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Vagueness, poetry

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posted on 2023-06-08, 08:32 authored by Keston SutherlandKeston Sutherland
An experiment in improvisatory critical theory, this article seeks to reconceptualise the relation in aesthetic thinking between "precision" and "vagueness" from the point of view of a practising poet. It asks whether the value of precision in literary art might not be newly questionable in a world where precision bombing is the greatest weapon in the arsenal of imperialism. The article traces the history of aesthetic and philosophical defenses of precision, and dismissals of vagueness, from Ezra Pound's insistence on "le mot juste" through Bertrand Russell's denial that vagueness has any existence outside cognitive error, to poetic writing of the contemporary moment. The article asks how trustworthy might be my subjective confession of "feeling vague" and examines how the ambiguity of that feeling is and might be exploited in poetry.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Northwestern University Press

Page range

175-184

Pages

384.0

Book title

Contemporary poetics

Place of publication

Evanston, Ill

ISBN

9780810123601

Department affiliated with

  • English Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Louis Armand

Legacy Posted Date

2012-07-16

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