Abstract

A New American Voice. The Direction of Poetry

The article focuses on the book "The Direction of Poetry: An Anthology of Rhymed and Metered Verse Written in the English Language Since 1975," edited and with an introduction by Robert Richman. Since World War II, American poetry has diverged roughly into two paths. One of these, long connected with the academy because of its alliance with the New Criticism, has been characterized by highly urbane, ironic and consciously crafted formal poems. Richman challenges the accepted canon of contemporary American poetry in his juxtaposition of older poets--who have been overshadowed in the past two decades by their free verse contemporaries--with a number of younger poets who, in his opinion, now represent "the direction of poetry."