`Robinson has been a generous promoter of contemporary poetry for decades, and this collection of essays bears witness to his dedication and energy. He writes with an unformulaic enthusiasm, moving easily from biographical, political and poetic context to the nitty-gritty of close reading, while also striking an easy, readable tone.' Angela Leighton, Times Literary Supplement
`The most useful critical guide to the Movement that has appeared in recent years' Alan Brownjohn, Literary Review
`In Peter McDonald's important, intelligent and provocative book, a principled attention to form yields genuine insights which elude most critics ... McDonald's reading of Hill is, like all his readings, perspicacious and revealing.' Adam Kirsch, Times Literary Supplement
`a fresh and engaging study of Oppen's work, his life and his relationship with the Objectivist movement... One of the strengths of this book is its extensive use of unpublished materials... It also provides a compelling rereading of Objectivism through Oppen's own continual reassessment of its usefulness as a term.' Emma Kimberly, Journal of American Studies
A full-length study of the British novelist, poet, and illustrator Stevie Smith (1902-1971), this book draws on extensive archival material to offer new insights into her work, challenging conventional readings of her as an eccentric. It reveals the careful control with which she managed her public persona, reassesses her allusive poetry in the light of her own conflicted response to written texts, and traces her simultaneous preoccupation with and fear of her reading public. William May considers the influence of artists such as George Grosz and Aubrey Beardsley on her apparently artless illustrations and explores her use of fiction and book reviews as a way of generating contexts for her poetry, offering readers a fascinating in-depth study that not only radically alters our understanding of Smith and her work, but provides new perspectives on British twentieth-century poetry and its reception.