The Poetry of Saying: British Poetry and its Discontents, 1950-2000 (Liverpool University Press - Liverpool English Texts & Studies) (Volume 45)

The Poetry of Saying unearths a secret history of fifty years of experimental British verse, revealing and illuminating the daring work of British poets who have spent a half-century rewriting the rules of English poetry. Poet Robert Sheppard considers individual poets such as Roy Fisher and Lee Harwood as well as the role of poetry magazines and the Poetry Society. Sheppard's position at the center of the 1950s British Poetry Revival enables him to offer an insider's commentary on the social, political, and historical background of this particularly fertile and exciting period in British poetry. The Poetry Of Saying Presents The History And Social Development Of Alternative Forms Of British Poetry, Still Little Examined Or Dismissed, Set Against The Context Of The Development Of The Movement Orthodoxy, Those Writers Who Followed And Attenuated The Tradition Of Philip Larkin, Even As Larkin's Cultural Capital Fell. Ranging From The Quiet Work Of Lee Harwood To The Avant-gardism Of Bob Cobbing, From The Major Works Of Roy Fisher To The Still Developing Sonic And Semantic Experiments Of Maggie O'sullivan, And Covering A Number Of Other Writers In Their Historical Context, This Work Is Theorised In Terms Of A Poetry Of Saying, Which Aims To Keep Interpretations Maximally Open. This Theoretical Perspective, Which Is Balanced Against The Historicising Element, Uses Bakhtin And Levinas As Its Touchstones, And Reaches Its Highest Pitch With Relation To The Work Of Tom Raworth, Which It Argues Is Ethically Open Through Its Textual Strategies.--jacket. Introduction : Technique : Dialogue : Saying -- 1. The Movement Poets And The Movement Orthodoxy In The 1950s And 1960s -- 2. The British Poetry Revival 1960-1978 -- 3. Starting To Make The World : The Poetry Of Roy Fisher In The 1960s And 1970s -- 4. Keeping The Doors Open : The Poetry Of Lee Harwood In The 1960s And 1970s -- 5. The Persistence Of The Movement Orthodoxy In The 1980s And 1990s -- 6. Linguistically Innovative Poetry 1978-2000 -- 7. What Was To One Side Or Not Real : The Poetry Of Tom Raworth 1970-1991 -- 8. Creative Linkage In The Work Of Allen Fisher, Adrian Clarke And Ulli Freer In The 1980s And 1990s -- 9. The Ballet Of The Speech Organs : The Poetry Of Bob Cobbing 1965-2000. Robert Sheppard. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [251]-267) And Index. Title Page......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Abbreviations......Page 11 Introduction: Technique: Dialogue: Saying......Page 12 1: The Movement Poets and the Movement Orthodoxy in the 1950s and 1960s......Page 31 2: The British Poetry Revival 1960–1978......Page 46 3: Starting to Make the World: The Poetry of Roy Fisher in the 1960s and 1970s......Page 88 4: Keeping the Doors Open: the Poetry of Lee Harwood in the 1960s and 1970s......Page 114 5: The Persistence of the Movement Orthodoxy in the 1980s and 1990s......Page 136 6: Linguistically Innovative Poetry 1978–2000......Page 153 7: What Was To One Side or Not Real: The Poetry of Tom Raworth 1970-1991......Page 182 8: Creative Linkage in the Work of Allen Fisher, Adrian Clarke and Ulli Freer during the 1980s and 1990s......Page 205 9: The Ballet of the Speech Organs: The Poetry of Bob Cobbing 1965-2000......Page 225 10: Be come, Be spoke, Be eared: The Poetics of Transformation and Embodied Utterance in the work of Maggie O’Sullivan during the 1980s and 1990s......Page 244 Bibliography......Page 262 Index......Page 280 In The Poetry Of Saying Robert Sheppard Explores An Array Of ‘experimental’ Writers And Styles Of Writing Many Of Which Have Never Secured A Large Audience In Britain, But Which Are Often Fascinatingly Innovative. As A Published Poet In This Tradition, Sheppard Provides A Detailed And Thought Provoking Account Of The Development Of The British Poetry Movement From The 1950s. As Well As Analysing The Work Of Individual Poets Such As Roy Fisher, Lee Harwood And Tom Raworth The Poetry Of Saying Also Examines The Influence Of The Poetry Society And Poetry Magazines On The Evolution Of British Poetry Throughout This Period. The Overriding Virtue Of The Poetry Of This Period Is Its Diversity, A Fact That Sheppard Has Not Ignored. As Well As Providing A Fascinating Into The Work Of These Poets, The Poetry Of Saying Offers An ‘insider’s’ Commentary On The Social, Political And Historical Background During This Exciting Period In British Poetry.