Michael Hamburger

First published in 1982, The Truth of Poetry attempts to answer a seemingly simple question: What kind of truth does poetry offer in modern times? Michael Hamburger's answer to this question ranges over the last century of European and American poetry.

Preface 1. Puerile Utopia and Brutal Mirage 2. The Truth of Poetry 3. Lost Identities 4. Masks 5. Absolute Poetry and Absolute Politics 6. Multiple Personalities 7. Internationalism and War 8. A Period Loose at All Ends 9. A New Austerity 10. Town and Country: Phenotypes and Archetypes Postscript References Acknowledgements Index of Names