Wallace Stevens & the feminine

"This collection of ten essays by scholars of Wallace Stevens and modernism explores various aspects of the feminine in Stevens' writings and his life. Together, the essays demonstrate how a focus on gender provides new insights into Stevens' poetry and life and new perspectives on the nature of language and poetic voice, the social and cultural shaping of American poetry, and the viability of current critical debates." "Wallace Stevens and the Feminine is divided into two parts. The essays in the first section, "Texts," concentrate on the centrality of the feminine in Stevens' poetry and his search for poetic expression, while those in the second section, "Contexts," explore aspects of the feminine in Stevens' relationship to religion and politics, the intersections between Stevens and contemporary female poets, and the impact of sociocultural conceptions of gender roles on the poet and his art." "In addition to the editor, contributors include Mary B. Arensberg, Jacqueline Vaught Brogan, Barbara M. Fisher, Celeste Goodridge, Paul Morrison, Daniel T. O'Hara, Rosamond Rosenmeier, Lisa M. Steinman, and C. Roland Wagner. Far from representing any type of consensus on Stevens or on gender issues, the essays in this collection make up a lively conversation and offer a wide range of critical styles and approaches. Their inquiries and analyses provide an introduction to the many directions possible in gender studies and offer genuine contributions to literary criticism, cultural studies, and to Stevens scholarship as a whole."--BOOK JACKET.