheoppositionidentifiedasapotentialweaknessandelection-yearissue.Hodgsonscompetition,theModern

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Highwayrecalled,sneeredattheideaofapoetmakingagoodmayor sneeredpublicly(10). Thatnegativecampaignstrategyappearstohavebackfired,however,for insteadofcastingdoubtonHodgsonspoliticalacumenonecancertainly imagineapoetwhoisalwaysfindingsomethingtosingaboutinthedoings ofthedullestdaybeingcharacterizedassoftoncrimeHodgsonspoetgiveralteregoultimatelyserved,likeBillClintonssaxophone,tohighlight hishumansideandinspiredpeopletoconsiderhiscandidacymoreseriously (ibid.).Indeed,theModern Highwayrecalled,thatremindedagreatmany people of the identity of this Laurence C. Hodgson. They began getting downscrapbooksfilledwithhispoems,forhisverseandscrapsofphilosophy arethekindthatfindtheirwayprettyregularlyintoscrapbooks(ibid.).As anelection-yearposterfrom1918suggests,Democratsinfactturnedtheissue ofHodgsonsextracurricularactivitiesintoastrength,advertisinghisdouble identityformaximumpublicappeal(seefigure0.1).LarryHonotonlywon theelectionin1918,buthealsowentontowinthreemoretermsasmayorof St.Paulbeforereturningtothenewspaperbusinessin1931. InmanywaysthestoryofHodgsonandhisreadersisnotunique.Like BertonBraley,AnneCampbell,EdgarA.Guest,DonMarquis,WaltMason, JamesMetcalfe,JaySigmund,FrankL.Stanton,HelenWelshimer,andElla WheelerWilcox,HodgsonwaspartofamodernAmericathatwascrazyfor poetrythatwroteandpublishedit,readitaspartofeverydaylife,bought it,collectedandsharedit,andaffordeditagreatdealofprestigeforitsmany aesthetic,emotional,social,political,andevencommercialwaysofcommunicating.Knownasthepeoplespoet,Guest,forexample,authoredmore than twenty books, regularly wrote advertising verse, and for thirty years publishedapoemeachdayinaDetroit Free Pressfeaturethatwassyndicated tomorethan300newspapersnationwideandcarefullysavedbypeoplelike HodgsonsSt.Paulscrapbookers(seefigure0.2).In1955theUniversityof MichiganawardedGuestanhonorarydegreesevenyearsbeforeitwould bestowthesamerecognitiononitsofficialpoet-in-residence,RobertFrost. CalledEddieGuestsRivalbyTimemagazine,Campbellbeganpublishing intheDetroitNewsin1922andwroteapoemsixdaysaweekfortwenty-five years,producingmorethanseventhousandfivehundredpoems,whosesyndicationreportedlyearnedherupto$10,000peryear.A1947eventmarkinghersilveranniversaryatthepaperdrewfifteenhundredfans,including DetroitsmayorandthepresidentofWayneStateUniversity,whoclaimed

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figure 0.1. ElectionposterforLaurenceC.Hodgsons1918campaignformayorofSt. Paul,Minnesota.ReprintedwithpermissionoftheMinnesotaHistoricalSociety.

thatCampbellhashelpedtomakeourtowngreat.2Whileworkingasan insuranceexecutiveinCedarRapids,Iowa,Sigmundwroteovertwelvehundredpoemsduringasixteen-yearspan,duringwhichtimehealsomentored fellowCedarRapidsnativePaulEngle,whowouldgoontoshepherdthe UniversityofIowaWritersWorkshoptonationalprominenceafterWorld WarII.SherwoodAnderson,thenanewspapereditorinKentucky,likedSigmunds verse so much that he not only solicited Sigmunds contributions

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butthenproceeded,asanactofhomageatthetimeofprinting,toremove Sigmundsnamefromthebylineandsubstitutehisown.MetcalfewasanFBI agentwhoparticipatedintheambushofJohnDillingeroutsideofChicagos Biograph Theater in 1934 and later wrote rhyming prose poemsa form thatSinclairLewissfictionalnewspaperpoet,T.CholmondeleyFrink,called poemulationsinBabbitfortheChicagoSun-Times,750ofwhichmadeup thefirstofhisoverfifteenbooks.3AndMarquisspoemsintheNew YorkEvening SunandNew York Tribuneweresowellknownandlikedespeciallythe versesabouttheadventuresofArchy,theprohibition-era,vers-libre-writing cockroach,andMehitabel,analleycat,whichwereillustratedbyKrazy Kat comicstripcreatorGeorgeHerrimanandformedthebasisfora1957Broadwaymusicalthatin1943theU.S.Navychristenedaship,theU.S.S. Don Marquis,inhismemory.4 Asmuchastheseandotherwritershadnationalfollowingsand,insome cases,veryrespectableincomestheirswashardlytheonlypoetrythatAmericanswerereadingorhearinginthelatenineteenthandthefirsthalfofthe twentiethcenturies.MarkW.VanWienenhasdescribedtheWorldWarIera asaperiodinwhichjustaboutanyonemightconsiderhimselforherselffit towritepoetryandevencalledupontowriteit.5ReportingfortheAmerican Mercury in 1926, the successful Iowa novelist Ruth Suckow explained that her states literary culture is snatched at by everybodyfarmer boys, dentists, telegraph editors in small towns, students, undertakers, insurance agents and nobodies. All have a try at it.6 Historian Joan Shelley Rubin writesthatAmericansencounteredpoetictextsatanumberofpublic,orat anyrate,observablevenues:inschool,atcivicgatherings,inwomensclubs, asparlorentertainmentandbedtimeroutine,withinreligiousceremonies,at celebrityperformances,andaroundGirlScoutcampfires,7andKansasnewspaperpoetWaltMasonsuggestedin1914howsuchverseenjoyedpopularity beyondthesimplefactofitspublication.Aman,heexplainedintheLiterary Digest,sees in the newspaper a clever rhyme full of hope and encouragement,andhecutsitoutandshowsittohisfriends,andcarriesitinhis pocket-book,andtakesithomeandreadsittohisfamily,andhiswifepastes itinthescrap-bookforfuturereference.8 Inshort,AmericanslivinginthefirsthalfofthecenturytheperiodduringwhichtheU.S.cultureindustrieswererapidlyexpandingandthenational economywassettlingintowhatwehavecometocallconsumercapitalism livedinaworldsaturatedbypoetryofalltypesandsizes,rangingfromclever,

