The Cambridge Introduction to American Poetry since 1945

This book is the first comprehensive introduction to the richness and diversity of American poetry from 1945 to the present.

Andrew Epstein (Author)

9781108482370, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 December 2022

280 pages
23.6 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.57 kg

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC], Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH]