W.S. Graham: Critical Essays

Liverpool English Texts and Studies

by Ralph Pite (Editor)

Graham’s work was published by T. S. Eliot in the 1940s and 50s, but as a major post-war poet, his work has received astonishingly little critical attention given its prestige and influence. This collection of essays covers all aspects of Graham’s work – its critical reception, recent influence and its relations with other developments in the arts, in particular the work of the St. Ives School of visual artists. It includes some biographical material (brief reminiscences by and interviews with those who knew him) and discussions of the material contained in several collections of manuscripts. Nothing so far published has paid attention to these manuscript collections or to the large number of uncollected poems published since his death. Neither has enough been written about Graham’s importance to poets of the 1980s and 1990s.

"The ten essays in this book are all extremely competent studies of Graham’s work [...] constantly aware of the subtleties of Graham’s very individual attitudes to his art. The book will make an excellent companion for many readers and students."—PNReview

215 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Ralph Pite is currently a professor in the English Department at Bristol University.