Modernisms: A Literary Guide

by Peter Nicholls

The recent enthusiasm for things post modern has often produced a caricature of Modernism as monolithic and reactionary. Peter Nicholls argues instead that the distinctive feature of Modernism is its diversity. Through a lively analysis of each of Modernism's main literary movements, he explores the connections between the new stylistic developments and the shifting politics of gender and authority.

Nicholls introduces a wealth of literary experimentation, beginning with Baudelaire and Mallarmé and moving forward to the first avant-gardes. Close readings of key texts monitor the explosive histories of Futurism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, and Surrealism, histories that allow Anglo-American Modernism to be seen in a strikingly different light. In revealing Modernism's broad and varied terrain, Nicholls evokes the richness of a cultural moment that continues to shape our own.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Theory

382 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1995

Reviews

[Emily Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-blowing.

[Danny Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed, interdisciplinary account of the 'high modernist' period in Europe, conceived as a proliferation of mutually distinct avant-garde movements reacting in various ways to the conditions and crises of modernity: Symbolism and decadence in France, Futurism in Italy, Expressionism in Germany, the 'men of 1914' in England, on to Dada and Surrealism. Useful for evoking the sheer density and diversity of artistic and theoretical practise during the period, and the complex interactions of aesthetics and politics in framing their response to a time of crisis.

[Cyblogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and concise. However, I think there should be a more solid conclusion or overview at the end.