Overview

An edition of the letters of the poet Basil Bunting (1900-1985).This is a long-awaited first selected edition of the letters of Basil Bunting, one of the major modernist poets of the twentieth century. It includes a large portion of Bunting's correspondence (around 200 letters) to recipients including Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Harriet Monroe, William Carlos Williams, Louis Zukofsky, Ted Hughes, George Oppen, Allen Ginsberg, Donald Davie, and Tom Pickard. Following Bunting from his first encounters with major literary figures in London and Paris in the 1920s to his death in Northumberland in 1985, this selection showcases a narrative that is crucial to the history of modernism and modern poetry in English. Highlights include a long and detailed dialogue with Ezra Pound in the 1930s on political, economic, and literary subjects, a rich, ruminative exchange with the American poet Louis Zukoksfy lasting over four decades, and various accounts of the excitements and controversies of the Anglo-American poetry scene of the 60s and 70s. Whether Bunting is writing from New York at the height of the Depression, Iran in the aftermath of World War II, or the north of England during preparation of his masterpiece Briggflatts (1966), his prose is unfailingly sharp, eloquent, entertaining, and caustic.This edition contains detailed annotations of Bunting's letters, a critical introduction, glossary of names, and an editorial commentary.

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9780198754817

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Reviews

Basil Bunting-poet, journalist, sailor, soldier, diplomat, spy-was for much of his life a struggler in the desert (Ezra Pound's phrase) on the margins of the English literary scene. This expansive and beautifully edited selection of Bunting's correspondence follows Bunting around the world, from Northumberland to London, Paris, Italy, the Canaries, Iran, the United States, and points between. The letters-cantankerous, thoughtful, exasperated, eloquent-are rich with literary, historical, and personal insights whose value goes far beyond their commentary on Bunting's own magnificent poetry. * Mark Scroggins, Professor of English at Florida Atlantic University, author of The Poem of a Life: A Biography of Louis Zukofsky, and editor of Upper Limit Music: The Writing of Louis Zukofsky *

I stopped everything and read them all. The letters are even more fascinating than I imagined. An important contribution to Bunting's legacy but also sheds a fascinating light on all sorts of things, especially Pound. * Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliott * Basil Bunting-poet, journalist, sailor, soldier, diplomat, spy-was for much of his life a struggler in the desert (Ezra Pound's phrase) on the margins of the English literary scene. This expansive and beautifully edited selection of Bunting's correspondence follows Bunting around the world, from Northumberland to London, Paris, Italy, the Canaries, Iran, the United States, and points between. The letters-cantankerous, thoughtful, exasperated, eloquent-are rich with literary, historical, and personal insights whose value goes far beyond their commentary on Bunting's own magnificent poetry. * Mark Scroggins, Professor of English at Florida Atlantic University, author of The Poem of a Life: A Biography of Louis Zukofsky, and editor of Upper Limit Music: The Writing of Louis Zukofsky *

Author Information

Alex Niven is Lecturer in English Literature at Newcastle University and his books include Folk Opposition (2011) and New Model Island (2019).

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