Flint on a Bright Stone
Flint on a Bright Stone closes a significant gap in the history of Modernist poetry by identifying the existence of "Tempered Modernism," which blossomed in the first two decades of the twentieth century, and was exemplified by the early works of Akhmatova, Rilke, H. D., and Williams. While the international nature of Radical Modernism, such as Futurism, Expressionism, and Dadaism, has been well documented, the connections among Tempered Modernists have been ignored. This is the first book to delineate thoroughly the international nature of this phenomenon—an evolutionary alternative to the revolutionary Futurist techniques of shock and rupture. Tempered Modernists sought newness through precision, palpability, equilibrium, and restraint, crafting small poems that found beauty in the subdued, ordinary, and everyday.
"[An] illuminating and engaging study that genuinely breaks new ground"—Slavic Review
"...a clear and cogent scholarly work by an unusually gifted translator of poetry."—American Literature
"...this book, elegantly constructed in the manner of the tempered modernism which it admires, makes an important contribution to the discipline of comparative literature and provides numerous insights into the work of individual poets."—Modern Language Review