Allen Fisher : reading 'Mummers’ Strut'

Thurston, S

Abstract

In 1995, Allen Fisher published a poem entitled ‘Mummers’ Strut’ in an issue of the magazine West Coast Line, accompanied by a statement of poetics. This essay offers a close reading of the poem by investigating its multiple sources alongside Fisher's poetics.


The principle technique that Fisher employs in this and other works is a form of collage; combining materials taken from other texts, often altering them in the process (a technique Fisher calls re-narration). This altering of the quotations from other texts amounts to what Fisher calls a ‘subversion of collage form’. 'Mummers’ Strut', unlike most of Fisher’s output, includes endnotes which precisely indicate the origins of each part of the poem’s fabric. This provides a rare opportunity for an exact comparison of the materials Fisher has drawn on and their final appearance in the text of the poem. It is hoped that such a comparison will suggest ways in which Fisher’s hypercomplex work can be understood and appreciated as literary art.

• Publication Date: May 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 19, 2010
• Pages: 134-162
• Book Title: The Allen Fisher Companion
• ISBN: 9781848616264
• Keywords: Allen Fisher; Innovative Poetry
• Publisher URL: https://www.shearsman.com/store/Robert-Hampson-and-cris-cheek-An-Allen-Fisher-Companion-p114394171
• Related Public URLs: https://www.shearsman.com/
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