Transnationalism in American Poetry

Abstract

The article researches the concept of transnationality on the basis of American theoretical sources and tries to connect it closely to the study of modern and contemporary poetry. Among several challenges of the transnational approach, the concept of the nation is mentioned as an important element, in addition to global connectedness, as is the importance of studying transnational contacts with all involved cultures in mind. Tomaž Šalamun and Charles Simic, two poets who have found success and a positive reception in the other culture, are given as examples of a transnational contact between Slovenia and the U.S. To explain and closely study this contact, the article offers an overview of the characteristics of both poetics, which have made both poets attractive for American or Slovenian critics and readers. Translation, its impossibility and urgency, is mentioned as the central activity that creates transnational moments between cultures.

Keywords

• transnational
• translation
• contemporary poetry
• Charles Simic
• Tomaž Šalamun