Though globalization has shrunk the world, certain pockets of culture remain strangers to each other. This is largely the case with contemporary British and American poetry: despite their long, intertwined history, they have pulled apart in recent decades and now seem to be in a condition of near-hermetic coexistence.

This state of things, undisputed among those with a foot in both worlds, is paradoxical and surprising. In the past there has been a significant give-and-take between the two traditions—for much of the twentieth century, a prolific cross-cultural exchange, both direct and indirect, took place. Robert Frost, who met and was inspired by Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves, is an example of the former. More common, though, was long-distance contact, particularly in America, whose poets were inclined to visit and revisit their personal heroes of English verse. Elizabeth Bishop, for instance, cited George Herbert as one of her early and enduring influences. Similarly, current American poets often point to the Renaissance, the Romantics, or the Victorians.

Read the full introduction