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figure 0.2. NotebookofEdgarA.Guestspoetry,assembledbyoneofGuestsfansin themid-1930s.Authorscollection.

two-lineadvertisingjinglestofull-lengthcollectionssuchasKhalilGibrans The Prophet,whichappearedin1923andwentontobecomethebest-selling single-author volume of poems in U.S. history. Poetry appeared in books, dailynewspapers,andmagazines.Itwaspreservedinscrapbooksandphotograph and autograph albums, and it was included in classroom readers, comic books, song books, farmers almanacs, church services, civic events, citizenshiphandbooks,naturefieldguides,propaganda,andinawidevariety ofadvertisingmedia.Itwasontheradio,billboards,broadsides,drugstore window and trolley card placards, Chautauqua circuits, picket lines, wax cylinder and other recording formats, magic lantern slides, and stereoview cards.Anditdecoratedmanyephemeral,commemorative,value-added,and/ orcommercialgoods,rangingfrompostcardstogreetingcards,callingcards, playing cards, business cards, bookmarks, matchbooks, posters and wall hangings, stickers, calendars, event tickets, notepads, menus, fans, trivets, thermometers,milkbottles,pinupgirlyposters,bird-foodandbreath-mint tins,packagesfordraftingtools,candyboxes,souvenirplates,handkerchiefs, pillows,andtablerunners.

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The sheer amount of poetry embedded in so many aspects of modern American lifecommercial, political, educational, occupational, domestic, andotherwisecancomeasasurprisetopoetsandliterarycriticstodaywho havelongimaginedpoetrytohaveoccupiedatbestamarginalplaceinthe twentieth-centuryUnitedStates,eventhoughtheenergyoftheperiodIstudy inthisbookhelpedtounderwriteacurrentAmericanpublishingclimatein which,accordingtoDavidAlpaugh,literaryjournalsaloneprintmorethan one hundred thousand poems each year and in which enormous amounts ofpoetryarewoven,wholeorpiecemealandoftensoseamlesslythatthey escape notice, into the fabric of television programs, talk shows, movies, novels, advertisements, Web sites, blogs, new video formats, and interactivesocialmedia,includingchatrooms,Facebook,andTwitter.Inarguing about whether poetry matters (Dana Gioia) or whether it makes nothinghappen(W.H.Auden),poetsandcriticsconvincedofpoetryscultural marginalizationinmodernAmericahaveatendencytowronglymythologize previouserasasthegenresgoldenagetimeswhen,asStephenBurthas claimed,morepeoplereadmorepoems,athomeandatschool.9InWould Poetry Disappear? American Verse and the Crisis of Modernity, John TimbermanNewcombhas shownthat pronouncements about poetrys purported declineordeathinthetwentiethcenturywereevenbeingmadeduringthe periodthatthisbookexamines,atimewhenpoetrywasrapidlyproliferating. Reportsofpoetrysdeatharegreatlyexaggerated.Thefactisthatmorepeople inthemodernUnitedStateswereproducingandconsumingmoreversethan atanyothertimeinhistorypoems,toborrowStuartHallsphrasing,that weunderstandtobepopularbecausemassesofpeoplelistentothem,buy them,readthem,consumethem,andseemtoenjoythemtothefull.10In amodernAmericafueledbyconsumercapitalismandnewmediaandcommunicationformats,poetryhadtensofmillionsofreaders. Mostofthispoetry,however,hasneverbeenstudied,eventhoughpoets andpoetrycriticshavebeenextendingtheirattentiontoincreasinglydiverse types of verse for decades.Academic components of modern social movementssuchasMarxism,feminism,andthecivilrightsmovementexpanded theliterarycanontoincludepoetrywrittenbywomen,writersofcolor,and workingclasswriters,intheprocessdevelopingnewwaysofunderstanding thatworkinrelationtothebroaderartistic,cultural,andpoliticalhistoriesit helpedtoshape.Writersandcriticsaffiliatedwiththeavant-gardeLanguage poetrymovementinthe1970sand1980shelpedtodislodgethelyricpoem

