208:
topics, the book explores the legacy of
Aristotle's dual view of poetry as, on the one hand, a rhetorical art of metrical speech and, on the other hand, a mimetic art that does not necessarily involve meter. The book also examines the shift in Romantic aesthetics from the belief that artists objectively represent the world outside them to the belief that they subjectively express their inner feelings. Another subject of discussion is the increasing prominence in imaginative literature, in the eighteenth century and afterwards, of prose forms like the novel. Yet another topic is the sense among modern poets and artists that the physical sciences have moved into the central position in culture and that the arts should, to keep up with science, adopt its methods and become "experimental." And the book documents the way a number of leading modern poets came to feel that meter itself was inextricably bound up with the dated idioms of Victorian verse and that to break with or reform Victorian style it was also necessary to break with or reform meter. More specifically, the book observes how free verse—originally regarded by the great early modern poets as a temporary expedient to bring new life into poetry and as a challenge to poets to think freshly about their art—ramified into increasingly divergent modes and became, over the course of the twentieth century, a predominant means of poetic expression.
101:. He, however, has objected to being called a New Formalist, saying that he doesn't claim to be doing anything technically novel and that Formalism "suggests, among other things, an interest in style rather than substance, whereas I believe that the two are mutually vital in any successful poem." Notwithstanding his reservations about the term, Steele's poetry is more strictly "formal" than the work of most New Formalists in that he rarely uses inexact rhymes or metrical substitutions, and is sparing in his use of enjambment.
257:, "Readers of poetry with a feel for formal verse can already find an interesting and gratifying wealth of invention in Steele's three volumes of poems. Those who care for explanations of versification and poetic history will find his two volumes of prose useful and readable. Those arbiters of and reporters on shifting tastes will have to take him as a reference point to orient any serious discussion of the renascent strains of traditional verse in American poetry." And Susan Clair Imbarrato commented in 2006, in
224:
Steele himself has said that he does not object to free verse--"Free verse," he maintains, "is just as much poetry as verse is"—but to the idea that it has superseded meter and rendered it obsolete. Though acknowledging he feels a special interest in metrical composition, he has insisted that his preference "is personal and aesthetic, however; I have never imagined that it provided me with access to cultural or spiritual virtue. And despite opinions to the contrary about
195:, Steele explained his goals in using traditional poetic structure: "Well-used meter and rhyme can create a sense of liveliness and a symmetry and surprise that can produce delight and pleasure for the reader ... I want to say something important. And I would hope the reader would be interested in it. But I also hope to give the reader pleasure."
128:
Steele received his baccalaureate degree in
English (1970) from Stanford University and a master's (1972) and doctorate (1977) in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, where he studied with the well-known poet and Renaissance scholar J. V. Cunningham, a collected edition of whose
223:
as involving or implying a broadly and unwarrantedly negative assessment of the free verse tradition. Yet even reviewers who did not wholly share Steele's views appear to have felt that his book revealed and illuminated aspects of modern poetry that had been overlooked or insufficiently considered.
207:
examines the ideas and conditions that led many poets, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, to challenge poetry's traditional principles of rhythmical organization and to develop new forms of verse without the regular units of measure that had characterized earlier verse. Among other
185:
Critics have pointed to Yvor
Winters and Cunningham as having influenced Steele's work and have noted his particular affinity with Frost. As Donald G. Sheehy says in his essay "Measure for Measure: The Frostian Classicism of Timothy Steele": "Steele recalls Frost in his subtle mastery of form, in
232:
is somehow wrong and immoral or that meter is somehow right and pure. The experimental school of Pound, Eliot, Lawrence, and
Williams has its own beauties and achievements. But we can prize them justly and build on them, it seems to me, only if we retain a knowledge and appreciation of the
124:
Born in
Burlington, Vermont in 1948, Steele attended the city's public schools. At an early age, he became interested in poetry, including that of Robert Frost, who was appointed the state's Poet Laureate in 1961, and William Shakespeare, several of whose plays were staged each summer at a
253:, "His achievement as a poet ... is such that he differs from the mainstream far less today than when he began writing--an important marker of the range and substance of his influence. In short, he has helped to change the course of the stream." Joseph O. Aimone noted in 2003 in
137:
From 1975 to 1977 Steele served as a Jones
Lecturer in poetry at Stanford. Subsequently, he held lectureships at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. He is an emeritus professor in the English Department at California State University, Los Angeles, where he taught from 1987 until 2012.
