Spicer and His Critical Reception: A Review of Daniel Katz’s The Poetry of Jack Spicer

Daniel Katz’s The Poetry of Jack Spicer, the first single-author study of the Berkeley Renaissance poet, proceeds chronologically from Spicer’s early lyric “one night stands” to his mature “serial poetry,” discussing key motifs for all Spicer’s poetry. Katz uses biographical study, book history, close reading, literary theory and queer studies to position this previously little-known figure at the center of twentieth century American poetics.