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astheprivilegedgenreofpoeticstudyandadmiration;practitionersofthe newlyricstudieshavesubsequentlyshowntheverycategoryofthelyricto havebeenanidealizationofpoetryobscuringthediversityofotherverse formsinthehistoricalrecordaswellasthesocialandmaterialcircumstances ofitscomposition,distribution,andconsumption.11Claimingwenolonger knowthehistoryofthepoetryofthefirsthalfofthiscentury;mostofus, moreover,donotknowthattheknowledgeisgone,CaryNelsonsRepression and Recovery: Modern American Poetry and the Politics of Cultural Memory reintroducedalarge,complicatedbodyofworkbyleftistAmericanpoetsand compelledthedevelopmentofyetanothersetofframeworksforunderstandinghowpoetryoperatedinAmericancultureaswellasthevariousaesthetic systems informing it.12 And more recently, Rubins historical study, Songs of Ourselves: The Uses of Poetry in America,revealedhow,formanyamateur or nonspecialist readers, poetry was not necessarily or primarily a private endeavorpursuedbytrainedoreliteaudiencesbutwasregularlyexperienced aspartof,ormadetobeahighlightorcenterpiecefor,institutionalizedsocial situationsandoccasionslikeschoolclassrooms,civicevents,religiousmeetings,bedtimerituals,andgirlscouttroopmeetings.13 This history has produced a disciplinary field that is now predicated on the study and evaluation of multiple, diverse sets of poetic phenomenaa fieldbestdescribedinthepluralasthestudyofAmericanpoetries.Everyday Readingstartswiththatmomentum,whichhaschallengedifnotdismantled theidealizationofpoetryexpressedinthesingularandwithacapitalletter P, in order to argue that a critical study and evaluation of popular and commercialverseisnotonlywarrantedbutnecessarytounderstandingthe impact that poetry as a whole had on modern American life. At the same timethisbookgrowsoutofculturalstudiesasanowwell-establishedcriticalmethodologyinAmericanEnglishandhumanitiesdepartmentsamethodologysomepoetsand poetrycriticshavebeenreluctanttoembracebut thathasnonethelessdeeplyaffectedthepracticeoftodayspoetrycriticism.14 Insofarasithasdrivenandlegitimizedscholarlyworkonpopularsubjectsas diverseasromanceanddimenovels,Star Trek,fanzines,soapoperas,popular movies,toys,comicbooks,andBuffy the Vampire Slayer,andinsofarasithas expandedthedefinitionofthewordtexttoencompassvirtuallyanyculturalproductionasaformallyandideologicallycomplicatedeventtobetaken seriously,culturalstudiesoffersarubricorsetofrubricsfortheassessment andevaluationofpopularpoetictextsandespeciallytheirintersectionwith

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Americanmassmediaandpopularpractices.Byvirtueofitssharedemphasis onproducersandconsumers,onmediaanddistributionformatsaswellas textualcomposition,andontheimportanceofstudyingtextsfortheformal andculturalwaysthathegemonyisreinforcedandchallenged,culturalstudies provides this book with another framework and impetus for assessing popularverseanditsimpactoneverydaylifeintwentieth-centuryAmerica. Infocusingonpopularpoetrythisbookdoesnotofferanargumentabout whetherT.S.EliotsTheWasteLandisabetterpoemthanaBurma-Shave advertisingjingle,orwhethereitherorbothshouldbeincludedinthenext bigpoetryanthology.Ifthatistheargumentyouarelookingfor,thenIreluctantlyhavetosendyouelsewhere.Rather,thisisabookabouthowandwhy millionsofpeoplereadthepoetrytheydid;howandwhythatpoetryinfluencedthereading,massmedia,andcommunicationpracticesweexperience today;andhow,attimes,thatpoetryintersectedwithliterarycultureinthe UnitedStates.ThatisnottosaythatEveryday Reading isunconcernedwith thesubjectofaestheticvalueandevaluation.Foroneofthebyproductsof studyingthismaterialseriouslyistherecognitionthatit,too,hasclearaestheticcomponentsthatitwaswritten,published,andconsumedinrelation toarangeofdifferentaestheticsystemsandexpectations,andthatuncredentialedorordinaryreaderswereconcernedwiththesubjectsofpoeticgenre, form, tradition, and taste. People edited large poetry scrapbooks that not onlyhelpedthemtothinkthroughtheirpersonallivesbutalsoshapedand workedtodefinetheiraestheticonesaswell.Radioshows,newspapers,and magazinesbroadcastandprintedpoemsthatwouldhavebeenrejectedfor publicationinotherformatsandfrequentlymadethesubjectoftasteatalkingpoint.Businessesconductedpoetry-writingcontestswithstatedjudging criteria, and sometimes that criteria overlapped with, or was articulated in relation to, the aesthetic goals of modernism or belles lettres. It is temptingtoreducethehistoryofAmericanpoetryinthetwentiethcenturytoa set of binaries like high and low, modern and genteel, and avantgardeandquietist.Butjustaspoetrycriticismofthepastthirtyyearshas revealedhowothertypesofpoetrywerewritten,published,andconsumed inrelationtomultipleaestheticsystemsandtraditions,soastudyofpopularpoetriesrevealsthattheaestheticvaluesofmodernAmericaspopularliterarylandscapeweremanyandvarious.Thecultureofpopularpoetrywas notunlikeamusicstorewithrecordingsfiledaccordingtogenreslikeclassic rock,Christiancontemporary,rap,hip-hop,classical,andcountrywestern,

