Charles Olson’s Poetical Economy

Charles Olson’s Poetical Economy

The phrase “poetical economy” in the title above intends to bring the contexts of political economy and the process of poetic production together, and this article aims at explicating the interaction between these two fields in Charles Olson’s work, particularly in The Maximus Poems. Within this framework, Olson’s work is not just a case in point which we can replace with any other poet’s work; but for Olson, as I attempt to show, principles that govern poetic activity and economic life are closely interrelated.

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