A History of Modern Poetry: From the 1890s to the High Modernist Mode

Rating:
Summary: excellent introduction to modern poetry
Review: David Perkins's "History of Modern Poetry" gives the reader the essentials of the modernist movement, from its beginnings as a reaction against the outworn Romantic era to the poetry of Ashbery, Ammons, and Merrill in our own age. Brevity is a virtue here: Perkins states the essentials of a poet's life only and so escapes the common error of overinterpretation which most critics commit. The series also pays attention to minor poets who do not rank highly today and past movements in journals and anthology editing so as to provide us with a complete picture of what the past century of poetry has consisted. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: excellent introduction to modern poetry
Review: David Perkins's "History of Modern Poetry" gives the reader the essentials of the modernist movement, from its beginnings as a reaction against the outworn Romantic era to the poetry of Ashbery, Ammons, and Merrill in our own age. Brevity is a virtue here: Perkins states the essentials of a poet's life only and so escapes the common error of overinterpretation which most critics commit. The series also pays attention to minor poets who do not rank highly today and past movements in journals and anthology editing so as to provide us with a complete picture of what the past century of poetry has consisted. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Serious Readers of Poetry
Review: This book (the first volume) is over 600 pages. And they are 600 pages chock full of intelligent analyses and overviews of all the poetic schools in Britian and the US since the 1890s. This book is fascinating in its content and a joy to read because of Perkins' clear and humane style. It is amazing that one person can know so much. But don't let that intimidate you. This book will do wonders for your working knowledge of American and British poetry.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Serious Readers of Poetry
Review: This book (the first volume) is over 600 pages. And they are 600 pages chock full of intelligent analyses and overviews of all the poetic schools in Britian and the US since the 1890s. This book is fascinating in its content and a joy to read because of Perkins' clear and humane style. It is amazing that one person can know so much. But don't let that intimidate you. This book will do wonders for your working knowledge of American and British poetry.