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eachtagsuggestinganddefiningdifferentsetsoftastes,aesthetictraditions, typesofsocialcapital,listeningcommunities,andevencirculationnetworks. Whatthosevariousaestheticfilingsystemswere;howtheyoperated;how theywereproduced,met,andchallengedbyreadersandwriterswhomwe wouldntnormallyconsidertobeexpertsonpoetry;andhowtheymightbe betterunderstoodbytodaysscholarsandcriticsfigureintoEveryday Reading,eventhoughtheparticularcategoricalclaimthatEliotspoemorBurmaShavespoemmusthaveaspotinthenextpoetryanthologyisnot.Ifyouare GarrisonKeillor,thentheBurma-ShavepoemgetsthenodandissetalongsideversesbyJohnDonne,WaltWhitman,EmilyDickinson,DonMarquis, andothers.15IfyouareNorton,itdoesnot.Thereasonswhyarepartofthe storyIwanttotellhere. In bringing the histories and methods of poetry criticism and cultural studiestoaconsiderationofpopularpoetryanditsconnectionstoAmericancommunicationpracticesmorebroadly,Ihavefouroverarchingtheses for this book. First, I argue that ordinary readers of popular poetry were moreself-aware,discerning,creative,andsociallyengagedthanliterarycritics and historians have typically assumed, even though those audiences readingmethods,habits,andcharacteristicsdontnecessarilyorevenfrequently mapneatlyontothoserecommendedbypoets,educators,experts,orother culturalcuratorsseekingwhatEliotcalledacorrectionoftasteinAmerican life.16Duringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturyordinaryreaderslikethose inLarryHosSt.Paulcametobecartoonedasanunreflective,easilymanipulated,affect-driven,sentimental,andoftenfemaledemographicthatwassincere but ultimately misguided when it came to issues of taste and poetrys purposeintheworld;frequently,thiscaricaturepittedtheknowing,cynical, modernworldsofthemassmediaandEastCoastliteraryculturesagainstthe localcolorofasimpler,moreearnestMidwest,wheremanymodernpoets hadinfactbeenbornorraised.17(Itisnoaccidentthatmystudybeginsinthe TwinCitiesandspendsconsiderabletimeinMissouri,Minnesota,Iowaand, toalesserextent,Michigan,Illinois,andmyhomestateofOhio.)Thisdepictionwaspartlyafunctionofabroaderandbynowmuch-studieddiscourseof modernisminwhich,asAndreasHuyssenhasexplained,woman...ispositioned as reader of inferior literaturesubjective, emotional and passive whileman...emergesaswriterofgenuine,authenticliteratureobjective, ironic, and in control of his aesthetic means,18 and it was propagated by influential voices like Ezra Pound, who championed a harder and saner

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modernistpoetryasanantidotetothegenteel,nicepoetryoremotional slitherthatAuntHepsyliked,19andEliot,whoclaimedthat,comparedto themindofthepoetinwhichexperiencesarealwaysformingnewwholes, theordinarymansexperienceischaotic,irregular,fragmentary.20 ThedistinctionsPound,Eliot,andothersmadebetweeneliteandpopular tastesandtextswerethemselvesafunctionofadiscoursethatpredatedmodernismaculturallogic,tracedbyLawrenceLevineinHighbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchyin America,thathadbeenredrawingand demarcatingculturalboundarylinesbetweenrefinedandmass/popularcultures since the middle of the nineteenth century. While those distinctions wereestablishedfirmlyinrelationtoarangeofartforms(includingdrama, opera,classicalmusic,andfineart)bythe1910sand1920s,thatwasnotthe casewithpoetry,inpartbecausepoetryhadsomanydifferentpopularforms andusesthatittookmuchlongertoteasethemoutfromthefabricofpeoples everyday lives and recast them as highbrow or lowbrow in character. Infact,itwasntuntilwhatJosephHarringtonhascalledthepoetrywars ofthe1930sthatthediscourseofhighandlowcaughtupwith,andbegan to reform, perceptions of American poetry on broad cultural and institutionalscales;ironically,theaestheticdistinctionsthathavebeenattributedto modernismandNewCriticism,andwhichmodernismusedtodistinguish itselffromnineteenth-centurygenteelliteraryculture,arereallyatwentiethcentury extensioneven a culminationof a nineteenth-century cultural project.21Priortothe1930s,assomeofthepoetryscrapbooksIexaminein chapter1vividlyillustrate,readersmayhaverecognizeddifferencesbetween genres of poetry, but they felt licensed to range widely across them, using themfortheirownpurposesandthusbecoming,asRubinobserves,repositoriesofboththehighandthepopularawareof,butnotconstrainedby, ashiftingboundarybetweenthem.22Whatpoetrysignifiedinaculturethat readinsuchaway,andwhatitcontributedtoandfulfilledforthatculture,is thefirstpartofthenarrativeIwanttotracehere. The lines of demarcation between high and low poetriessignaled, in some conversations, as a difference between poetry and verse (a distinction I do not want to make in this book except to ventriloquize other viewpoints)arethusarelativelyrecentrhetoricalfeatureinthehistoryof Americanculturalhierarchies,whichperhapshelpstoexplainwhythecartoon of the deficient or even nonexistent popular poetry reader has maintainedastrongpurchaseonpoetsandcriticsinanotherwisepostmodernand

