The Private Lives of Systems: Rukeyser, Hayden, Middle Passage.

The article examines the social aspects of American art in the post-war period with a focus on the works of poets Muriel Rukeyser and Robert Hayden. The significance of the text and visual image exhibition "Words at War" which was proposed by Rukeyser and held at the New York Public Library (NYPL) on June 18 to August 13, 1943 is mentioned. The politically Left avant-garde art sector's representation of American culture is mentioned. Hayden's poem "Middle Passage" and his connection of literary, poetics, and historical revisionism techniques are discussed. Constructivism in art including photomontage and factography is noted. The appearance of American industrialization in art is noted. The U.S. Works Progress Administration is mentioned.