Monster: Distortion, Abstraction, and Originality in Contemporary American Poetry

Monster: Distortion, Abstraction, and Originality in Contemporary American Poetry argues that memorable and resonant poetry often distorts form, image, concept, and notions of truth and metaphor. Discussing how changes in electronic communication and artificial notions of landscape have impacted form and content in poetry, Monster redefines the idea of what is memorable and original through a broad range of poets including John Ashbery, Anne Carson, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Laura Kasischke, W. S. Merwin, Mary Ruefle, Arthur Sze, and James Tate.