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contemporaryAmericathathashadplentyofpoetryincirculationandplenty of high-low intersection in other art forms: a reason why Randall Jarrell, speakingatHarvardUniversitys1950DefenseofPoetryconference,would strongly, if incorrectly, assert that mostAmerican readers were unused to anypoetryatall,evenofthesimplestkind.23AquicklookattheNew York Times,whichwasprintingpoetryonitsOp-Edpagesinapressrunofabout 500,000duringtheveryweekJarrellspokeatHarvard,wouldhaveshown hisstatementtobefactuallyproblematic.NeverthelessMarkHarrisechoed JarrellwhenhetoldaudiencesattheUniversityofIowain1959tonolonger quibbleoverthequestionofwhetherourcountrymencanreceiveorappreciateliteratureofthefirstrank.Thefactisthattheycannot.24Overtheyears theseviewsthatfewordinarypeoplereadPoetry(inthesingular,spelled withacapitalP)andthattheywouldntbeabletodealwithitevenifthey didwouldbecomeatruismifnotacertainsortofreligion,movingDana Gioia,thefutureheadoftheNationalEndowmentfortheArtsandaformer vicepresidentofmarketingatGeneralFoodsCorporation,todescribethe bulk of potential American poetry readers in 2002 as the incurious mass audienceofthepopularmedia,25andunderwritingAdamKirschsjudgment inhis2007reviewofSongs of Ourselvesthatthecommonsenseof[ordinary] readersisabitliketheproverbialsausagefactory.Youdontwanttolookatit tooclosely,forfearofwhatyoumightfind.26 Ifmyfirstgoalistoresistthismythologyanditsnarrativesandtofollow,instead,StuartHallsmoresympatheticpictureofuncredentialedreaderswhoarenotculturaldopesbut,rather,creativeandcriticalaudiences whoareperfectlycapableofrecognizingthewaytheirlifeexperiencesare reorganized,reconstructedandreshaped27thenthisbookssecondpoint isthattheactualpoetrysuchaudiencesconsumedwasnotonlymorevarious butmoreaestheticallyandculturallycomplex(andperhapsevenmorepleasurable)thanmainstreamliteraryhistorieswouldsuggest.Pounddisparaged popularpoetryaspoppycock.28Thepressregularlycalleditpiffle.Jarrell described the verse read aloud on nationally broadcast radio poetry shows asone-syllablepoems.29Andawidearrayoftermswithmostlypejorative connotationsverse, jingles, rhymes, poesy, ditties, poemulations, newspaperpoetry,advertisingpoetry,childrensrhymes,genteelverse,doggerel, Hallmark poetry, tripe, light verse, inspirational verse, sentimental verse, schoolroom poetrywere (and still are) used to obscure the different and wide-ranging aesthetic, social, political, and emotional aspects of poetries

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thatwerepurportedlytoofullofwhatPoundcalledpaintedadjectivesand rhetoricaldin,andluxuriousriottomeritseriousconsideration.30Inaddition to homogenizing and dismissing this verse along stylistic or aesthetic lines,criticsalsocametodisparageitbecauseofitsfrequentconnectionsto commercial,for-profitendeavorsandnotjustitspopularaudiencesbecause of its marketability, and because it at first blush does not appear to have resistedbeinginstrumentalizedorpressedintowhatTheodorAdornocalled enforcedservice...ofeconomicallyorganizedpurposesandgoals.31Inthe midcenturyUnitedStates,EdgarGuestwhoseverseAFriendsGreeting firstappearedinaHallmarkcardin1916andwentontobecomethecompanysbest-sellingpoemwasalightningrodforcriticsopposedtopopular poetryandpoetrysuseforcommercialgain.MarkHarrisopeneda1959symposium,TheWriterinaMassCulture,attheUniversityofIowabysaying, forexample,Letusdeclareonceandforever...EdgarGuestwasnevera poet.32IntheparagraphconcludinghisNew York TimesreviewofRubins Songs of Ourselves, Tom Sleigh suggests that even though Guest no longer servesasaprimarystrawmaninsucharguments,themixtureofpoetryand marketingsavoirfairehecultivatednonethelessremainsoffensive.AsIread aboutGuestssavvyself-marketingandtheweepyfauxsincerityofhispublicperformances,SleighwriteswithoutreferencingasinglelineofGuests verse,Iwascompletelyrepulsed.33 ItispartlybecauseI,too,believethatpoetrycanbeand,asIshowin parts of all five chapters, regularly represented or harboredan alternative discoursetotheeconomicvaluesofthecommercialmarketplacethatIfind wholesaledismissalsofpopularandcommercialverseformsbasedprimarily on their marketing appeals and relative proximity to certain aspects of themarketplacetobeinadequateandintellectuallyunsatisfying.Forstarters, marketingstrategies,elaborateself-brandingefforts,showmanship,andperformancesofsinceritywereregularaspectsofhighlymonetizedbutotherwise literary cultures in the first half of the twentieth century, just as they are today.TakingawhiptoEdgarGuestoranyotheraspectofcommercializedor mass-culturalpoetrynotonlyworkstoobscuretheeconomicunderpinnings ofhighbrowliterarycultureandperpetuateafantasyofauthenticpoetry andpoetrywritingaswhatFredricJamesoncallsthelocusofsomegenuinely critical and subversive, autonomous aesthetic production;34 it also hidestheideologicalcomplexitiesofcommercialversecultureitself,letting itstextsgoabouttheiroftentimessophisticatedculturalworkunexamined

