The Truth of Poetry

by Michael Hamburger

What kind of truth does modern poetry offer? Michael Hamburger's approach to this question ranges over European and American poetry since Baudelaire and the result is one of the best introductions available to twentieth-century poetry and its antecedents. Stressing the tensions and conflicts in and behind the work of almost every major poet of the period, Hamburger's non-partisan approach and practitioner's appreciation of the aesthetic problems ensure that the many different possibilities open to poets since Baudelaire are lucidly and sympathetically discussed. Michael Hamburger was born in Berlin in 1924, and came to Britain as a child. He has taught widely in America and Britain and is the outstanding contemporary translator and critic of German literature. His awards include the German Federal Republic's Goethe Medal in 1986 for services to German literature. Anvil publishes several of his translations, including editions of Goethe, Hölderlin, Rilke and Poems of Paul Celan', which received the EC's European Translation Prize in 1990. His poem-sequence Late' appeared in 1997.

Genres: Poetry, Criticism, Literary Criticism

360 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1971

About the author

German-British academic, author, poet, translator and critic.

Reviews

[Eric Byrd]

I need another history of modern poetry like I need a hole in the head -- but the cover art of the 1960s Penguin paperback I found is one of Baudelaire's self-portraits:

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljl...

[John Ferngrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had several attempts at reading this but it was necessary for me to read more poets and question much more seriously what is poetry, what is the nature of poetry i like and what is the poetry that i want to write? Being caught up with these questions made Hamburger's history of modernist poetry, which is what i think the book really is, much more vital and informative. I also found myself writing something in a new way while on this little journey, so very illuminating.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential book for anyone trying to understand the forces that have shaped modern poetry. Michael Hamburger is himself a poet and translator of other poets.

[Pippa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A long plod for very little of interest to me. A lot of the quoted poetry was very beautiful though.