Way More West (Penguin Poets) by Edward Dorn

by Ed Dorn

An essential anthology of an innovative American poet Edward Dorn was not only one of America's finest poets but a rare critical intelligence and commentator. He was a student of Charles Olson, who helped him to see the American West as a site for his quest for self-knowledge; at the core of his work is a deep sense of place and the people who occupy it, underpinned by a wry ironic dissent. It was Dorn's comic-epic masterpiece, Gunslinger, which began appearing in 1968 and had already become an underground classic by the time it was published in its entirety in 1974, that established his reputation in the wider world. This new volume brings together poems from Dorn's entire career, including previously uncollected work.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published April 3, 2007

About the author

Edward Merton Dorn was born in Villa Grove, Illinois. He grew up in rural poverty during the Great Depression. He attended a one-room schoolhouse for his first eight grades. He later studied at the University of Illinois and at Black Mountain College (1950-55). At Black Mountain he came into contact with Charles Olson, who greatly influenced his literary worldview and his sense of himself as poet.[citation needed]

Dorn's final examiner at Black Mountain was Robert Creeley, with whom, along with the poet Robert Duncan, Dorn became included as one of a trio of younger poets later associated with Black Mountain and with Charles Olson.

Reviews

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent introduction to Dorn's work, watching him more from lyricism to irony around the American West to laconic anger. I will add that there does seem to be less of later works which is somewhat sad for those who liked his later turn; however, Dorn has a penchant for the brief line like Creeley, the visionary reflections like his teacher Olsen, and yet he is far more humorous even in his anger than either. Some of Dorn's concerns can feel dated now: AIDs and Balkan wars, but his use of the American West and its implied violence seems evergreen.

[Stephanie]

Not for me. Not at this time.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great but somewhat disappointing book. I already have the Four Seasons Collected, and Slinger, and La Jolla, and Lola, and the Abhorrences, and I was hoping to get a bigger selection of the last works, like Westward Haut & the Heresy series. It is possible, of course, that this is all there is of those works, but I doubt it. I saw a video of Dorn reading late in life, where he read from those later works, and was highly interested in reading them for myself. Alas, they are not here in anything resembling full.
There was a discussion on the poetics list some months ago, where some poets were chastising Dorn for his cruel sense of humor (some say homophobic), and for what some deemed a major decline in the quality of his work after Slinger. That may be, but it's hard to judge the work of Dorn, which goes through many changes over the years, and ends up in a very strong way. Chemo Sabe is gorgeous.
It's funny how poets of my generation (& younger) feel the need to justify writing based on preconceived notions of political correctness. Dorn was anything but correct, in fact, he abhorred the practice. A strong political writer, Dorn rejected any hint of running with the crowd. He would step up to defend ideas that he had no truck with otherwise, just because they upset people's ideas of what one "should" believe or say. A true contrarian, Dorn never really fit in with the left, even though he was a revolutionary poet. He identified with the blue collar working class (from which he came) strongly, and took umbrage at students at well-heeled graduate schools and their critical theory-based critiques. Dorn always wrote in a transparent style, though he fucked with grammar relentlessly, he did it in an accessible way.
This selection is pretty good, though, as I already complained, I would have preferred to see more late work in it.
Finally, I have a version of Recollections of Gran Apacheria which isn't falling apart. That alone justifies buying the book.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who've never come across the extraordinary Ed Dorn, this is a fine selection of his work, with sizeable chunks from the early collections, not nearly enough from Gunslinger, and an excellent trawling of his later more overtly political stuff. He's a wonderful writer at any point in his career, moving from a bare hard slightly Snyder-like lyricism to a cold and elegant anger.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first twelve poems in this book are beautiful-- rivery, wide-open,
loose like beat poems but dignified in their weird tyings-together like,
I don't know, Andrew Marvell. Everything else is skippable.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rereading this Dorn collection for the 4th time and I have to say, it never fails to delight, the reader invited into the joke . . .

[Paul Varner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superseded by the massive Collected Poems, but still a valuable edition and far more accessible than the much longer edition.