Imitation, Repetition, Tradition: Some Reflections on the Poetry of Ian Hamilton Finlay

Authors

  • Lila Matsumoto University of Edinburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2218/forum.15.530

Abstract

This paper examines a selection of Finlay’s concrete poetry which uses imitation and repetition as both method and raw material. I suggest that the poems’ evident pastiche of particular works and iteration of word units create a context whereby a pattern of human behaviour unfolds in whimsical and startling ways.

Author Biography

  • Lila Matsumoto, University of Edinburgh
    Lila Matsumoto is a final year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. Her dissertation explores two poetry magazines, Gael Turnbull’s Migrant and Ian Hamilton Finlay’s Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. Broader interests include modernist Scottish literature, Scottish literary history, and modern and contemporary poetry. Lila also publishes an arts and poetry magazine, SCREE.

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Published

12-Dec-2012

Issue

No. 15 (2012): Imitation and Repetition

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License
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How to Cite

“Imitation, Repetition, Tradition: Some Reflections on the Poetry of Ian Hamilton Finlay”. 2012. FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture & The Arts, no. 15 (December): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.2218/forum.15.530.