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

  • Lila Matsumoto University of Edinburgh

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.
Published
12-Dec-2012
How to Cite
Matsumoto, Lila. 2012. “Imitation, Repetition, Tradition: Some Reflections on the Poetry of Ian Hamilton Finlay”. FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture & The Arts, no. 15 (December), 1 - 11. https://forumjournal.org/article/view/530.
Issue
No 15 (2012): Imitation and Repetition
Section
Articles

Creative Commons License
This is an Open Access journal. All material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence, unless otherwise stated.
Please read our Open Access, Copyright and Permissions policies for more information.