Mountain Review, a journal to which Levertov
occasionally contributed. The major influence of
this school was to redefine poetic structure from
being based on meter to being based simultane-
ously on ordinary speech (so that one line would
equal the number or words that could be spoken
between breaths) and on content (so that each
line would contain a new idea that would lead to
the new idea of the next line). Many poets of this
group were interested in the esoteric use of reli-
gious and mythic tradition; these forms find
expression in Levertov’s work. However, Lever-
tov, though closely associated with many of
these poets (especially Duncan), never taught at
Black Mountain and always denied simple iden-
tification with its movement.
Vietnam War Protests
The Vietnam War was a major preoccupation of
the youth culture of the 1960s, whose protests
against it caused the occasional disruption of
university life. Such protests also directly
impacted the national political process, as in
the case of the riots associated with the 1968
Democratic National Convention in Chicago,
Illinois. The protest movement certainly contrib-
uted to President Richard M. Nixon’s decision
to work toward a diplomatic solution to the war.
Levertov and especially her husband, Mitchell
Goodman, were leading voices of antiwar pro-
test. Goodman organized illegal protests that
included acts such as the destruction of draft
cards, such as in the notorious incident for
which other leaders (including the famous pedia-
trician Dr. Benjamin Spock) were arrested and
tried, becoming known as the ‘‘Boston Five.’’
Levertov herself frequently spoke and read her
antiwar poetry at rallies. Levertov’s friend and
fellow poet Robert Duncan suggested in a letterCOMPARE
&
CONTRAST Heroic Age:In the Heroic Age of Greek
myth, miracles of transformation, such as
language and song causing trees to move,
are commonplace.
1960s:The youth culture embraced by Lev-
ertov believes in the individual’s power to
transform the self, such as in seeking enlight-
enment, and in the movement’s power to
transform society.
Today:A dominant paradigm within intel-
lectual, academic thought holds that the
meaning of language is not fixed but is shift-
ing and fluid, whereby the reader of a text,
rather than its author, creates meaning
through a process of transformation.
Heroic Age:Orpheus represents a shamanic
form of religion in which the religious lead-
er’s soul gains power and effects change by
journeying outside his body, for example to
the underworld.
1960s:The countervailing youth culture tries
to find new meaning in mystical practicessuch as meditation and in simulated mysti-
cism through the use of hallucinogenic drugs
such as LSD.
Today:The idea of voyage of the soul out-
side the body is not a central theme in pop-
ular culture but is generally limited to small
subcultures such as the New Age.
Heroic Age:The classical tradition is in the
process of formation, including the creation
of a vibrant tradition of poetry.
1960s:Once an unquestioned underpinning
of Western culture, the classical tradition of
Greek and Roman art and letters is chal-
lenged by the countervailing youth culture.
Classical forms of poetry and dependence on
classical sources are viewed as decadent and
are rejected or put to ends subversive of
tradition.
Today:The classical tradition is waning as
an influence on popular culture, and poetry
is no longer as popular a form as it once was.A Tree Telling of Orpheus