240:
draws from the entire range of
English-language poetry since Chaucer, which Robert B. Shaw calls "indicative of an impressive breadth of learning and a lively catholicity of taste ... This book defines a notably high standard for future writers in the field to emulate."
186:
his philosophical and aesthetic moderation, in his sympathetic but unsentimental attention to the natural world and to the vicissitudes of love and marriage, and in the gently incisive wit with which he meets human foible, public and private."
219:, Clive Wilmer spoke of Steele as "a considerable scholar ... moving with ease across two-and-a-half millennia of critical thought on the subject of metre" and summarized the book as "wise and engrossing." Other reviewers interpreted
162:, "Steele's formal range is impressive. Each poem works in a different stanza ... Their subjects, evoked in exquisite imagery, are entryways to noumena, the pure abstractions of the mind." Speaking in
146:
Steele's poems fuse traditional verse forms with contemporary subjects and, in
Kennedy's words, "express appreciation both for the life of the mind and for the sensuous world." Writing in
215:
praised the book for its depth of historical information and analysis and considered reasonable Steele's concluding argument on behalf of preserving metrical tradition. Writing in the
174:
said, "Timothy Steele's poetry exemplifies the order that he praises, but ultimately it is both the charity and the clarity of his vision that are most remarkable." And
182:(2006), described Steele as "so technically adroit that he could write about anything and produce a poem repeatedly rewarding for music and shapeliness alone."
261:, that Steele's "use of traditional forms and precise, accessible language has repositioned formal prosody into the rich palette of contemporary poetry."
754:
719:
764:
759:
113:
414:
233:
time-tested principles of standard versification. Free verse cannot be free, unless there is something for it to be free of."
154:(1979), as "a lovely book ... the formality of Steele's poetry is so delicate that it never intimidates." Of his second book,
249:
Observers agree that Steele's work has influenced the development of recent
American verse. Kevin Walzer wrote in 1996 in
89:, who generally writes in meter and rhyme. His early poems, which began appearing in the 1970s in such magazines as
296:(University of Arkansas Press, 1995) This volume reprints, in slightly revised form, Steele's first two collections.
739:
20:
475:
97:, are said to have anticipated and contributed to the revival of traditional verse associated with the
700:
744:
749:
734:
705:
643:, eds. Jonathan N. Barron and Bruce Meyer. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2003, p. 292.
389:, eds. Alex Preminger and T. V. F. Brogan. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1993, p. 835.
8:
112:, an introduction to English versification. Steele was an original faculty member of the
66:
62:
51:
104:
In addition to four collections of poems, Steele is the author of two books on prosody:
670:
410:
402:
191:
561:
Sheehy, Donald G. "Measure for
Measure: The Frostian Classicism of Timothy Steele."
600:
Steele. Contribution to "Symposium: What We Talk about When We Talk about Form."
345:
656:, ed. Jeffrey Gray. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006, vol. 5, p. 1522.
715:
368:
compiled by Jack W.C. Hagstrom and Joshua S. Odell (Joshua Odell Editions, 2018)
319:
All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing: An Explanation of Meter and Versification
674:
108:, a study of the literary and historical background of modern free verse; and
728:
98:
696:
338:
The Music of His History: Poems for Charles Gullans on His Sixtieth Birthday
203:
Steele's two books on versification have attracted considerable attention.
171:
549:
450:
Three Poets in Conversation: Dick Davis, Rachel Hadas, Timothy Steele.
325:
Three Poets in Conversation: Dick Davis, Rachel Hadas, Timothy Steele
125:
Shakespeare festival at the University of Vermont in Burlington.
641:
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 282: New Formalist Poets
691:
313:
Missing Measures: Modern Poetry and the Revolt against Meter
205:
Missing Measures: Modern Poetry and the Revolt Against Meter
116:, and received its Robert Fitzgerald Prosody Award in 2004.
86:
654:
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Poets and Poetry
259:
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Poets and Poetry
448:"Timothy Steele in Conversation with Cynthia Haven."
387:
The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
150:, Rob Fure characterized Steele's first collection,
518:Hellerstein, Kathryn. "Pleasures of Restriction."
397:
395:
626:Walzer, Kevin. "The Poetry of Timothy Steele."
