Paul Metcalf: Collected Works Vol. 1: 1956–1976 (Hardcover)

Author: Paul Metcalf

Publisher: Coffee House Press (1996)

The first of three comprehensive volumes to present the lifetime work of Paul Metcalf, one of the Black Mountain writers.

Published in limited editions throughout his career by small idealistic presses, Metcalf has nonetheless attracted a loyal following, including such fans as Robert Creeley, William Gass, Wendell Berry, and Guy Davenport. His reevaluation of our history, his exploration of our multiethnic roots, and his ecological concerns make his work especially timely as we near the end of the twentieth century.

The comprehensive three-volume collection brings together all of Paul Metcalf’s major work, most of it long out-of-print. Volume I includes the complete texts of his early, formative novel, Will West; his monumental breakthrough, Genoa; the quirky Patagoni; the lyrical Apalache; and perhaps his darkest book, The Middle Passage.

After a brief stint at Harvard University, Metcalf set out to develop his own authentic style. Inspired by the use of varied sources in Ezra Pound’s Cantos and William Carlos Williams’s Paterson; influenced by his lifelong friend, Charles Olson, and studying the work of Josef Albers, whom he met at Black Mountain College, Metcalf began to incorporate historical and cultural matter, fiction, and other documents into his books. The result is an innovative and unique presentation and interpretation of our American heritage, a treasure of the literary community, and an incredibly intense read.