Midcentury Quartet: Bishop, Lowell, Jarrell, Berryman, and the Making of a Postmodern Aesthetic

Rating:
Summary: Enduring scholarship
Review: Elegantly meant and beautifully worded, Thomas Travisano's book evinces his love for the poems of this quartet of poets. He does something that's rare, perhaps too rare, in modern literary scholarship--he considers the aesthetics and poetics inherent in the poets' work with a respect usually reserved for 'thematics.' His scholarship is a marvel of idea and invention, the tone modest yet full of authority. Dr. Travisano is the perfect model for younger scholars in his stance toward his subject, reminding readers of the poets' greatness- the qualities of expression and in their complex relationships with their friends-without the self regard that so often taints scholarly work. The four authors are alive in Travisano's prose; they couldn't have a better scholar on their side.