This volume introduces students to the most important figures, movements and trends in post-war British and Irish poetry.

• An historical overview and critical introduction to the poetry published in Britain and Ireland over the last half-century
• Introduces students to figures including Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, and Andrew Motion
• Takes an integrative approach, emphasizing the complex negotiations between the British and Irish poetic traditions, and pulling together competing tendencies and positions
• Written by critics from Britain, Ireland, and the United States
• Includes suggestions for further reading and a chronology, detailing the most important writers, volumes and events

This Concise Companion introduces students to the most important poetic figures, movements, contexts, and trends in post-war British and Irish poetry, providing a much-needed reference point in a sprawling and often contentious field. Written by critics on both sides of the Atlantic and complemented by a general chronology detailing some of the most important writers, volumes, and events of recent decades, these essays provide contexts for critical reading, situating the central issues confronting post-war British and Irish poets within the wider framework of twentieth-century poetry.