In this pioneering study, Deryn Rees-Jones argues that the poetic traditions of the 20th century must be radically re-thought in light of the formal and thematic experimentation of three generations of women poets. Her companion anthology Modern Women Poets is published at the same time as Consorting with Angels.
Until recently, women's poetry has been tragically underappreciated. This study, argues that poetic traditions must be radically rethought in light of the formal and thematic experimentation of three generations of women poets. Rees-Jones establishes a lineage of women poets, from the more well-known work of Edith Sitwell, Elizabeth Jennings, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton, to the contemporary poets such as Gwyneth Lewis, Carol Ann Duffy, Selima Hill, and Medbh McGuckian, exemplifying women's poetry in Britain and America over the past century.