A Curious Peril: H.D.'s Late Modernist Prose

by Lara Vetter

Overview

Choice Outstanding Academic Title A Curious Peril examines the prose penned by modernist writer H.D. in the aftermath of World War II, a little-known body of work that has been neglected by scholars, and argues that the trauma H.D. experienced in London during the war profoundly changed her writing. Lara Vetter reveals a shift in these writings from classical "escapist" settings to politically aware explorations of gender, spirituality, nation, and imperialism. Impelled by the shocking political crises of the early 1940s, and increasingly sensitive to imperialist logics, H.D. began to write about the history of modern Europe using innovative forms and genres. She directed her well-known interest in mysticism and otherworldly themes toward the material world of empire-building and perpetual war. Vetter contends that H.D.'s postwar work is essential to understanding the writer's entire career, marking her entrance into late modernism and even foretelling crucial aspects of postmodernism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813065229
Publisher:	University Press of Florida
Publication date:	09/09/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Lara Vetter, professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is the editor of H.D.’s By Avon River and the author of Modernist Writings and Religio-scientific Discourse: H.D., Loy, and Toomer.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Vetter’s book reroutes standard narratives about women’s war writing, late modernism, and H.D. by focusing on her historically expansive prose writings of the 1940s.”—Marsha Bryant, author of Women’s Poetry and Popular Culture “Demonstrating how literary aspects of H.D.’s late prose contribute to politically attuned cultural work, Vetter astutely counters longstanding claims about H.D.’s ‘escapism.’”—Miranda Hickman, author of The Geometry of Modernism “An important, meticulously researched treatment of H.D.’s post–WWII writing that helps us understand her multiple genre-bending and time-warping moves.”—Madelyn Detloff, author of The Value of Virginia Woolf

Editorial Reviews

Exquisitely researched.”—Modern Language Review “An exemplary scholarly work: exceptionally well researched, consistently smart, accessible. . . . Essential.”—Choice “Offers a fascinating and thorough analysis of the chosen texts, grounding them not only in the context of H.D.’s own experiences and recognizing the trauma of two World Wars but also in the context of post-war Europe.”—Forum for Modern Language Studies “Thoroughly accounts for the modernist’s overlooked late-career prose.”—Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature

From the Publisher