Jerome Rothenberg, a poet, translator, and anthologist "whose efforts to bring English-language readers into contact with creative traditions far outside the Western establishment--a field he called ethnopoetics--had an enormous impact on world literature and made him a hero to rock musicians like Nick Cave, Jim Morrison and Warren Zevon," died April 21 at age 92, the New York Times reported. Rothenberg presented his ethnopoetics concept in 1967 with the book Technicians of the Sacred: A Range of Poetries From Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, a wide-ranging anthology that introduced readers to ancient Egyptian coronation events, Comanche peyote songs, and Gabonese death rites.
He contended that such work "was just as complex and vibrant as the Western canon, if not more so," the Times wrote, noting that Rothenberg went on to deepen his argument in subsequent books, many of them anthologies in which he wove together different traditions--Jewish mysticism, American Indian, Dada--and then connected and contextualized them with extensive commentary.
Technicians of the Sacred found a place on college literature reading lists and has been reissued, with new material, in two later editions. It became a core text for poets and musicians looking to explore ritual and meaning beyond the conventions of their genres. The Doors lead singer Morrison loved the book so much that he was reportedly buried with a copy. When Zevon moved in with his future wife, Technicians of the Sacred was the only book he brought with him.
"For someone always looking for inspiration, they were an incredible resource," Cave said. "I could look and find ideas that worked beautifully in rock 'n' roll."
Rothenberg published several books of his own poetry, including Poland/1931 (1970), Khurbn (1989), and The Burning Babe (2005). He considered translation and anthologizing as creative acts in themselves, believing his anthologies were not an attempt to create a new canon, but were selections meant to highlight hidden connections among seemingly disparate works. He also insisted on performance as a frequent part of what he called "total translation," and late into his 80s he could be found onstage reading, often in venues far removed from the standard poetry recital.
Rachel Berchten, former University of California Press poetry editor and principal production editor, said, "Jerry gave us poetry from all over the world--the originals in diverse languages, over millennia--showing us continuities and disjunctions, traditions and experiments in a rich weaving together of thought, belief, culture, song, ritual, language itself."
At his death, Rothenberg had more titles on the way. In June, Tzadik Records will release In the Shadow of a Mad King, a recording of his poems about Donald Trump. And in October, the University of California Press is publishing The Serpent and the Fire: Poetries of the Americas From Origins to Present, co-written with Javier Taboada. A 50th anniversary edition of Technicians of the Sacred is available in paperback from University of California Press ($34.95).