The Poetics of the American Suburbs (Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics)

The first scholarly study of the rich body of poetry that emerged from the post-war American suburbs, Gill evaluates the work of forty poets, including Anne Sexton, Langston Hughes, and John Updike. Combining textual analysis and archival research, this book offers a new perspective on the field of twentieth-century American literature. The Poetics of the American Suburbs is the first book to consider the rich body of poetry that emerged from and helped to shape the post-war American suburbs. Jo Gill discusses the work of forty or more writers, some well-known, such as Anne Sexton and Langston Hughes, others not primarily known through their poetry such as John Updike, and some who were best-sellers in their own time but have since largely been forgotten such as Phyllis McGinley. Combining detailed textual and archival study with insights drawn from other disciplines, the book offers a new perspective on post-war suburbia and on the broader field of twentieth-century American literature Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-18 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 Constructing the Suburbs....Pages 21-50 Suburban Tastes....Pages 51-69 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 The “Poet Laureate” of Suburbia....Pages 73-106 Suburban Landscapes....Pages 107-128 The Look of the Suburbs....Pages 129-154 On the Margins....Pages 155-171 Conclusion: The Song of the Suburbs....Pages 173-181 Back Matter....Pages 183-225