726:
362:by James Matthew Wilson (Story Line Press, 2012)
652:Imbarrato, Susan Clair. "Timothy Reid Steele."
392:
587:Wilmer, Clive. "A Straitjacket or a Trilby?"
496:ed. R. S. Gwynn. Detroit: Gale, 1992, p. 298.
531:Gwynn, R. S. "Lectures in Urban Survival."
452:London: Between the Lines, 2006, pp. 103-06.
198:
349:(Ohio University Press/Swallow Press, 1997)
321:(Ohio University Press/Swallow Press, 1999)
302:(Ohio University Press/Swallow Press, 2006)
613:Shaw, Robert B. "Prosody for the People."
366:Timothy Steele: A Bibliography, 1957-2018
236:Steele's explanation of versification in
114:West Chester University Poetry Conference
755:American academics of English literature
461:Steele, Timothy. "The Forms of Poetry."
435:Leithauser, Brad. "The Strictest Line."
360:Timothy Steele: A Critical Introduction
85:(born January 22, 1948) is an American
727:
290:(Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994)
282:Sapphics against Anger and Other Poems
156:Sapphics against Anger and Other Poems
550:http://www.ohioswallow.com/review/663
158:(1986), Kathryn Hellerstein wrote in
639:Aimone, Joseph O. "Timothy Steele."
417:from the original on October 3, 2018
315:(University of Arkansas Press, 1990)
255:The Dictionary of Literary Biography
238:All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing
110:All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing
13:
574:Gordon, Larry. "Poetry's Purist."
494:American Poets Since World War II,
385:Brogan, T. V. F. "New Formalism."
14:
776:
765:American male non-fiction writers
685:
578:, June 10, 1991, Section B, p. 1.
490:Dictionary of Literary Biography,
488:Kennedy, X. J. "Timothy Steele."
189:In an interview in 1991 with the
760:Writers from Burlington, Vermont
19:For people similarly named, see
659:
646:
633:
620:
607:
594:
581:
568:
555:
538:
525:
264:
129:poems Steele would later edit.
512:
499:
482:
468:
455:
442:
429:
379:
1:
372:
340:(Robert L. Barth Press, 1989)
552:. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
439:, February 19, 1988, p. 180.
244:
119:
7:
91:Poetry, The Southern Review
21:Tim Steele (disambiguation)
10:
781:
591:, February 1, 1991, p. 19.
300:Toward the Winter Solstice
294:Sapphics and Uncertainties
180:Toward the Winter Solstice
18:
701:Academy of American Poets
617:(September 2000), p. 347.
509:, April 15, 1979, p. 956.
465:(Summer 1992), pp. 29-30.
327:(Between the Lines, 2006)
199:Works about versification
141:
132:
72:
58:
35:
28:
16:American poet (born 1948)
563:The Robert Frost Journal
407:www.poetryfoundation.org
708:by Cynthia L. Haven in
628:The Tennessee Quarterly
476:"Faculty Web Directory"
251:The Tennessee Quarterly
228:I have never said that
535:(Winter 1996), p. vii.
522:(Autumn 1989), p. 679.
276:Uncertainties and Rest
152:Uncertainties and Rest
93:, and X. J. Kennedy's
630:(Winter 1996), p. 17.
178:Ray Olson, reviewing
284:(Random House, 1986)
740:American male poets
76:Victoria Lee Steele
67:Brandeis University
63:Stanford University
52:Burlington, Vermont
565:(Fall 1995) p. 73.
533:The Sewanee Review
211:Some reviewers of
164:The Sewanee Review
576:Los Angeles Times
548:, March 1, 2006.
411:Poetry Foundation
278:(LSU Press, 1979)
226:Missing Measures,
192:Los Angeles Times
80:
79:
772:
710:Cortland Review,
679:
678:
663:
657:
650:
644:
637:
631:
624:
618:
611:
605:
598:
592:
585:
579:
572:
566:
559:
553:
542:
536:
529:
523:
516:
510:
503:
497:
486:
480:
479:
472:
466:
459:
453:
446:
440:
433:
427:
426:
424:
422:
403:"Timothy Steele"
399:
390:
383:
346:J. V. Cunningham
221:Missing Measures
213:Missing Measures
106:Missing Measures
95:Counter/Measures
49:
46:January 22, 1948
45:
43:
26:
25:
780:
779:
775:
774:
773:
771:
770:
769:
745:Formalist poets
725:
724:
688:
683:
682:
665:
664:
660:
651:
647:
638:
634:
625:
621:
612:
608:
599:
595:
586:
582:
573:
569:
560:
556:
543:
539:
530:
526:
520:Partisan Review
517:
513:
507:Library Journal
504:
500:
487:
483:
474:
473:
469:
463:Brandeis Review
460:
456:
447:
443:
434:
430:
420:
418:
413:. 18 May 2023.
