Metamodernism and Contemporary British Poetry (Cambridge Studies in Twenty-First-Century Literature and Culture)

This book discusses contemporary British poetry in the context of metamodernism. The author argues that the concept of metamodernist poetry helps to recalibrate the opposition between mainstream and innovative poetry, and he investigates whether a new generation of British poets can be accurately defined as metamodernist. Antony Rowland analyses the ways in which contemporary British poets such as Geoffrey Hill, J. H. Prynne, Geraldine Monk and Sandeep Parmar have responded to the work of modernist writers as diverse as T. S. Eliot, H. D. and Antonin Artaud, and what Theodor Adorno describes as the overall enigma of modern art. "This book discusses contemporary British poetry in the context of metamodernism. It argues that the concept of enigmatical poetics helps to recalibrate the opposition between mainstream and innovative poetry, and investigates whether a new generation of British poets can be accurately defined as metamodernist. Antony Rowland analyses the ways in which contemporary British poets such as Geoffrey Hill, J. H. Prynne, Geraldine Monk and Sandeep Parmar have responded to the work of modernist poets as diverse as Ezra Pound, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, H. D. and Antonin Artaud since the 1950s. He shows how enigmatical poetry offers an alternative vision to that of the contemporary British novel"-- Provided by publisher. Cover 1 Half-title page 3 Series page 4 Title page 5 Copyright page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction 15 Chapter 1 Contemporary British Poetry and Enigmaticalness 38 Chapter 2 Continuing ‘Poetry Wars’ in Twenty-First-Century British Poetry 56 Chapter 3 Committed and Autonomous Art 73 Chapter 4 Iconoclasm and Enigmatical Commitment 102 Chapter 5 The Double Consciousness of Modernism 131 Conclusion 148 Bibliography 231 Index 241 This book discusses contemporary British poetry in the context of metamodernism. It asks if the concept of metamodernist poetry helps to recalibrate the opposition between mainstream and innovative poetry, and whether a new generation of British poets can be accurately defined as metamodernist.