The Poetry of Chartism
Aesthetics, Politics, History
1st Edition
Published on 10. April 2009
978-0-511-50124-1 (ISBN)
Description
Between 1838 and 1852, the leading Chartist newspaper, the Northern Star, published over 1000 poems written by more than 350 poets - as the readership of the Northern Star numbered hundreds of thousands, these poems were amongst the most widely read of the Victorian era. This book offers a complete record of all the poems published. It asks a simple question: why did the writing and reading of poetry play such an important role in Chartism's struggle to secure fundamental democratic rights? It answers this question by analysing the interplay between politics, aesthetics and history in the aftermath of the Newport insurrection (1839), during the mass strikes of 1842 and the year of European revolutions (1848). Additionally, the book theorizes poetry's political agency and examines the critical history of Chartist poetry.
Reviews / Votes
Review of the hardback: 'Mike Sanders has produced an important study of the Northern Star's poetry column with a complete list of all the poems published. ... This volume must now be recognised as the leading study of Chartist poetry available to historians. Its subtle linkage of literature, aesthetics and history provides a clear contextual setting for examining the written word and makes one realise why Plato contended that poetry could be harmful.' The Historical Association Review of the hardback: '... The Poetry of Chartism (2009) is one of the most honourable acts of criticism I have read recently.' Isobel Armstrong 'This book deserves great credit for showing unexpected correspondences between poets well and little known.' John Plotz, Review 19More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
1,76 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-50124-1 (9780511501241)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2009
Cambridge University Press
€129.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Mike Sanders is a Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Theory at the University of Manchester.
Content
Introduction; 1. The Chartist imaginary: 'talking by turns of politics and poetry'; 2. Chartist poetry and literary history; 3. 'A jackass load of poetry': The Northern Star's poetry column 1838-52; 4. Insurrectionary sonnets: the ideological afterlife of the Newport uprising; 5. 'Merry England': memory and nostalgia in the year of the mass strike; 6. 'The future-hastening storm': Chartist poetry in 1848; 7. Constellating Chartist poetry: Gerald Massey, Walter Benjamin and the uses of messianism; Appendix A: three Chartist poems; Appendix B: details of poetry published in the poetry column of the Northern Star.
