Joseph Pizza, Belmont Abbey College
Vol. 42, No. 2 (Fall 2023), 235-255

This essay situates the poetry and poetics of Beat writer Diane di Prima in the context of mid-century approaches to voice and breath, locating her writing within then-contemporary debates concerning the application of projective verse and other emerging poetics of the period. It explores the significance of gender in her adoption of these approaches amidst a predominantly male subculture, employing Adriana Cavarero’s feminist perspectives on the materiality of voice and the centrality of the body. In addition, di Prima’s writing is read alongside insights from Hannah Arendt, Judith Butler, Lauren Berlant, Charles Olson, and Allen Ginsberg. This article provides a significant reconsideration of di Prima’s overlooked contribution to the movement known subsequently as the New American Poetry. Indeed, her application of the New American poetics of breath and voice effectively revises masculinist notions of poetic composition while also critiquing the chauvinism evident within this otherwise progressive subculture. Ultimately, the essay attempts to augment our understanding of contemporary literature by restoring di Prima’s place at the vanguard of New American poetic innovation.