This volume introduces students to the most important figures, movements and trends in post-war British and Irish poetry. - An historical overview and critical introduction to the poetry published in Britain and Ireland over the last half-century - Introduces students to figures including Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, and Andrew Motion - Takes an integrative approach, emphasizing the complex negotiations between the British and Irish poetic traditions, and pulling together competing tendencies and positions - Written by critics from Britain, Ireland, and the United States