Selected Letters

For Charles Olson, letters were not only a daily means of communication with friends but were at the same time a vehicle for exploratory thought. In fact, many of Oslo's finest works, including "Projective Verse" and the "Maxims Poems", were formulated as letters. Oslo's letters are important to an understanding of his definition of the post-modern, and through the play of mind exhibited here we recognise him as one of the vital thinkers of the 20th century.IN this volume, edited and annotated by Ralph Maud, we see Olson at the height of his powers and also at his most human. Nearly 200 letters, selected from a known 3, 000 demonstrates the wide range of Oslo's interests and the depth of his concern for the future. Maud includes letters to friends and loved ones, job and grant applications, letters of recommendation, and Black Mountain College business letters, as well as correspondence illuminating Oslo's poetics. As we read through the letters, which span the years from 1931, when Olson was an undergraduate, to his death in 1970, a fascinating portrait of this complex poet and thinker emerges.