Horgbortomstringbottom - Horgbortomstringbottom - I Am Yours - You Are History

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Putri

Horgbortomstringbottom is a long, chorus-like poem in which Robert Sward frames American fantasy and apocalypse through shifting images rather than expected narrative links. The work moves by arresting visuals, irrational public dialogues, and frantic pop dreams, with a chorus that speaks across contemporary scenarios blending television news and the dream news that follows it. The poem aims to capture the linguistic and incongruity of a “violent, evolutionary state,” sorting broken images to reach lyric relief and a credible, graceful language for its central figure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages88

Reading Time2 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Horgbortomstringbottom

You Are History

Other Works by Robert Sward

aoo ae Horgbortom80StringbottomoursHStOryRobert Sward eoa # HorgbortomstringboitomAm Yours You Are HistoryRobert Sward Robert Sward describes this long,choricpoem as "a recording from other coun-tries and from the context of America it-self of fantasy,song,and apocalypse,fiveyears,not so much of revolution as thefirst rumblings and the feel of things aswe all of us get to or build,by tearingdown or whatever means,that other coun-try.Another country." Like the period it deals with,the poemmoves less by means of expected narra-tive connections than through arrestingimages,irrational public dialogues,andfrantic pop dreams.The chorus,which in-cludes Orphan Annie,Daddy Warbucks,Dick Tracy,Joe Palooka,Mamie Eisen-hower,the Minotaur,and many others,speaks around and to various contempo-rary scenarios that combine televisionnews and the dream news which follows it. Sward's purpose is to get allof the lan-guage and incongruity of what he callsour"violent,evolutionary state"into thepoem.The voices of his chorus do so insongs and speeches that lose none of themad humor and nightmarish terror of theperiod.In sorting through this 'heap ofbroken images'Sward finds another voic-ing—more lyric and more determined—which gives the poem its final direction.Its first task is lyric relief to the world'sdangerous comedy;its last is the uncover-ing of a credible language and a grace-ful gesture for the man at the center ofthe poem. This poem is political in a way that onlypoetry can be,addressing itself with fullattention to images of ourselves that ourculture and our state press into our wak-ing and our dreams and moving,as itcatches its own special language,awayfrom them and toward a surviving personaldeclaration. BS 2 1920 55 # HORGBORTOMSTRINGBOTTOM I AM YOURS YOU ARE HISTORY Other works by Robert Sward- Advertisements,Odyssey Chapbook Number One(1958)Uncle Dog and Other Poems(1962)Kissing the Dancerd Other Poems(1964) Thousand-Year-Old Fiancée d Other Poems(1965) The Pornographic Sociological Novel(1970)in collaborationwith Judith Sward # HORGBORTOM STRINGBOTTOMI AM YOURS YOU ARE HISTORY ROBERT SWARD THE SWALLOW PRESS INC. CHICAGO Copyright 1970 by Robert SwardAll rights reservedPrinted in the United States of America Published by The Swallow Press Incorporated1139 South Wabash AvenueChicago,Illinois 60605 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 77-11029 For Judith,that her hands make countries

FAQs

What style and structure does the poem use to progress?

The poem moves less through expected narrative connections and more through arresting images, irrational public dialogues, and frantic pop dreams.

What is the chorus made of, and what does it address?

The chorus includes figures like Orphan Annie, Daddy Warbucks, Dick Tracy, Joe Palooka, and others, speaking around and to contemporary scenarios mixing television news with “dream news.”

What is Robert Sward’s purpose in writing this poem?

His purpose is to carry the language and incongruity of what he calls a “violent, evolutionary state” into the poem, using chorus voices that preserve both dark humor and nightmarish terror.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Putri