内容摘要 威廉·卡洛斯·威廉斯是二十世纪美国知名诗人,后现代主义诗歌的鼻祖,擅长以敏锐的感觉和明快的风格描写周遭的事物和生活的经验,继艾略特之后开启了美国新一代的诗风。《帕特森》为威廉斯的代表作,体现了他以一个地方映照整个世界的努力,及开创一种诗歌新局面的雄心,其出版被誉为美国诗坛的“地质事件”,是现代文学的一个重要里程碑。 在《帕特森》中,帕特森既是一个人又是一座城市,威廉斯戏剧性地将两者相融,面对一个充满隔阂和孤独的现代社会,寻找一种弥合和抚慰的新语言。 Paterson is both a place-the New Jersey city in whom the person (the poet's own life) and the public (the history of the region) are combined. Originally four books (published individually between 1946 and 1951), the structure of Paterson (in Dr. Williams' words) "follows the course of teh Passaic River" from above the great falls to its entrance into the sea. The unexpected Book Five, published in 1958, affirms the triumphant life of the imagination, in spite of age and death. This revised edition has been meticulously re-edited by Christopher MacGowan, who has supplied a wealth of notes and explanatory material.