Modernism: An Anthology

I really appreciate the brief biographies of the writers, which is a great insight and better understanding of their works. The footnotes are a bit excessive, however informative. I am reading this for school and all in all I am very impressed and it is making my class much easier!

It is truly a shame that most people who pick up this anthology will probably read it as an addendum for a class they are taking. In that respect, it is both a veritable well of knowledge and a framework for ongoing debate on the merits (or shortcomings?) of modernism. But for the casual reader, the one piqued by Eliot or Woolf or Williams, this anthology is extraordinary. The sheer depth and breadth of information encapsulated in essays, poems, excerpts, and short pieces should shed light on the difficulty of explaining-even categorizing-Modernism. Those who don't feel forced to read these revolutionary writers-even those who do-will surely glean some insight into the various modes of 20th century literary expression. What is especially intriguing about this anthology is the manner in which it is compiled. Four so-called "Continental Interludes" situate theories of Dadaism, Futurism, Surrealism (along with the Frankfurt School cabal) within the Modernist context. The various writers are placed according to the mode of thought they espoused (or rejected). If you choose to read this 1,000 page tome in a linear fashion, you will gain a greater appreciation for the evolution and infrastructure of Modernism. Which doesn't necessarily mean to say you will completely understand Modernism at the end-though I firmly believe this convolution adds to the general appeal. Whether you are interested in the mythic structures of Yeats, Joyce's utterly idiosyncratic style, Gertrude Stein's avant-garde detachment, or simply Modernism as a whole, this book is quite informative. The amount of cross-referencing and cohesion is astounding: Williams writing about Joyce, Loy writing about Stein. It's all here. Annotations are immensely helpful, as are the (sometimes) extensive biographies. I especially enjoyed the section on Pound and his essay on the linguistic and poetic superiority of Chinese characters. There's something here for everybody.