LIVES OF THE POETS 

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Lives of the Poets
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998; Head of Zeus, 2014

Boldly step­ping past Samuel Johnson’s famous Lives of the Poets (of the 17^th and 18^th cen­turies), Michael Schmidt gives readers his per­spective on the history of English poetry from its begin­nings to the twen­tieth century in one com­pen­dious volume, cov­ering the lives and works of over 300 poets.

‘His widely praised book Lives of the Poets (1998) was a 900-page med­it­a­tion on English poetry in which his forceful, witty, some­times par­tisan sketches revealed a mind deeply in love with literature.’
– Camille Paglia, New York Times

‘A mas­terly exer­cise of cogency and compression’
– Times Literary Supplement

‘No journey can be made without the aid of a depend­able map. Poet and pub­lisher Michael Schmidt has provided a good one for the entire history of English poetry in this enormous door­stop.[…] the book manages to combine a good deal of sound judge­ment with read­ab­ility, enlivened by sprink­lings of humour.’
– The Tablet