American poetry : the modernist ideal

This collection of specially commissioned essays brings together leading scholars and critics to define the American modernist canon.

Tracing its origins back to Walt Whitman, this radical poetry is inspired by the concept of democracy vital to the American dream and extends across America from east to west and in varying hues - imagist, objectionist, Beat.

New theoretical approaches applied to a wide range of poets make this the most comprehensive survey of American modernist poetry available.