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andunchallenged,whileincorrectlyandchauvinisticallyassumingthatpopularreadersdidnotrecognize,question,orevenattempttoreverseorcounter thosehegemonicinterestswhileencounteringorconsumingit.Thus,despite the different types of verse I study in this book, every chapter attempts to understandpoetrysintersectionswithcommercialAmericainwaysthatare more nuanced than prevailing binaries suggest are possible. Chapter 1, for example,examineshowreadersexcerptedtextsfromtheircommercialsurroundings and repurposed them for noncommercial and even subversive endsinpersonallyassembledpoetryscrapbooks;chapter2tracksinparthow radiolistenersresistedtheapplicationofcapitalisteconomiclogictopoetry, agenrethat,forthem,frequentlyrepresentedandsustainedanoncapitalist gift-givingimpulseinAmericanlife;chapter3findsadvertisingpoetrytobea siteforsomeofthesameinnovativepoeticstrategiesthatwouldlatercometo beassociatedwithanticapitalist,avant-gardewriting;chapter4exploreshow commercialbillboardadvertisingprovidedalinguisticresourceforWilliam CarlosWilliams;andchapter5arguesthatUniversityofIowaWritersWorkshopdirectorPaulEngleenvisioned(butfailedtocreate)anMFAprogram thatmightencourageuniversity-trainedwriterstoengage,notseparatefrom, avarietyofpoeticdiscourses,includingtheverseofmass-marketperiodicals andHallmarkgreetingcards. AlthoughIexaminepoetrybelongingtosentimental,genteel,advertising, greetingcard,schoolroom,political,newspaper,religious,andotherpopular traditionsinadditiontomoreconventionallyliteraryones,itisnotpossible for a single book to study each of those traditions in full, let alone parse therangeofskills,talents,culturalassociations,andaestheticpleasuresthat theyentailedorinspired.Inusingthemtorepresentacomplexanddiverse archiveaswellasnetworksofwriters,texts,mediaformats,andreadersI alsowanttoargue,asthethirdandfourthmajorpointsofthisstudy,that thecultureofpopularversewasnotself-containedbutinfluencedthework ofnow-canonicalmodernistwritersandthedevelopmentofpopularculture morebroadly.Whilescholarshaveexaminedhowpopular-andmass-culture phenomena(suchasaudiorecordingandbroadcasttechnologies,marketing techniques,book-clubselections,Hollywoodfilm,comics,celebrityculture, andsoon)affectedmodernistliteraryproduction,thefieldhasbeenslowto conceptualizetherelationshipbetweenpopularpoetryandmodernistpoetry asanythingotherthanstrictlyadversarialinnature,presumingthatso-called highbrow,orelite,writersidentifiedandcategoricallyabandonedtheforms,

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media,andothercharacteristicsofpopularverse.35ThiscriticalpredispositiontowardanadversarialnarrativeofAmericanpoetryhasnotbeenreserved solelyforcharacterizingtherelationshipbetweenthepopularandtheelite. CaryNelsonhas argued,forexample,thataparalleldichotomyfrequently made between (twentieth-century) modern and (nineteenth-century) genteelverseformsinhistoriesofAmericanpoetryismoremelodramaticthan accurateandobscurestheexchangesthatactuallyoccurredbetweenthetwo traditions.Indeed,hewritesinRepression and Recovery,oneofthestriking thingsaboutthegradualemergenceofmodernistformsinAmericanprotest poetry...isthelackofasenseofaradicalbreakwiththepast.Thethematic continuitiesinthishundred-year-oldAmericantraditionaresostrongthata senseofopeningoutanddiversification,ofthematicconservationandformal variation,overridestheadversarialmodelofmodernismwhollyrejectingthe moreformaltraditionsinAmericanpoetry....Andtherhetoricofthegenteeltraditionandtherhetoricofmodernismwereoftentimescounterpointed intheworkofindividualpoets.36 Just as Nelson suggests the adversarial model of genteel and modern poetriesislimitedorincomplete,soIproposethatasimilarmodelofhow eliteandpopularpoetriesrelated(ordidntrelate)alsoobscurescontinuities andexchangesbetweenliterarypoetsandpopularverse.GertrudeSteincollectedBurma-Shaveadvertisingjinglebooklets.Poundusedhisgrandfathers scrapbookassourcematerialfortheCantos.Well-knownwriterspublished inmagazineslikeLadies Home Journalonlypartlybecausethosepublications paidwell.AsIexplaininchapter4,Williamsmadecentraltohiswritinga popular mode of reading that developed in Americas speed-reading roadand-billboard culture of the 1920s and 1930s.And, as I show in chapter 5, Engledidnotseeaninherentcontradictionbetweenwritinginhighandlow poeticformswhen,evenashewashiringPulitzerPrizewinningpoetsand mentoringfutureonesatIowa,healsospenttimecomposinggreetingcard verseforHallmark. Inadditiontoproposingthatthecultureofpopularpoetryofferedsets of resources, materials, and models that helped broker exchanges between popularandelitetraditions,Ialsowanttoclaimthatthecultureofpopular verse from the first half of the twentieth century affected the development ofpopularculturemorebroadly.Inaperiodwhenconsumerproductsand participatorymediaformatsthatwemorecommonlyassociatewithpopular culture(radio,television,comics,popularmusic,blockbusterfilms,popular

