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Assistant Professor Analyzes Mexico in Poems by American Writers |
| By
Megan Mangano |
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May 26, 2004 |
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| Dr. Glenn Sheldon posed for a photo with his book, South of Our Selves: Mexico in the Poems of Williams, Kerouac, Corso, Ginsberg, Levertov and Hayden. |
What started out as a daunting dissertation turned out to be the first published book for one UT faculty member. South of Our Selves: Mexico in the Poems of Williams, Kerouac, Corso, Ginsberg, Levertov and Hayden by Dr. Glenn Sheldon, assistant professor of interdisciplinary and special programs in University College, was released in April by McFarland & Co. Inc. Publishers.
The book examines the works of six American poets — William Carlos Williams, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Denise Levertov and Roberta Hayden, who visited Mexico in the 1950s. While there, the poets were able to interact with Mexican culture and write about their experiences both as foreigners and as Americans. Their experiences in Mexico inspired them to use a variety of voices in their poetry, a style that was not found in American literary society in the ’50s.
Sheldon’s study compares and contrasts the poets in terms of class, race, sexual orientation and gender. Each chapter examines both the author and the poetry, including such selections as Williams’ “The Desert Music,” Kerouac’s “Mexico City Blues,” Corso’s “Mexican Impressions,” Ginsberg’s “Siesta in Xbalba,” Levertov’s “Tomatlan” and Hayden’s “An Inference of Mexico.”
Sheldon began writing the book in 1997 as part of his doctoral dissertation. “After the process was completed, I put it away and didn’t want to look at it ever again,” he said.
That was the case until two years ago when an editor approached Sheldon at a conference and asked if he had any critical monographs regarding his research on food and eating in U.S. culture. “On food I didn’t, but I told him about this book. He read it for his publishing company, McFarland & Co., an independent scholarly press that selects only about 15 percent of submitted works annually,” Sheldon said. “After it was selected for publication, I began an intensive yearlong revision of the manuscript, not to mention the additional months of research, editing, proofreading, etc.”
Two of Sheldon’s favorite poems featured in the book are Williams’ “The Desert Music” and Hayden’s “Day of the Dead (Tehuantepec).” “I like them because they are both poems full of myriad voices and perceptions, which their narrators facilitate but do not necessarily control,” Sheldon said. “Both of them are like overhearing several lively conversations taking place simultaneously at a festive event.”
Sheldon hopes people will appreciate his point of view. “I say some things that have never or rarely been stated before, particularly about racism and the Beats. I hope it provokes discussion about all the poets I discuss and that it will flush out how we think about our neighbor to the South,” he said. “It has important points and it adds my unique voice to the literary conversation.”
When asked about how it felt to finally have the book in print, Sheldon said, “The book, completed and printed, represents the completion of scholarly toil. It’s as if I’ve been holding my breath, and now, finally, I can breath.”
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