“James Schuyler’s Perspicuity”

6th March 2026, 4pm, G.01, 50 George Square

Eric Lindstrom, Vermont

elindstr@uvm.edu

Abstract

Introducing the American poet James Schuyler at his first-ever public reading, in 1988, Schuyler’s friend John Ashbery marveled that “He makes sense, dammit,” thus characterizing Schuyler as a sense-making communicator against the pervasively enigmatic, evasive character found in Ashbery’s own poetry. Ashbery’s introduction also claims Schuyler’s writing is “about as far from Wordsworth as you can get.” One imagines the antipodes of Wordsworth to be avant-garde poetry, but this talk goes the other way in order to wager that there is some resonance and benefit in thinking about aspects of Schuyler’s poetic vision as impossibly pre-romantic. The talk will explore the sense-making, perspicuous qualities of James Schuyler’s attention and writing, using two frames: by closely examining Schuyler’s (most grammatical) manuscript advice found in a 1969 letter to fellow “New York School” poet Kenneth Koch; and by arranging a critical cento of the six qualities that Hugh Blair highlights under Style — Perspicuity and Precision, in his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1. obviousness; 2. critique of the “loose style”; 3. the importance of prepositions; 4. to distinguish versus to separate; 5. critique of obscurity; 6. perspicuity and opacity) with representative passages in Schuyler’s poetry.

Further Reading

James Schuyler, ‘I do not always understand what you say’

Abstract and poem for talk in Word Doc format

6th March 2026, Eric Lindstrom, ‘James Schuyler’s Perspicuity’ / Poetics Research Group by is licensed under a