401:
400:
393:
384:
380:
375:
288:The Color Wheel
267:
247:
201:
168:The Color Wheel
160:Partisan Review
148:Library Journal
144:
135:
122:
65:
50:
47:
41:
39:
31:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
778:
768:
767:
762:
757:
752:
747:
742:
737:
723:
722:
713:
703:
697:Timothy Steele
694:
687:
686:External links
684:
681:
680:
658:
645:
632:
619:
606:
604:(2011), p. 14.
593:
580:
567:
554:
537:
524:
511:
498:
481:
467:
454:
441:
428:
391:
377:
376:
374:
371:
370:
369:
363:
351:
350:
341:
329:
328:
322:
316:
304:
303:
297:
291:
285:
279:
266:
263:
246:
243:
200:
197:
143:
140:
134:
131:
121:
118:
83:Timothy Steele
78:
77:
74:
70:
69:
60:
56:
55:
37:
33:
32:
30:Timothy Steele
29:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
777:
766:
763:
761:
758:
756:
753:
751:
750:Living people
748:
746:
743:
741:
738:
736:
733:
732:
730:
721:
717:
714:
711:
707:
704:
702:
698:
695:
693:
690:
689:
676:
672:
668:
662:
655:
649:
642:
636:
629:
623:
616:
610:
603:
602:Think Journal
597:
590:
584:
577:
571:
564:
558:
551:
547:
541:
534:
528:
521:
515:
508:
502:
495:
491:
485:
477:
471:
464:
458:
451:
445:
438:
432:
416:
412:
408:
404:
398:
396:
388:
382:
378:
367:
364:
361:
358:
357:
356:
355:
348:
347:
344:The Poems of
342:
339:
336:
335:
334:
333:
326:
323:
320:
317:
314:
311:
310:
309:
308:
301:
298:
295:
292:
289:
286:
283:
280:
277:
274:
273:
272:
271:
262:
260:
256:
252:
242:
239:
234:
231:
227:
222:
218:
214:
209:
206:
196:
194:
193:
187:
183:
181:
177:
173:
169:
165:
161:
157:
153:
149:
139:
130:
126:
117:
115:
111:
107:
102:
100:
99:New Formalism
96:
92:
88:
84:
75:
71:
68:
64:
61:
57:
53:
48:(age 76)
38:
34:
27:
22:
720:Kevin Durkin
709:
666:
661:
653:
648:
640:
635:
627:
622:
614:
609:
601:
596:
588:
583:
575:
570:
562:
557:
545:
544:Olson, Ray.
540:
532:
527:
519:
514:
506:
501:
493:
489:
484:
470:
462:
457:
449:
444:
436:
431:
419:. Retrieved
406:
386:
381:
365:
359:
353:
352:
343:
337:
331:
330:
324:
318:
312:
306:
305:
299:
293:
287:
281:
275:
269:
268:
265:Bibliography
258:
254:
250:
248:
237:
235:
229:
225:
220:
216:
212:
210:
204:
202:
190:
188:
184:
179:
175:
167:
163:
159:
155:
151:
147:
145:
136:
127:
123:
109:
105:
103:
94:
90:
82:
81:
735:1948 births
505:Fure, Rob.
354:Scholarship
307:Non-fiction
172:R. S. Gwynn
729:Categories
675:1033791424
492:Vol. 120:
373:References
230:vers libre
176:Booklist's
42:1948-01-22
716:Interview
712:June 2000
706:Interview
692:Home page
245:Influence
120:Education
59:Education
667:WorldCat
546:Booklist
415:Archived
170:(1994),
699:at the
673:
615:Poetry
421:19 May
332:Edited
270:Poetry
142:Poetry
133:Career
73:Spouse
54:, U.S.
671:OCLC
423:2023
87:poet
36:Born
718:by
589:TLS
437:TLS
217:TLS
166:of
731::
669:.
409:.
405:.
394:^
44:)
677:.
478:.
425:.
40:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.