On English Poetry Being an Irregular Approach to the Psychology of This Art, from Evidence Mainly Subjective

Robert Graves's On English Poetry Being an Irregular Approach to the Psychology of This Art, from Evidence Mainly Subjective is a sharp, personal meditation on what poetry is for and how it works. Drawing on criticism, memory, and argument, Graves treats poetry less as a fixed system than as a living practice shaped by emotion, tradition, and the poet's inner life.

Readers who like literary criticism that is argumentative rather than academic will find a probing, original voice here. The book suits anyone interested in modern poetry, the psychology of creativity, and the uneasy balance between craft and intuition. Graves keeps the focus on poetic experience, making the work feel intimate, searching, and defiantly individual. He is especially interested in why poems move readers before they can be explained.