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Jerome Rothenberg

ジェローム・ローテンバーグ

Jerome Rothenberg

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-12-11 （New York City）
Died
2024-04-21 （Encinitas, California） age 92
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
New York City (born and lived until 1972) → Allegany Seneca Reservation (circa 1972) → San Diego, California (after moving from New York) → Encinitas, California (later life)

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, anthologist, professor
Active Years
1950-2024
Affiliations
State University of New York, Binghamton (faculty), University of California, San Diego (professor, visual arts & literature)
Influenced By
Dennis Tedlock, George Quasha, David Antin
Influenced
Charles Bernstein, Pierre Joris, later experimental poets

Education

City College of New York
Faculty of Arts / Department of English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1948–1952
Year of Graduation: 1952
Country: United States
Received B.A.
University of Michigan
Graduate School (Literature) / Comparative/English Literature
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1952–1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United States
Received M.A. in Literature
Columbia University
Graduate studies / English/Comparative Literature
Period: 1955–1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: United States
Completed further graduate study (degree not specified)

Awards

PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award
2018
Work: Technicians of the Sacred (50th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Organization: PEN Oakland
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

White Sun Black Sun

1960 poetry collection

An early collection showing the beginnings of Rothenberg's experimental poetics.

imagedeep image

Technicians of the Sacred

1968 anthology / ethnopoetics

A landmark anthology collecting poems and ritual texts from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania that helped establish ethnopoetics. A 50th anniversary expanded edition was published in 2017.

ritualoral literaturecomparative poetics
Translations
  • Available in multiple translations including a complete French edition (2008)

Poland/1931

1974 poetry / surrealist cycle

A cycle of poems drawing on Jewish heritage and surrealist influences, exploring poetic form and historical memory.

Jewish heritagememoryhistory
Adaptations
  • [theatricalization] Poland/1931 (stage adaptation)

A Seneca Journal

1978 poetry / journal

Poems and journal writings inspired by Native American (Seneca) themes, reflecting Rothenberg's ethnopoetic concerns.

Native American cultureritualsense of place

That Dada Strain

1983 poetry / dada-influenced

A sequence influenced by Dada and Surrealism, incorporating experimental sound poetry and performance elements.

DadaSurrealismsound poetry
Adaptations
  • [radio/broadcast performance] That Dada Strain (broadcast/performance) / Westdeutscher Rundfunk（関与） (1983)

Bibliography

  • White Sun Black Sun
  • Technicians of the Sacred
  • Poems for the Game of Silence (selected)
  • Poland/1931
  • A Seneca Journal
  • That Dada Strain
  • Poems for the Millennium (co-ed., with Pierre Joris)
  • Poetics & Polemics 1980–2005

Adaptations

  • Stage adaptations and theatricalizations of Poland/1931
  • Broadcast/performance versions of That Dada Strain

Translations by Author

  • Early English translations of Paul Celan
  • Translations of German-language poets including Günter Grass
  • Translations of Federico García Lorca (and others)

Translations of Works

  • Technicians of the Sacred: complete French edition (2008) and other translations in Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental poetryperformance poetryethnopoetic editorial methodcollage/assemblage techniques
Recurring Motifs
Jewish heritage and memoryritual and oral traditionsound and acoustic elementscollage and fragmentation

Legacy

Rothenberg, co-originator of ethnopoetics, had a major impact on contemporary poetry through performance, translation, and anthology-making. His anthologies expanded the scope of poetry and re-evaluated the importance of oral and ritual texts.

In Popular Culture

  • Influence on experimental musicians and performance groups through collaborations

Quotes

  • “The significance of Jerome Rothenberg's animating spirit looms larger every year. … [He] is the ultimate 'hyphenated' poet: critic-anthropologist-editor-anthologist-performer-teacher-translator.”
    Source: Charles Bernstein (quoted in article) (2018)

Trivia

  • Co-founded the approach of ethnopoetics with Dennis Tedlock.
  • Founded Hawk's Well Press and experimental magazines, publishing avant-garde poets.
  • Served in the U.S. Army in Mainz, Germany (1953–1955).
  • Survived by his wife and longtime collaborator Diane; reported to have been married for 71 years.