A Hauntological Investigation of the Works of Thomas Meyer

A Hauntological Investigation of the Works of Thomas Meyer: Sun Nailed to Water is a bibliographical study that draws critical and literary-historical attention to the works of the poet Thomas Meyer, situating his writing within postwar ("New American") queer and avant-garde contexts. The book investigates various personal and poetic communities, including Meyer's connections to first- and second-generation "New American" poets; the intertwining of his literary, publishing, and personal relationship with Jonathan Williams; his literary apprenticeships and occasional breaks with senior postwar poets; and Meyer's engagements with and idiosyncratic development of poetic techniques, such as channelling/mediumship, translation, and the use of personae.

Martrich's investigation unfolds through a theoretical engagement with hauntology, addressing and redressing gaps, absences, and "specters" (including those of Jack Spicer, Sappho, and Strato) in both Meyer's work and its literary-critical reception. The study concludes with an annotated bibliographical checklist of Meyer's books from 1971 to 2025, and includes a preface by Peter O'Leary and a coda by Erica Van Horn.

Provides a unique bibliographical and critical study that takes an in depth look at the books of the poet Thomas Meyer Shows how Meyer's works are haunted by recurring specters, informed by possession, or are productions of spectrophilia Looks at how certain hauntological factors have informed Meyer's practice over his 50 plus year career

Autorentext

Andy Martrich is a poet, archivist, small press publisher, and author of occasional books. Recent publications include Shy of the Squirrel's Foot: A Peripheral History of the Jargon Society as Told Through Its Missing Books (2024), and I maginary Libraries of the Nintendo Entertainment System: A Directory (2026). Andy's research focuses on a convergence of the literary avant-garde, repository studies, ephemera, and collecting.

Inhalt

.- Chapter 1. A Space for the Generation of Ghosts.- Chapter 2. Specters of Jack Spicer.- Chapter 3. Alternate Futures.- Chapter 4. Translation's Masks.- Chapter 5: Sun Nailed to Water: A bibliographical checklist of books, chapbooks, and pamphlets.