Audiobook: Goblins and Pagodas

John Gould Fletcher (1886 – 1950) is considered by many literary scholars to be among the most innovative twentieth-century poets. He enjoyed an international reputation for much of his long career and earned the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1939. Fletcher lived in England from 1909 to 1932 and while in Europe he associated closely with Amy Lowell, Ezra Pound, and other Imagist poets. In addition to being an adherent of Imagism, which used free verse and was dedicated to replacing traditional poetics with new rhythms, concise use of language, and a concrete rather than symbolic treatment of subject, Fletcher also wrote poetry that drew from such varied sources as French Symbolism, Oriental art and philosophy, and music. The 1st part of this book, "Ghosts of an Old House," evoke, out of the furniture and surroundings of a certain old house, emotions and childish terror which the poet had concerning them. In the "Symphonies," which form the second part of this volume, the poet narrates certain important phases of the emotional and intellectual development—in short, the life—of an artist. - Summary by Nemo