William Wootten is a critic, poet and literary journalist. His other books include Reading Walter de la Mare (the annotated selected poems) and the poetry collection You Have a Visitor. He is a lecturer in English literature at the University of Bristol.

• PrefacePart I1. Beginnings: Oxford and Cambridge Poetry in the early 1950s2. ‘A Violent Time’: Anti-Movement Poetry in the mid to late 1950s3. In Opposite Directions: A. Alvarez and Thom Gunn4. Against Gentility5. On Being Serious6. Anthology Making7. First Reactions: 'The Review' Debate and the Initial Response to 'The New Poetry'Part II8. Sylvia PlathPart III9. Going to Extremes10. ‘A Study of Suicide’Part IV11. ‘Against Extremism’12. Costing Seriousness13. ‘I Don’t Like Dramatising Myself’: anti-confessionalism in the later poetry of Thom Gunn14. 'Birthday Letters'15. Geoffrey Hill’s New Poetry16. Children of 'The New Poetry'Index

'[As] "the serious gives way to ludic scepticism" in more and more contemporary poetry, it is good to be reminded of a time when much more seemed at stake.'Michael Daniels, PN Review

William Wootten is a critic, poet and literary journalist. His other books include Reading Walter de la Mare (the annotated selected poems) and the poetry collection You Have a Visitor. He is a lecturer in English literature at the University of Bristol.

• PrefacePart I1. Beginnings: Oxford and Cambridge Poetry in the early 1950s2. ‘A Violent Time’: Anti-Movement Poetry in the mid to late 1950s3. In Opposite Directions: A. Alvarez and Thom Gunn4. Against Gentility5. On Being Serious6. Anthology Making7. First Reactions: 'The Review' Debate and the Initial Response to 'The New Poetry'Part II8. Sylvia PlathPart III9. Going to Extremes10. ‘A Study of Suicide’Part IV11. ‘Against Extremism’12. Costing Seriousness13. ‘I Don’t Like Dramatising Myself’: anti-confessionalism in the later poetry of Thom Gunn14. 'Birthday Letters'15. Geoffrey Hill’s New Poetry16. Children of 'The New Poetry'Index

'[As] "the serious gives way to ludic scepticism" in more and more contemporary poetry, it is good to be reminded of a time when much more seemed at stake.'Michael Daniels, PN Review

William Wootten is a critic, poet and literary journalist. His other books include Reading Walter de la Mare (the annotated selected poems) and the poetry collection You Have a Visitor. He is a lecturer in English literature at the University of Bristol.

• PrefacePart I1. Beginnings: Oxford and Cambridge Poetry in the early 1950s2. ‘A Violent Time’: Anti-Movement Poetry in the mid to late 1950s3. In Opposite Directions: A. Alvarez and Thom Gunn4. Against Gentility5. On Being Serious6. Anthology Making7. First Reactions: 'The Review' Debate and the Initial Response to 'The New Poetry'Part II8. Sylvia PlathPart III9. Going to Extremes10. ‘A Study of Suicide’Part IV11. ‘Against Extremism’12. Costing Seriousness13. ‘I Don’t Like Dramatising Myself’: anti-confessionalism in the later poetry of Thom Gunn14. 'Birthday Letters'15. Geoffrey Hill’s New Poetry16. Children of 'The New Poetry'Index

'[As] "the serious gives way to ludic scepticism" in more and more contemporary poetry, it is good to be reminded of a time when much more seemed at stake.'Michael Daniels, PN Review