Abstract

Performance without a Net

This article presents a comparative account of modern poetry by comparing the works of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Duncan, Charles Olson and Robert Creeley. Robert Duncan has so far published ten books and his works are far more sensual than Olson's or Creeley's. Though classed with them, the author feels that Duncan seems to be a much more considerable figure than either Olson or Creeley. Olson and Creeley's obsessive--almost exclusive--concern with vocal structure and tonality leads them to exclude from their work any appeal to the eye-or to any other sense for that matter. The author opines that a prolonged bout of reading either one-particularly Olson-is likely to leave the reader feeling that he suffers from an acute case of sensory deprivation.