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Contemporary American poetry can often seem intimidating and daunting in its variety and complexity. This engaging and accessible book provides the first comprehensive introduction to the rich body of American poetry that has flourished since 1945 and offers a useful map to its current landscape. By exploring the major poets, movements, and landmark poems at the heart of this era, this book presents a compelling new version of the history of American poetry that takes into account its variety and breadth, its recent evolution in the new millennium, its ever-increasing diversity, and its ongoing engagement with politics and culture. Combining illuminating close readings of a wide range of representative poems with detailed discussion of historical, political, and aesthetic contexts, this book examines how poets have tirelessly invented new forms and styles to respond to the complex realities of American life and culture.
List of contents
Introduction. American poetry since 1945; Part I. American Poetry from 1945 to 1970:; 1. The raw and the cooked: the new criticism versus the new American poetry; 2. The Black Mountain poets; 3. The beats and the San Francisco renaissance; 4. The New York school of poetry; 5. The middle generation, Elizabeth Bishop, and confessional poetry; 6. Deep image poetry; 7. African American poetry from 1945 to 1970; Part II. American Poetry from 1970 to 2000:; 8. A new 'mainstream' period style in poetry of the 1970s and 1980s; 9. Language poetry; 10. Feminism and women's poetry from 1970 to 2000; 11. Diversity, identity, and poetry from 1970 to 2000; Part III. Into the New Millennium: American Poetry from 2000 to the Present:; 12. New directions in American poetry from 2000 to the present; Conclusion.
About the author
Andrew Epstein is a Professor of English at Florida State University. He is the author of Attention Equals Life: The Pursuit of the Everyday in Contemporary Poetry and Culture (2016) and Beautiful Enemies: Friendship and Postwar American Poetry (2006) and he blogs about the New York School of poetry at Locus Solus.
Summary
Designed for students, scholars, poets, and general readers, this book provides a useful guide for anyone interested in contemporary American poetry. By offering close readings of exemplary poems in relation to historical and political contexts, this book gives readers the background and tools necessary to understand post-1945 American poetry.
