True to its culture of breaking boundaries and overlapping edges, postmodern art, as well as theory has become a veritable terrain for artistic experimentation and innovation as advocated by Ezra Pound’s phrase “Make it New”. It is definitely in the light of showcasing such novelty that this paper is borne. The paper sets out to discuss postmodern poetics drawing examples from the poems of five authors: Charles Oslon, Frank O’Hara, Allen Ginsberg, John Cage and Robert Duncan. The article basically sets out to answer the question what is postmodern or cyber poetry and what are its defining aesthetics? It also attempts a comparative analysis of postmodernist poetics and the aesthetics of the poets under study. The paper is hinged on the hypothesis that besides unintelligibility and indeterminacy, personism and spontaneity,- the distancing of the author and proceduralism (the self-consciousness of postmodern improvisation), self-reflexivity, and reader engagement are some of the hall marks of postmodern poetry. By debunking grammar and syntax, and emphasizing pastiche and the meaninglessness of their poems; these poets demonstrate that far from organic unity and decorum, postmodern poetry exemplifies playful pluralism and “other” worlds and voices of contemporary postmodern experience. The paper submits that postmodern poets are derivative poets who engage in post-language lyric, and cyber technology as a form of poetics.
| Published in | Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13 |
| Page(s) | 540-547 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Boundaries, Postmodern, Art, Experimentation, Innovation, Pastiche, Proceduralism
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https://studiesinfiction.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/the-politics-of-postmodernis-linda-hutcheon-1989/ |
| [2] | Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” Edited by Hannah Arrent in Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books, (1989), p. 3. |
| [3] | Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations. Trans. Sheila Faria Glaser. Michigan: Ann Arbor University of Michigan Press, (2010). p 160. |
| [4] | Ekindesone, E. N & Lem A. Understanding the Post in Postmodern American Poetry. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Review. Vol 8, Issue 1 January – February,(2025), pp 193-200. ISSN 2582-0176 |
| [5] | Nemoianu, Virgil. Postmodernism & Cultural Identities: Conflicts and Coexistences. Washington DC: The Catholic University of America Press,(2010) pp 11. |
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Jameson, Frederick. Postmodernism or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham: Duke UP,(1991). P 53.
https://web.education.wisc.edu/halverson/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2012/12/jameson.pdf |
| [7] | Hirsch, Jr E. D. The Aim of Interpretation. Chicago/London: The University of Chicago, (1976). p 7. |
| [8] | Brands, H. Williams. American Dreams: The United States Since 1945. New York: Penguin Press. (2010), pp 253- 254. |
| [9] | Hoover, Paul, (Ed). Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology 2nd Edition. New York/ London: W. W Norton and Company,(2013), pp 4-7, 21-22, 22-28, 34, 105, 116, 869. |
APA Style
Ekindesone, N. E. (2025). Indeterminacy and Personism in Postmodern American Poetry: A Study of Selected Meaningless Poets. Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(6), 540-547. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13
ACS Style
Ekindesone, N. E. Indeterminacy and Personism in Postmodern American Poetry: A Study of Selected Meaningless Poets. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(6), 540-547. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13,
author = {Njume Emmanuel Ekindesone},
title = {Indeterminacy and Personism in Postmodern American Poetry: A Study of Selected Meaningless Poets
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journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
volume = {13},
number = {6},
pages = {540-547},
doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251306.13},
abstract = {True to its culture of breaking boundaries and overlapping edges, postmodern art, as well as theory has become a veritable terrain for artistic experimentation and innovation as advocated by Ezra Pound’s phrase “Make it New”. It is definitely in the light of showcasing such novelty that this paper is borne. The paper sets out to discuss postmodern poetics drawing examples from the poems of five authors: Charles Oslon, Frank O’Hara, Allen Ginsberg, John Cage and Robert Duncan. The article basically sets out to answer the question what is postmodern or cyber poetry and what are its defining aesthetics? It also attempts a comparative analysis of postmodernist poetics and the aesthetics of the poets under study. The paper is hinged on the hypothesis that besides unintelligibility and indeterminacy, personism and spontaneity,- the distancing of the author and proceduralism (the self-consciousness of postmodern improvisation), self-reflexivity, and reader engagement are some of the hall marks of postmodern poetry. By debunking grammar and syntax, and emphasizing pastiche and the meaninglessness of their poems; these poets demonstrate that far from organic unity and decorum, postmodern poetry exemplifies playful pluralism and “other” worlds and voices of contemporary postmodern experience. The paper submits that postmodern poets are derivative poets who engage in post-language lyric, and cyber technology as a form of poetics.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Indeterminacy and Personism in Postmodern American Poetry: A Study of Selected Meaningless Poets AU - Njume Emmanuel Ekindesone Y1 - 2025/11/26 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13 DO - 10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13 T2 - Humanities and Social Sciences JF - Humanities and Social Sciences JO - Humanities and Social Sciences SP - 540 EP - 547 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8184 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251306.13 AB - True to its culture of breaking boundaries and overlapping edges, postmodern art, as well as theory has become a veritable terrain for artistic experimentation and innovation as advocated by Ezra Pound’s phrase “Make it New”. It is definitely in the light of showcasing such novelty that this paper is borne. The paper sets out to discuss postmodern poetics drawing examples from the poems of five authors: Charles Oslon, Frank O’Hara, Allen Ginsberg, John Cage and Robert Duncan. The article basically sets out to answer the question what is postmodern or cyber poetry and what are its defining aesthetics? It also attempts a comparative analysis of postmodernist poetics and the aesthetics of the poets under study. The paper is hinged on the hypothesis that besides unintelligibility and indeterminacy, personism and spontaneity,- the distancing of the author and proceduralism (the self-consciousness of postmodern improvisation), self-reflexivity, and reader engagement are some of the hall marks of postmodern poetry. By debunking grammar and syntax, and emphasizing pastiche and the meaninglessness of their poems; these poets demonstrate that far from organic unity and decorum, postmodern poetry exemplifies playful pluralism and “other” worlds and voices of contemporary postmodern experience. The paper submits that postmodern poets are derivative poets who engage in post-language lyric, and cyber technology as a form of poetics. VL - 13 IS - 6 ER -
Department of English and Cultural Studies, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
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