From the 1890's to the High Modernist Mode (Belknap Press S.) - Hardcover

Perkins, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674399412 ISBN 13: 9780674399419

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1976

Synopsis

The first comprehensive history of modern poetry in English from the 1890s to the 1920s, this book embraces an era of enormous creative variety--the formative period during which the Romantic traditions of the past were abandoned or transformed and a major new literature created. By the end of the period covered, "The Waste Land," Lawrence's "Birds, Beasts and Flowers," Stevens' "Harmonium," and Pound's "Draft of XVI Cantos" had been published, and the first post-Eliot generation of poets was beginning to emerge.More than a hundred poets are treated in this volume, and many more are noticed in passing. Mr. Perkins discusses each poet and type of poetry with keen critical appreciation. He traces opposed and evolving assumptions about poetry, and considers the effects on poetry of its changing audiences, of premises and procedures in literary criticism, of the publishing outlets poets could hope to use, and the interrelations of poetry with developments in the other arts--the novel, painting, film, music--as well as in social, political, and intellectual life. The poetry of the United States and that of the British Isles are seen in interplay rather than separately.This book is an important contribution to the understanding of modern literature. At the same time, it throws new light on the cultural history of both America and Britain in the twentieth century.

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Review:

Mr. Perkins has shouldered his burden with daring and carried it with poise...We must be grateful to him for this strong first volume of a two-volume study that, when completed, will be the only one of its kind and should prove itself indispensable.--Richard Ellmann "New York Review of Books "

From the Back Cover:

Embracing an exciting era of poetic ferment, this book traces the modern movement from its beginnings to its vital prime.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1976
• ISBN 10: 0674399412
• ISBN 13: 9780674399419
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 639