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novelgenres,andtheInternet)wereinnascentformornonexistent,poetry servedasacommonandprimarygroundonwhichthedynamicsofourcurrent-daypopularculturewereinitiallyworkedoutandestablished.Embeddedinthefirstformsofmassmedia,includingnewspapers,periodicals,and advertisements,poetrydignified,familiarized,andhelpedpeopleexperiment and become comfortable with the dynamic interface between the culture industriesandeverydaylifethatStuartHallarguesisthesiteofpopularculturepropertheconstantlychangingfieldorarenaofconsentandresistanceinwhichpeopleacquiesceto,orresist,hegemonicpowerstructures.37 Beforecall-intalkshows,longdistancesongdedications,andAmerican Idol, forexample,poetryradioprogramsnotonlysolicitedlistenerfeedbackand contributionsbutalsobasedmuchoftheirsuccessonconsumer-generated content. The cutting-and-pasting practices that yield mix tapes, fanzines, digitalmashups,andmuchonlinemediafindadirecthistoricalprecedent in the cutting and pasting ofAmerican scrapbookers, who often imagined thesamplingandsplicingofpoetrytobethehighestformofalbum-making moregenerally.TheconteststructureoftheBurma-VitaCompanysannual Burma-Shave jingle-writing contest, itself based on nationally conducted poetry-writing contests that soap advertisers like Ivory sponsored in the 1890s,helpedroutinizeapracticeinwhichpeopleareinvitedtoparticipatein shapingtheverymarketingcampaignstheyarelatersubjectedtoasconsumers.Ifwewanttoknowabouttheworkingsofmassandpopularculturein theearlytwenty-firstcentury,wecanlookbacktotheearlytwentiethcentury whenpoetryaliteraryformwedonotreadilyassociatewiththeworkings ofthemassmediaanditsaudiencesservedasalaboratoryfor,ifnotoneof theveryfoundationsof,howpopularculturewouldcometooperateinthe UnitedStates. Itisthustherelationshipbetweentheindustriallyproducedtextandthe reader,consumer,oruserthatdrivesmyinvestigationinthisbook,asthat relationshipconstitutespopularculturemoregenerally.Therearemanyother waysastudyofpopularversemighttakeshape.Icouldhavewrittenfivechaptersaboutfivedifferentpopularpoets,suchasGuest,Campbell,Metcalfe, Welshimer,andMason,forexample.Icouldhavefocusedmorespecifically ontheworkings,forms,discourses,andcharacteristicsofindividualgenres ofpopularversenewspaper,magazine,greetingcard,souvenirpillow,businesscard,advertising,andradiopoetry,aswellasothersoronhowmodern popularpoetrydevelopedfromitsnineteenth-centuryprecedents.Giventhe

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heavilygenderedaspectsofpopularverseculture,eachchaptermighthave focusedmorespecificallyonthattopic,orIcouldhaveorientedeachchapter inrelationtoliteraryregionalism,whichhassofarbeenstudiedprimarilyas aprosephenomenon.Theseandotherpossibilitiesarevisibleinthematerialthatfollowsandwouldbecompellingframeworksforotherstudies.But becausemostofthematerialIpresentinthisbookhasneverinfactbeenread or considered at any length in an academic context, I have chosen for the momenttoprioritizenotselectindividualtalents,individualgenres,historicalprecedents,orothermorenarrowlyfocusedcriticalrubricsbut,rather,the relationshipbetweenthecultureindustriesandtheconsumerthatistheconstitutivedynamicofpopularculture,thecultureofpopularpoetryincluded. In establishing this agenda I follow two other approaches that todays poetrycriticstypicallydonottake.First,ItakeseriouslywhatLaurenBerlantmightcallthesillyobjectofAmericanpoetrytheoftenephemeral, andwhatmanycriticswouldtaketobethebanal,productofmainstream documents and discourses that nevertheless functionsnot as white noise butaspowerfullanguageinrelationtopeopleslives,thelargerculture,and evencanonicalliteraryproduction.38AscriticsrangingfromRolandBarthes to Stuart Hall, Michael Denning, Fredric Jameson, and Sianne Ngai have revealed, the silly, easily overlooked objects of everyday life can be sites of intense ideological coding and negotiation as well as aesthetic activity or innovation.39 Following Berlant, I want to reveal, beyond the established criticalmotifofelitism,thecomplexitiesofpopularandcommercialpoetries asaformofpowerfullanguagethatdemandscriticalscrutiny.Second,Ido notprivilegethelittlemagazineandwhatBobBrownin1931calledtheantiquated,word-dribblingbookastheprimaryorevenmostimportantsitesof twentieth-centurypoeticproduction,distribution,andstudy.40Mostpopularpoetrydidnotanddoesnotcirculateinlittlemagazinesandtraditional codices,andlimitingastudyofpopularverseevenpoetryingeneralto thosemediaincompletelyassessesitbyameasurebestsuitedforthestudy ofotheritems,likedimeorromancenovels.InVerseandPopularPoetry, their1988contributiontoM.ThomasIngesHandbook of American Popular Culture,JaniceRadwayandPerryFranklimittheirdiscussionofbest-selling poetrytosinglevolumes,forexample,andthusdeterminethatthemost popularverseofthetwentiethcenturywasKhalilGibransThe Prophet,which soldoverthreemillioncopiesanumberthatnotonlypalesincomparison tobest-sellingprosevolumesofthetimebutthatgivesthemistakenimpres-

