A Concise Companion to Postwar British and Irish Poetry

“Eminently readable, and thankfully largely free of socio-political posturing and theorising, it provides a measured historical overview and a critical introduction, and one can see that the overall approach aims to be integrative, charting what are described as intricate negotiations between the British and Irish poetic traditions, and marshalling rival tendencies and positions.”  (Suite101.com, 17 February 2014)

“Written by critics from Britain, Ireland and the USA, this new paperback, A Concise Companion to Postwar British and Irish Poetry, edited by Nigel Alderman and C D Blanton (Wiley Blackwell, £29.99 / €36, January 2014), opens up many areas for literary exploration as it introduces students to the most important figures, movements and trends in British and Irish poetry since 1945.”  (Allvoices, 17 February 2014)

Gives some sense of why poetry provides the sharpest of lenses through which to view the historical and social developments of the second half of the twentieth century, and will serve both as a useful source of reference and a provocative starting point for discussion." (English Studies, 1 December 2011)

"Engaging and uncluttered by jargon. The mix of formal and thematic issues with social and cultural contexts doubles the usefulness of this collection as a preparatory tool for students of the period." (CHOICE, December 2009)