Modernisms - by Peter Nicholls (Paperback)

About the Book

"This is a very timely work that responds to a genuine need in courses and programs on modernism. Nicholls sees that modernism was not an organic phenomenon whose characteristics can be catalogued according to some ideal taxonomy, but a series of anguished questions about identity, desire, memory, culture, and the nature of modernity itself. Few efforts have been made to survey this vast field--this is undoubtedly the finest survey of its kind."--Lawrence Rainey, author of "Ezra Pound and the Monument of Culture" and co-editor of the journal "Modernism/Modernity"

Book Synopsis

The recent enthusiasm for things postmodern has often produced a caricature of Modernism as monolithic and reactionary. Peter Nicholls argues instead that the distinctive feature of Modernism is its diversity. Through a lively analysis of each of Modernism's main literary movements, he explores the connections between the new stylistic developments and the shifting politics of gender and authority.

Nicholls introduces a wealth of literary experimentation, beginning with Baudelaire and Mallarmé and moving forward to the first avant-gardes. Close readings of key texts monitor the explosive histories of Futurism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, and Surrealism, histories that allow Anglo-American Modernism to be seen in a strikingly different light. In revealing Modernism's broad and varied terrain, Nicholls evokes the richness of a cultural moment that continues to shape our own.

From the Back Cover

"This is a very timely work that responds to a genuine need in courses and programs on modernism. Nicholls sees that modernism was not an organic phenomenon whose characteristics can be catalogued according to some ideal taxonomy, but a series of anguished questions about identity, desire, memory, culture, and the nature of modernity itself. Few efforts have been made to survey this vast field--this is undoubtedly the finest survey of its kind."--Lawrence Rainey, author of Ezra Pound and the Monument of Culture and co-editor of the journal Modernism/Modernity

About the Author

Peter Nicholls is Subject Chair of American Studies at the University of Sussex and the author of Ezra Pound: Politics, Economics and Writing (1984).