Tell Me Whom You Haunt, and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: The Renewal of the Avant-Garde in Poetry by John Ashbery and Lyn Hejinian

Abstract

What does it mean to be avant-garde? Is there such a thing as a neo-avant-garde after the historical movements of Dada and Surrealism, or is the term obsolete? This thesis challenges earlier definitions of the avant-garde, which solely emphasizes those movement's protest gestures. Consequently, it argues for expanding that definition to include concerns for style, technique, and aesthetics. The focus of this paper is exclusively on American poetry and accordingly engages with the poetry of John Ashbery and Lyn Hejinian. Through a discussion around the nature of the avant-garde, the thesis brings in the poetic theories of Marjorie Perloff and Victor Shklovsky, along with the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, to shed some light on the ways in which these poets require readers to alter their engagement with poetry. Along the way, the thesis has a running comparison with the historical avant-garde Surrealism and its often-called leader André Breton to uncover the ways in which the poets carry on and adapt avant-garde procedures. Lastly, this thesis investigates the friction between the past and the present in the poetry through Derrida's philosophy and the related concepts of hauntology.