We believe that the individuality of a poet may
often be better expressed in free-verse than in conventional forms.
often be better expressed in free-verse than in conventional forms.
Imagists
Those of us whose work appears in this volume have
therefore decided to publish our collection under a new title, and we have
been joined by two or three poets who did not contribute to the first
volume, our wider scope making this possible.
In this new book we have followed a slightly different arrangement to that
of the former Anthology. Instead of an arbitrary selection by an editor,
each poet has been permitted to represent himself by the work he considers
his best, the only stipulation being that it should not yet have appeared
in book form. A sort of informal committee--consisting of more than half
the authors here represented--have arranged the book and decided what
should be printed and what omitted, but, as a general rule, the poets
have been allowed absolute freedom in this direction, limitations of space
only being imposed upon them. Also, to avoid any appearance of precedence,
they have been put in alphabetical order.
As it has been suggested that much of the misunderstanding of the former
volume was due to the fact that we did not explain ourselves in a preface,
we have thought it wise to tell the public what our aims are, and why we
are banded together between one set of covers.
The poets in this volume do not represent a clique. Several of them are
personally unknown to the others, but they are united by certain common
principles, arrived at independently. These principles are not new; they
have fallen into desuetude. They are the essentials of all great poetry,
indeed of all great literature, and they are simply these:--
1. To use the language of common speech, but to employ always the _exact_
word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative word.
2. To create new rhythms--as the expression of new moods--and not to copy
old rhythms, which merely echo old moods. We do not insist upon
"free-verse" as the only method of writing poetry. We fight for it as for
a principle of liberty.
We believe that the individuality of a poet may
often be better expressed in free-verse than in conventional forms. In
poetry, a new cadence means a new idea.
3. To allow absolute freedom in the choice of subject. It is not good art
to write badly about aeroplanes and automobiles; nor is it necessarily bad
art to write well about the past. We believe passionately in the artistic
value of modern life, but we wish to point out that there is nothing so
uninspiring nor so old-fashioned as an aeroplane of the year 1911.
4. To present an image (hence the name: "Imagist"). We are not a school of
painters, but we believe that poetry should render particulars exactly and
not deal in vague generalities, however magnificent and sonorous. It is
for this reason that we oppose the cosmic poet, who seems to us to shirk
the real difficulties of his art.
5. To produce poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite.
6. Finally, most of us believe that concentration is of the very essence
of poetry.
The subject of free-verse is too complicated to be discussed here. We may
say briefly, that we attach the term to all that increasing amount of
writing whose cadence is more marked, more definite, and closer knit than
that of prose, but which is not so violently nor so obviously accented as
the so-called "regular verse.
therefore decided to publish our collection under a new title, and we have
been joined by two or three poets who did not contribute to the first
volume, our wider scope making this possible.
In this new book we have followed a slightly different arrangement to that
of the former Anthology. Instead of an arbitrary selection by an editor,
each poet has been permitted to represent himself by the work he considers
his best, the only stipulation being that it should not yet have appeared
in book form. A sort of informal committee--consisting of more than half
the authors here represented--have arranged the book and decided what
should be printed and what omitted, but, as a general rule, the poets
have been allowed absolute freedom in this direction, limitations of space
only being imposed upon them. Also, to avoid any appearance of precedence,
they have been put in alphabetical order.
As it has been suggested that much of the misunderstanding of the former
volume was due to the fact that we did not explain ourselves in a preface,
we have thought it wise to tell the public what our aims are, and why we
are banded together between one set of covers.
The poets in this volume do not represent a clique. Several of them are
personally unknown to the others, but they are united by certain common
principles, arrived at independently. These principles are not new; they
have fallen into desuetude. They are the essentials of all great poetry,
indeed of all great literature, and they are simply these:--
1. To use the language of common speech, but to employ always the _exact_
word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative word.
2. To create new rhythms--as the expression of new moods--and not to copy
old rhythms, which merely echo old moods. We do not insist upon
"free-verse" as the only method of writing poetry. We fight for it as for
a principle of liberty.
We believe that the individuality of a poet may
often be better expressed in free-verse than in conventional forms. In
poetry, a new cadence means a new idea.
3. To allow absolute freedom in the choice of subject. It is not good art
to write badly about aeroplanes and automobiles; nor is it necessarily bad
art to write well about the past. We believe passionately in the artistic
value of modern life, but we wish to point out that there is nothing so
uninspiring nor so old-fashioned as an aeroplane of the year 1911.
4. To present an image (hence the name: "Imagist"). We are not a school of
painters, but we believe that poetry should render particulars exactly and
not deal in vague generalities, however magnificent and sonorous. It is
for this reason that we oppose the cosmic poet, who seems to us to shirk
the real difficulties of his art.
5. To produce poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite.
6. Finally, most of us believe that concentration is of the very essence
of poetry.
The subject of free-verse is too complicated to be discussed here. We may
say briefly, that we attach the term to all that increasing amount of
writing whose cadence is more marked, more definite, and closer knit than
that of prose, but which is not so violently nor so obviously accented as
the so-called "regular verse.
