The Imagist Poets

By John Gould Fletcher, Amy Lowell and James Joyce

In the early 1900s a new movement in poetry began. With the new century came new thinking, a reaction to both romanticism and the more formal, structured poetry of the Victorian era. Here was poetry designed to be simple, clear and precise, rather than be adorned and encrusted with more from the lexicon than what was actually needed.

The original ideas sprang from T. E Hulme and from these Ezra Pound created the structure for its development. Akin to the Ancient Greek lyricists and the Japanese Haiku poets who went from fixed meters to free verse.

I. Direct treatment of the “thing," whether subjective or objective.

II. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.

III. As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.

Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) William Carlos Williams, Richard Aldington and James Joyce added their talents to an anthology edited by Pound, swiftly followed by Amy Lowell assuming leadership and adding both monies and 3 further anthology volumes. By the end of the Great War in 1918 the movement was being absorbed into the broader modernist movement. Its time may have passed but its indelible mark was made.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Portable Poetry
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781835470404

Book preview

The Imagist Poets

An Introduction

In the early 1900s a new movement in poetry began.  With the new century came new thinking, a reaction to both romanticism and the more formal, structured poetry of the Victorian era.  Here was poetry designed to be simple, clear and precise, rather than be adorned and encrusted with more from the lexicon than what was actually needed.

The original ideas sprang from T. E Hulme and from these Ezra Pound created the structure for its development.  Akin to the Ancient Greek lyricists and the Japanese Haiku poets who went from fixed meters to free verse.

I. Direct treatment of the thing, whether subjective or objective.

II. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.

III. As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.

Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) William Carlos Williams, Richard Aldington and James Joyce added their talents to an anthology edited by Pound, swiftly followed by Amy Lowell assuming leadership and adding both monies and 3 further anthology volumes.   By the end of the Great War in 1918 the movement was being absorbed into the broader modernist movement.  Its time may have passed but its indelible mark was made.

Index of Contents

Images by Richard Aldington

Insouciance by Richard Aldington

Bombardment by Richard Aldington

Goodbye by Richard Aldington

Nocturnes by Skipworth Cannell

A Sequence by Skipworth Cannell

Ikons by Skipworth Cannell

The Rose by John Cournos

Among the Rodins by John Cournos

The Pool by Hilda Doolittle (HD)        

Cities by Hilda Doolittle (HD)

Song by Hilda Doolittle (HD)

The Monadnock by John Gould Fletcher

The Calm Poem by John Gould Fletcher

Lunch by F S Flint

London, My Beautiful by F S Flint

Hallucination by F S Flint

Four in the Morning Courage by Ford Madox Ford

On a Marsh Road by Ford Madox Ford

On the Hills by Ford Madox Ford

The Portrait by Ford Madox Ford

The Great View by Ford Madox Ford

Conversion by T E Hulme

Trenches - St Eloi by T E Hulme

The Embankment by T E Hulme

Strings in the Earth and Air by James Joyce

The Twilight Turns from Amethyst by James Joyce

At That hour When All Things Have Repose by James Joyce

When the Shy Star Goes Forth in Heaven by James Joyce

She Weeps Over Rahoon by James Joyce

Cradle by Alfred Kreymborg

Old Manuscript by Alfred Kreymborg

Gloire De Dijon by D H Lawrence

Hyde Park At Night Before The War; Clerks by D H Lawrence

Rose of All the World by D H Lawrence

Mana of the Sea by D H Lawrence

New Heaven and Earth by D H Lawrence

Dog Days by Amy Lowell

In a Garden by Amy Lowell

Meeting House Hill by Amy Lowell

The