Founded in 1933 near Asheville, North Carolina, Black Mountain College fostered experimentation and interdisciplinary learning, placing the arts, including poetry, at the heart of its curriculum. As such, the college was home to and served as inspiration for many modern American poets. Some, including Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, and Edward Dorn, appeared in Donald Allens groundbreaking New American Poetry anthology, published in 1960, later becoming part of part of the American poetry canon. However, many of the Black Mountain College school of writers have been overlooked. The Anthology of Black Mountain College Poetry features over fifty poets selected with an expansive critical lens, including works written by artists not typically seen as poets, including composer John Cage, architect Buckminster Fuller, and visual artist Josef Albers. Many years in the making, this book paints the clearest picture of the poetry and poets of Black Mountain College yet.
Blake Hobby is former executive editor of Black Mountain College Studies.
Alessandro Porco is associate professor of English at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Joseph Bathanti is McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education at Appalachian State University.
"Well thought-out, the selections in this anthology beautifully introduce readers to this special college and to poets deserving of high praise and appreciation."—Library Journal, starred review
"This anthology brings together an inspiring range of poetries, a monumental feat that showcases the ripple effect still felt today, over ninety years later. This poetry archive is of major historical significance. Kudos to the editors, their impressive teamwork, and the resources this tome brings to fans and scholars everywhere."—Anne Waldman, author of over sixty books, cofounder of the Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and Distinguished Professor of Poetics at Naropa University.
"Finally, we have the Black Mountain poets—a diverse community of potters, painters, scientists, homemakers, scholars, and prose writers—whose poems pay tribute to the unique learning community that nurtured the creative spirit of its fortunate inhabitants. Hobby, Porco, and Bathanti have opened the field and shuffled the deck. I eagerly await the new thinking that inevitably will follow." —Mary Emma Harris, author of The Arts at Black Mountain College
“Like the experimental college whose poetic heritage it documents, this collection is a marvel, literally the best presentation of any literary phenomenon we have had in the United States. Nothing half so meticulous exists for the Beats, the New York School, the Spicer Circle, or the San Francisco Renaissance. Not just the famous names, but short-term faculty, students, affiliates, and visitors as well. This book raises the bar for everyone.”—Ron Silliman, author of The Alphabet
"This long-awaited Anthology of Black Mountain College Poetry expands our awareness of what constitutes that seminal time and place. Here we get essential takes: Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, John Wieners, Paul Blackburn—plus others farther afield: Cage, Fuller, Goodman, Eigner, Levertov—and Josef Alberss elegant epigrams. Kudos to Editors Hobby, Porco, and Bathanti for deepening the field. Copious annotation adds to the pleasurable dive."—Vincent Katz, editor of Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art
