Stephen Burt (1) (1971–)

I enjoyed this collection of essays and used it as a recommendation bible for discovering some new-to-me poets--a task that is almost insurmountably difficult when you move away from college into a small town where poetry is unappreciated. This collection contains a good number of clear-headed explorations of difficult poetry--Brust articulates himself well and his appreciation of the works he discusses is never dulled, as is so often the case in academic books. While I sincerely enjoyed show more most of the essays, he does appreciate a slightly different type of poetry than I do, and so there were less leads than I'd hoped for. show less

One of my greatest purchase. I love how both famous and obscure sonnets were explained and explored in understandable and engaging ways.This book is perfect for beginners to English poetry like me.

With good will I say Bravo! to Stephen Burt who has published poetry that he likes. I cannot share his appreciation for it. It has no drama, no singing. It is workmanlike and the language is familiar enough. For my taste, there is too much obscuring imagery and internal lack of coherence.

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http://barleyliterate.blogspot.com/
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http://magisterlibrorum.blogspot.com/

A sharp critical exploration of Jarrell's poetry.