Other Influences: An Untold History of Feminist Avant-Garde Poetry

ed. Jennifer Firestone & Marcella Durand

Other Influences frames a new literary history in which feminist, avant-garde, and poetry practices intersect, foregrounding critically neglected but artistically powerful lineages in twentieth- and twenty-first-century North American poetry. In this collection, Marcella Durand and Jennifer Firestone assemble original essays by a range of leading contemporary feminist avant-garde poets asked to consider their lineages, inspirations, and influences. Their reflections contain many surprises, with writers citing scientists, artists, and little-known feminist writers from other eras and traditions; for example, Tracie Morris discusses the Gee's Bend quilters, Carla Harryman writes about her collaboration with Lyn Hejinian, and Cecilia Vicuña cites the Tao Te Ching.