Book description
This ground-breaking anthology presents in chronological order over
400 poems written in the twentieth century. The authors, both
published poets themselves, give an overview of each period of
history, while notes to the poems place each one in its historical
context and trace the century's poetic development. Concise
biographies for each poet complete the anthology.
By organizing the poems in chronological order, readers will see
poets in a new light. Here A. E. Houseman, for example, rubs shoulders
with T. S. Eliot, showing that traditional forms can hold their own
against the modernist orthodoxy. Here are poets rescued from oblivion,
such as the suffragette who wrote a compelling poem about her
mistreatment in Holloway Prison in 1912 or the medical offer who went
into Belsen with the British troops producing an eye-witness poem of
lasting power. All the major events of the twentieth century are
reflected in the choice of poems within these pages.
This richly rewarding collection makes invaluable reading for poetry
lovers all over the world.
Michael Hulse teaches poetry at Warwick University and regularly does
reading tours in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
India. He is based in Warwick. Simon Rae is a playwright , novelist and
broadcaster (he presented Radio 4's 'Poetry Please' for several years).
He lives in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Both Michael Hulse and Simon Rae are
published poets and winners of the National Poetry Competition.
