The life of metrical and free verse in twentieth-century poetry

In a wide-ranging and compelling account of the life of metrical and free verse in the twentieth century, poet and critic Jon Silkin deepens our understanding of the way poetry works on us. He begins from the premiss that two modes of verse, free and metrical, engage the creative energies of poetry now, creating a rich, fertile environment capable of yielding work valuable to poetry itself and to the society which has given it life. With a practitioner's empathy Silkin reads the poetry of Whitman, Hopkins, Eliot, Pound, Lawrence, Dylan Thomas, Bunting and eight British poets from the post-second World War period to illustrate how free and metrical verse create, separately or together, a poetic harmony. Additionally, he includes crucial statements on modern poetry from poets themselves, concluding with a fine memoir of Basil Bunting by Connie Pickard, published in book-form for the first time. Note On The Scansion Marks -- 1. The Healing Process -- Metrical And Free Verse -- 2. Imagism, Lawrence, Pound, Read And Eliot -- 3. Ezra Pound -- 4. D.h. Lawrence, Poet -- 5. Dylan Thomas -- 6. Basil Bunting And His Briggflatts -- 7. Some Poets Now -- App. Poets On Poetry -- Free Verse; Verse Free? / Jon Glover -- Mixed Modes / Dennis Silk -- Syllabics / Thom Gunn -- Forms And Inspirations / Jon Silkin -- Free And Metrical Verse / Rodney Pybus -- On The Practice Of Free Verse / Marvin Bell -- Poetry As Discovery And Potential / Anne Cluysenaar -- The Prose Poem -- Basil Bunting 1900-85: A Personal Memoir / Connie Pickard. Jon Silkin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 403-414) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xi The Healing Process — Metrical and Free Verse....Pages 1-29 Imagism, Lawrence, Pound, Read and Eliot....Pages 30-107 Ezra Pound....Pages 108-178 D.H. Lawrence, Poet....Pages 179-241 Dylan Thomas....Pages 242-270 Basil Bunting and his Briggflatts....Pages 271-299 Some Poets Now....Pages 300-365 Back Matter....Pages 367-423