Surrealist Poetry in English

Penguin Modern Classics, London, 1987. 3rd printing. Condition: Good plus, light edge and corner wear, long crease at top right front cover corner, spine has faint creasing, some underlining on first few pages.

The surrealist movement was founded in France in 1924, brother of the anarchist Dada, heir of experiments in 19th century literature. In England, the movement arose as the logical evolution of 19th century literature's dominant concern - the psychopathology of the artist's mind. Being unconcerned with conventional morality, it had few affinities with the humanist tradition of literature and saw the classical tradition as antithetical to literature altogether. This book examines surrealist poetry in English literature. Includes poetry by David Gascoyne, Michael McClure, Randall Jarrell, John Ashbery, and others.