Whiteness, Feminism and the Absurd in Contemporary British and US Poetry

The first study to consider how Whiteness pervades and is challenged in contemporary British and US Absurdist poetry Engages with Whiteness studies, socio-political theory, and scholarship on the Theatre of the Absurd to update definitions and understandings of contemporary Absurdist British and US poetry Argues that poetry provides a space in which to challenge Whiteness, nihilism, and prejudice, and offer positive social change Demonstrates the wider influence of Absurdism and popular culture in current British and US poetry, and explores its status as an aesthetic, rather than an organised ‘school’ or movement Presents new analyses of poems by Emily Berry, Caroline Bird, and Jennifer L. Knox, with additional analyses of poems by Heather Phillipson, Sam Riviere, Selima Hill, Luke Kennard, Rachael Allen, Crispin Best, Franny Choi, Morgan Parker, Jane Yeh, Anne Boyer and Never Angeline Nørth In an era of political and social turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic, where issues of gender, race and class are linked with concerns of how to survive in a capitalist society, a new aesthetic of Absurdist poetry has emerged. This aesthetic has a troubled relationship to race, pervaded by issues of representation in avant-garde poetry, and notions of who poetry writers and readers are. Focusing on British and US poets including Rachael Allen, Emily Berry, Crispin Best, Caroline Bird, Franny Choi, Jennifer L. Knox, Morgan Parker and Jane Yeh, Jenna Clake investigates how poets use the Absurd to destabilise ideas about race, gender and class and imagine social change. Bringing together Whiteness studies, socio-political theory, and close readings of poems, Clake examines how the Absurd has developed, how its poets understand privilege and offer prospects of hope and change, and how the Absurd might move away from nihilism.Author: Jenna Clake,author Contributors: Jenna Clake,author Binding: paperback Publication Date: Release Date: Languages: English,Published,English,Original Language,Englis Published/Release Date: 31 Aug 2026 Format: Paperback / softback Publisher/Studio/Brand: Edinburgh University Press Author/Director/Artist: Jenna Clake Dimension (cm): 234x156x11 mm Package Dimension (cm): 11x234x156 mm Item Weight (g): 299 Package Weight (g): 299