Victorian Poetry Now

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"Cunningham surveys Victorian poetry's variety, itscompelling rhythms and prosody, its linguistics and narrativity,its hermeneutics and histories, with a spontaneity of style thatnever ceases to refresh and enliven its reader. One feelstransported to the lecture hall while reading Cunningham'sprose, addressed by a passionate and lively speaker who deftlymoves between content and form from a foundation of vast knowledgeabout the period's religious, medical, criminological,political, social, and aesthetic discourses and stories."(Journal of Victorian Culture Online, June 2012) "Victorian Poetry Now is a brilliant book, and a challenging,engaging and stimulating read. It looks at a rich range ofthemes expressed by the poets, and makes one aware, if one was notaware already, that the poetry is a formidable culturalachievement." (Essays in Criticism, July2013) "An extraordinary book ... offers much to critics and studentslooking for strong and contentious readings of a great variety ofpoems ... a book that says a very great deal indeed." (TennysonResearch Bulletin, 2013)"An immense book both in scope and spirit, as encompassing andenterprising as the great literature it celebrates. ValentineCunningham is master equally of big sweep and minute particular,and his book is a triumph of what Coleridge called 'genialcriticism'." --Seamus Perry, Balliol College, Oxford "Whole-field study is rare in literary scholarship because itdemands so much of the single scholar. Victorian Poetry Nowcontains material for ten monographs. Valentine Cunningham hasimmersed himself in one of the richest--and least explored--areasof our literary heritage and has emerged to tell us about it,concisely and, from time to time, with a touch of mischief. Hetakes Victorian Poetry out of history and makes it necessary toread, and relish, now. To few works of literary history andcommentary can one add the injunction 'enjoy!'. This is one." --John Sutherland, University College, London