Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) aptly remarked in An Apology For
Poetry (1580): "Nature never set forth the earth in so rich tapestry as
diverse poets have done, neither with pleasant rivers, fruitful trees,
sweet smelling flowers, nor whatsoever else may make the too much loved
earth more lovely. Her world brazen, the poets only delver a golden." The
Ferment of Images features some of the most distinguished poems by
international authors. Here we find a world of sublime emotions,
psychological depth, complex emotional processes, an extraordinary
awareness of beauty, a highly subtle moral self-examination, and a
spiritual stress. In some of the poems of this volume, we notice something
in common with expressionism and surrealism, Freudism, existentialism, etc.
The innovations and experiments in style of these poets are remarkable, and
reveal "the dramatization of consciousness, the dramatic realization of
mind" (Raymond Williams). There remains much truth in T.S. Eliot's
statement made in 1928: "We must find a new form of verse which shall be as
satisfactory a vehicle for us as blank verse was for the Elizabethans."
I trust that a great number of innovations and new verse forms employed by
the poets selected for The Ferment of Images will inspire other authors to
mould fresh techniques in the framework of postmodern sensibility. The
poets writing during the present times should "weave modern everyday
situations into the framework of an ancient myth and then winnow and deepen
these situations down to the point where, through the transparency of the
naturalistic surface shines the immanent, perennial reality of affective
truths which are valid for all men at all times" (J. Chiari).
The poets included in The Ferment of Images are justly distinguished by an
apt felicity of style, descriptive power, and images exploring reality. The
Ferment of Images features some of the greatest masters of images and
metaphor, brought together in perfect concert and harmony. This is one of
Cyberwit's most perfect anthologies, and the volume is sure to create the
most powerful impact on the reader's mind. This masterpiece anthology is a
wonder of ingenuity and art, since it has been printed after a very careful
selection of the poems. All the seductions and magic of poetry are visible
in The Ferment of Images. The poets show great heights of intense poetry
and imaginative force.
The Ferment of Images features poets capable of creating the infinitely
complicated patterns of the postmodern ethos. The great discovery of these
authors is an apt use of concrete image, and they succeed in revealing its
ample range by experiment. The poets of The Ferment of Images prefer the
bitter realities to a monotonous dream-world of exaggerated emotionalism.
The artists included in The Ferment of Images "delight in the whole
man-blood, imagination, intellect, running together", and they have also
found a new joy both in conversational language and symbols. These poets
understand as well as Blake "that ruins of time build mansions in
eternity." Here we find an extraordinary adequacy of poetic communication,
which provides a pattern and coherence to the insights of the poets
selected for The Ferment of Images. The Ferment of Images stirs us, and
gives birth to aesthetic pleasure, enchanting our minds and hearts both.
This book features poems by Albert Russo, Amy Harding, Berverly Joy, Frances J. Gallon, Streeter, Rose Marie, Saron Flynn, Shirley, Bolstock. etc. The extraordinary thing about these poets is their diversity in excellence, and their faith in a series of luminous points.
