American originality : essays on poetry A luminous collection of essays from one of our most original and influential poets. Five decades after her debut poetry collection Firstborn Louise Glück is a towering figure in American letters. Written with the same probing analytic control that has long distinguished her poetry American Originality is Glücks second book of essays her first Proofs and Theories won the 1993 PEN Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction. Glücks moving and disabusing lyricism is on full display in this decisive new collection. From its opening pages American Originality forces readers to consider contemporary poetry and its demigods in radical unconsoling and ultimately very productive ways. Determined to wrest ample often contradictory meaning from our current literary discourse Glück comprehends and destabilizes notions of narcissism and genius that are unique to the American literary climate. This includes erudite analyses of the poets who have interested her throughout her own career such as Rilke Pinsky Chiasson and Dobyns and introductions to the first books of poets like Dana Levin Peter Streckfus Spencer Reece and Richard Siken. Forceful revealing challenging and instructive American Originality is a seminal critical achievement