Writing on the margins: The experimental poetry of Lyn Hejinian, Yang Lian, and Arkadii Dragomoshchenko (China, Russia)

This study assesses macroanalytic theories of global aesthetics that propose a strong correlation between artistic innovation and social, political, economic and technological conditions. The assessment is carried out through substantial new microanalysic research on the social situation, poetry and artistic intentions of Lyn Hejinian, Yang Lian and Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, three experimental poets whose work pushed the boundaries of poetry within their respective countries, the United States, China and the Soviet Union, from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Existing macroanalytic theories predict that these poets should be very different because they worked in contrasting conditions, but the microanalysis shows that there are remarkable points of correlation. The three major characteristics that the poets share are: an interest in lyric poetry as an exploration of consciousness and a closely connected though contradictory interest in language as a self-sufficient medium; the use of difficulty in poetry with an intent that is both utopian and anti-utopian; the production of poetry that was intended to provide an alternative to mainstream poetic discourse, and the association of this poetic experimentation with a way of life that was intended to provide an alternative to mainstream society. These findings undermine prevailing theorizations of the globalization of poetry and thus point to the need for a reconfiguration of theories of global aesthetics.; This study employs an innovative approach that makes significant contributions to research at three levels of analysis. Firstly, it provides in-depth single-author studies of three difficult poets, based on substantial new close readings and statements of poetics in the original languages, and including valuable bibliographical material. Secondly, it presents social-context analysis of the place of experimental poetry in the United States, China and the Soviet Union, based on sociological and historical research. Thirdly, it offers a comparative, contrastive analysis, which calls into question prevailing theorizations of the way experimental poetry is developing in the context of globalization. This inquiry is built around new close readings of two works that are centrally important to the oeuvre of each writer over the period examined: The Guard (1984) and Oxota (1991) by Hejinian; "Nuorilang" (Norlang) (1983) and "Banpo" (1984) by Yang; and "Summa Elegii" (Sum of Elegies) (1986) and "Nasturtsiia kak real'nost'" (Nasturtium as Reality) (1986) by Dragomoshchenko.