mythopoetry.com Book Reviews

Reviews of Poetry Books

In literary contexts, mythopoetics refers to the reprocessing of older material. The late mythologist, Joseph Campbell felt that much "mythology" is not archetypal, but is stereotypical, i.e., that it is one-sided, and that it is a conservative statement in the sense that it re-inscribes the status quo ideology of the dominant myths of a culture (as in white, Christian, patriarchial, northern Euro-American, classicism, etc..)

"Mythopoieses," on the other hand, re-appropriates, re-tells, re-vises the old stories, ironically with new creative and revolutionary twists, so that openings can be made for new meanings to appear.

The poetic understanding here reveals that stories or myths must continually be re-told (as opposed to being repeated), poieses rather than mimesis, for the sake of oppressed (social kinds) and repressed (psychological kinds) of meanings. Such re-telling alerts folk to shadow sides, nuances and overtones. Furthermore, the sense for the value to a culture of mythopoetic expression is by no means in accord. Roland Barthes will say that, because mythology authorizes the dominant ideology, it should be thrown out (this also means, not studied.)

Harry Slochower, who first uses the term in Mythopoesis: Mythic Forms In Literary Classics [1970] doesn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, precisely because it is dangerous! This is also Campbell's point about Hitler's use of the Grimm Brothers. Slochower, like Campbell, suggests mythology, through the techne of the artist, must be studied and must be revised against its own narrowness. Since this is Guggenbuhl-Craig's point, it seems the poet-artist plays an important role in striking a depth tone of metaphor shaping any culture and genuine cultural renewal. The poetry book reviews published to mythopoetry.com honor such archetypal, depth perspective and examine and review new poetry volumes from a mythopoetic point of view.* If you wish to reprint any or part of one or more of these reviews, please contact this site for copyright stipulations.

* This view of the various postions regarding mythopoetic perspectives is developed from a series of e-mail correspondences with Dr. David L. Miller.