“Undisturbed By Colors”: Photorealism and Narrative Bioethics in the Poetry of William Carlos Williams

Abstract

Between 1917 and 1935, William Carlos Williams' poetic style shifted from a focus on color to a verbal grayscale of photorealism. Considering this shift alongside of the historical connection between photography and eugenics raises questions about Williams' status as a physician during an era when medical discourse was dominated by theories of scientific racism. While one might conclude that Williams move from color to grayscale represents a capitulation to public health anxieties regarding the pathologized bodies of the immigrant poor, I argue that it is precisely through his adoption of black-and-white photorealism that Williams overturns hereditary notions of degeneracy.