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sionthatpoetrywasnotaspopular,prevalent,orprofitableasotherliterary genresinAmericanlife.Inapplyingaunitofprosemeasurementtothegenre of poetry, Radway and Frank disregard phenomena like Guests Free Press newspaperfeaturethatwassyndicatedto300papersacrosstheUnitedStates andthuspossiblyreachedGibran-likedistributionfigureseverysingleday; theysimilarlyoverlookthepoetryradioshowsofthe1920sand1930sthat,in theirnationalbroadcasts,likelyexceededGibransaudienceaswellorelse expandeditbyhavingsectionsofThe Prophetreadonair.41Myapproachin thisbookhasbeentotrackpoetryinmultiplemediaclippings,scrapbooks, radio, billboards, promotional booklets, mass-market periodicals, newspapers,andgreetingcards,aswellasthebookandthelittlemagazineinorder tounderstandandthusbettergaugethenatureandextentofpoetrysembeddednessinAmericanlife. Whilethefollowingchaptersallengagemyfourmajorthemes,theydoso indifferentwayssoastoassessthecultureofpopularpoetryitsproducers, consumers, texts, media networks, and influencesfrom multiple vantage points and thus provide a more complete picture of its landscape. I begin withastudyofpoetryscrapbookspersonallyassembledverseanthologies that extended Renaissance and Enlightenment practices of commonplace bookkeepingintothemoderneraofmasscommunicationnotjustbecause they offer a glimpse into the lived literary landscape of modern America (whatpoetrypeopleread,wheretheygotit,howtheyreadit,andsoon),but alsobecausetheymateriallymanifesthow,asMicheldeCerteauhasputit, theactivityofreadinghas...allthecharacteristicsofasilentproduction.42 Assomeofthefirstdocumentsofpopularcultureinthehistoricalrecord, theyofferaportraitofordinaryreadersasacreative,engaged,discerning,and evensubversivespecies-in-formationthat,inmigratinganddevouringits waythroughthepasturesofthemedia,43repurposesandthustransformsthe materialsofmasscultureintoindividualizedandoften(soIfind)movingand sophisticatedcompositionsandartifacts. BetweentheCivilWarandWorldWarIIAmericansregularlymadeand maintained poetry scrapbooks, as rising literacy rates, increasing tides of print,theexpansionofthepubliceducationsystem,andthedevelopmentof middlebrowAmericafueledacut-and-pasteculturethathelpedlaythefoundationformanyofthecommunicationpracticeswevecometoassociatewith popular culture and modern media more generally. By focusing on poetry readerswhosecollectionshavenotbeenpreservedbylibrariesorarchivesI

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have purchased more than 150 orphaned collections on eBay over the past halfdecadethat,inaggregate,formanarchiveofthepracticeattheheightof itspopularityIwanttodepictthecuttingandpastingofthesealbumsnot onlyasavernacularcompaniontoliteraryormodernistactsofbricolageand collagebutalsoasamethodofthinkingthatpeopleusedtoprocess,articulate,andremaketheirlifeexperiences.Whilethereisnotenoughspaceinthis bookformetospotlighteachofthealbumsIvecollected,Iofferasmany specificexamplesaspossiblewhilestillspeculatingonsomeofthekeyissues theybringtolightasadiversebutnonethelessrelativelycoherentgenre.In theirmethodsofcuttingandpasting,forexample,theyrevealasagroupa widespreadculturalsensethatliterarypropertyownershipdidnotfunctionin relationtopoetryinthesamewaythatitdidtoprosereaderscutoffcopyrightnotices,authorbylines,andpublicationinformationandformedalternatebibliographicsystemsbasedonhowpoemswereusedratherthanwho wroteorpublishedthemandthuspoetrybecame,overtime,arepository ormagnetforothervalues(suchaslove,patriotism,religion,friendship,and soon)thatwereincompletelycapitalizedaswell.Atthesametimethatthey harbored and sustained what were sometimes fugitive discourses, though, poetryscrapbooksalsoschooledreadersintheacquisitionandmaintenance ofprivateproperty,sothatifthealbumscompositionalfreedomsandvariousdiscursiveregistersofferedopportunitiestokeepalivealternativevalue systems,thenthepracticeitselfoftenservedasatraininggroundfortheconstructionandpreservationofAmericanbourgeoisidentities. Producedbythedramaofconsentandresistancethat,inHallsformulation,constitutespopularculture,poetryscrapbookstookmanyshapesand forms, were compiled by individuals and groups, by men and women, by adults and children, and by people of different races and immigrant backgrounds.AsdeCerteausuggests,wecanreadthesecompositionsasatype ofliteraryproduction,orwriting,andIbeginchapter1byexaminingtwo albumsassembledinthe1920sonebyDorisAshleyofNewBedford,Massachusetts,andtheotherbyMyrtleEckertofSkykomish,Washington.Ifind both collections to be rich, deeply expressive texts, and I juxtapose them herenottoendorseoneovertheotherbuttoshowhowdifferentlyrichand expressiveindividualalbumscouldbecomeandtogivesomesortofrange forthepolitical,social,andaestheticforcesthatsuchobjectsallowedreaderstoputintoplay.Iconcludethischapterwithadiscussionoftwoscrapbooksaswell:onebyOdellShepard,aPulitzerPrizewinningauthorand