Although many books deal individually with each of the major writers treated in Poets of Reality, none attempts through analyses of these particular men and their works, to identify the new directions taken by twentieth-century literature. J. Hillis Miller, challenging the assumption that modern poetry is merely the extension of an earlier romanticism, presents critical studies of the six central figuresâe"Joseph Conrad, W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williamsâe"who played key roles in evolving a poetry in which âeoereality comes to be present to the senses, and present in the words of the poem which ratify this possession.âe A new kind of poetry has appeared in the twentieth century, the author claims, a poetry which, growing out of romanticism and symbolism, goes far beyond it. The old generalizations about the nature and use of poetry are no longer applicable, and it is the gradual emergence of new forms, culminating in the work of Williams, that Miller traces and defines.

Twelve-year old Jason is accused of the brutal murder of a young girl. Is he innocent or guilty? The shocked town calls on an interrogator with a stellar reputation: he always gets a confession. The confrontation between Jason and his interrogator forms the chilling climax of this terrifying look at what can happen when the pursuit of justice becomes a personal crusade for victory at any cost.

A father and husband's meditation on love, adolescence, and the mysterious mechanisms of poetic creation, from the acclaimed poet. The poet's art is revealed in stages in this "making-of" book, where we watch as poems take shape--first as dreams or memories, then as drafts, and finally as completed works set loose on the world. In the long poem "Must We Mean What We Say," a woman reader narrates in prose the circumstances behind poems and snippets of poems she receives in letters from a stranger. Who made up whom? Chiasson, an acclaimed poetry critic, has invented a remarkable structure where the reader and a poet speak to one another, across the void of silence and mystery. He is also the father of teenaged sons, and this volume continues the autobiographical arc of his prior, celebrated volumes. One long section is about the age of thirteen and the dawning of desire, while the title poem looks at the crucial age of fifteen and the existential threat of climate change and gun violence, which alters the calculus of adolescence. Though the outlook is bleak, these poems register the glories of our moment: that there are places where boys can kiss each other and not be afraid; that small communities are rousing and taking care of each other; that teenagers have mobilized for a better world. All of these works emerge from the secretive imagination of a father as he measures his own adolescence against that of his sons and explores the complex bedrock of marriage. Chiasson sees a perilous world both navigated and enriched by the passionate young and by the parents--and poets--who care for them.

All on Show takes the circus in literature as its theme. The book introduces readers to the obscure history of the circus and travelling entertainment in Ireland while contextualising celebrated works by major writers of the twentieth century including Ó Conaire, Joyce, Yeats, Friel and Heaney. It uses theories of performance to explore how and why writers might turn to the world of the circus for inspiration as they confront issues of politics, national identity, gender and sexuality. At the same time, Lybeck acknowledges the sensual intensity of the circus while reading live performance events, film and visual art alongside her literary subjects. The study is complemented by analysis of hitherto neglected archival material and exciting original interviews with John Banville, Neil Jordan and Paul Muldoon. Never before has the circus been treated with such seriousness as a theme in Irish writing. As a result, All on Show, offers readers the opportunity to reflect on changes in Irish culture and society from a unique perspective: one that is at once dazzling and unsettling; disheartening and enchanting

Recounts the life of the Irish poet and nationalist, describes his relationships with his contemporaries, and traces his interest in the occult.

Examines the life and writings of William Butler Yeats, including a biographical sketch, detailed synopses of his works, social and historical influences, and more.

JOSSER is the powerful and moving account of Oxford-educated Nell Stroud's life in the circus. It is also the story of the people of the circus: the trapeze artists, the clowns, the high-wire acts, the grooms, the llamas, the elephants - their commitment and expertise, their hard, marginalised, miraculous lives. Following a terrible riding accident which left her mother permanently brain-damaged, Nell ran away to the circus. What she found there was a life which became more real to her than the one she left behind. She found people who had sacrificed their lives for their art, who worked in all weathers, perfecting some of the most dramatic and beautiful acts ever seen. She found third-generation show-people who travelled around forgotten parts of Britain to bring their abstract, polished, multi-layered show to ever dwindling audiences. She found herself in an art form that soon, if we are not careful, we will lose. Whilst she has lived and worked among the circus people for several years, she is not one of them: she was not born in the circus. In their words she is a 'josser' a person in the circus from the outside world. This is her story. 'The circus does cast a spell over some people. I felt overwhelmed by it. The circus filled up existence and left room for nothing else. What was there to do?

In 1890 W B Yeats and Ernest Rhys founded a poetry club. Based mainly at Fleet Street's immortal 'Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese' pub with occasional appearances at the Domino room in the Café Royal poets gathered together to dine and drink. Whilst it was based on a core of poets many others attended on an ad hoc basis including Oscar Wilde, Francis Thompson & Lord Alfred Douglas. The camaraderie, banter and poetry that played out in their dreams, ambitions and for many, their difficult lives led Yeats to call them 'the tragic generation'. As well as their enthusiastic social forays they printed two anthologies of verse. The first in 1892 and the second in 1894. For all the talent it could call upon the print runs were only in their hundreds. Part of a poet's obligation is to move the boundaries of society, to write what others shun. And whilst that is certainly the case with our group in terms of writing in one glaring respect they were very Victorian. The members of the club were only men. Arthur Ransome sums up their existence as "... the Rhymer's Club used to meet, to drink from tankards, smoke clay pipes, and recite their own poetry". Whilst their initial aims were food, drink, camaraderie and bragging, the reality is that their poetry gives us so much more.

This elegant hardback edition with gilded page edges presents Yeats' best loved work. This collection of masterful poetry demonstrates the extraordinary range and beautiful lyricism of Ireland's most accomplished poet, William Butler Yeats. The poems selected here cover love and regret, Irish folktales, beauty, politics, family and satire. From the romantic ideals of his youth to the innovative realist of his later years, this collection spans the breadth of Yeats' output.