STAND-UP POETRY AND AVANT-GARDE COMEDY: THE DEMOCRATIC-AESTHETIC METHODS OF U.S. POETRY AND COMEDY, 1930-2011

Author

• Sarah Worland, University of New Mexico - Main CampusFollow

Publication Date

Spring 5-16-2026

Abstract

This dissertation explores the democratic-aesthetic methods deployed by select formally-active poetry and stand-up comedy produced between 1930 and 2011 in the United States. I survey how poetry and comedy move together throughout the 20th century in the U.S., leveling high and low art to create and reach new public audiences. Through John Dewey’s theories of democracy, art, and public life, I develop terms like democratic-aesthetic methods and aesthetically-charged thinking as essential tools for the maintenance of democracy in the U.S. At a time when our democracy is consistently and persistently threatened, the works of David Antin and Lenny Bruce, Louis Zukofsky and Sid Caesar, Edward Dorn and Richard Pryor, and Charles Bernstein and Groucho Marx provide a framework for deploying aesthetically-inclined practices to support an associated and connected way of living that breaks down barriers. This positions democracy as far more than simply a form of government.

Degree Name

English

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

English

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Matthew Hofer

Second Committee Member

Dr. Marissa Greenberg

Third Committee Member

Dr. Scarlett Higgins

Fourth Committee Member

Charles Bernstein

Language

English

Keywords

poetry, stand-up comedy, experimental poetry, democracy, aesthetics, public life

Document Type

Dissertation

Recommended Citation

Worland, Sarah. "STAND-UP POETRY AND AVANT-GARDE COMEDY: THE DEMOCRATIC-AESTHETIC METHODS OF U.S. POETRY AND COMEDY, 1930-2011." (2026). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/466