''Gunslinger'' is the title of a long poem in six parts by
Ed Dorn
Edward Merton Dorn (April 2, 1929 – December 10, 1999, aged 70) was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is '' ''Gunslinger'.
Overview
Dorn was born in Villa Grove, Illinois. ...
.
History
''Book I'' was first published in 1968, ''Book II'' in 1969, ''The Cycle'' ('Book 2 1/2') in 1971, ''The Winterbook'' (Book III) in 1972, ''Bean News'' (''Gunslinger's'' 'secret book') in 1972, and 'Book IIII' as part of the complete ''Slinger'' (minus ''Bean News'') in 1975. ''Gunslinger'' is Dorn's best-known work, and widely considered his most important.
Summary
The gunslinger is a long form political poem about a demigod cowboy, a saloon madam, and a talking horse named
Claude Levi-Strauss Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
, who travel the Southwest in search of
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
.
The conversation stream of the poem is constantly interrupted. Dorn mixes the jargon of drug addicts, Westerners, and others to reflect the jumble of American speech. He seems to intentionally frustrate the reader; syntax is ambiguous, punctuation is sparse, and puns, homonyms, and nonsense words become an integral part of conversation.
Edward Dorn
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References
1968 poems
American poems
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