Liam Coles, Darwin

Research Interests

My research centres on the aftermath of Walt Whitman and his effect on the verse forms (in particular the rhythms, rhyme patterns, line-breaks and mise en page) of three twentieth-century US poets, Muriel Rukeyser, Denise Levertov and Jorie Graham. I am particularly interested in the ways having Whitman as a forebear has affected how these poets express spiritual and religious feelings in verse. 

I also maintain a keen interest in performance poetry, and especially the techniques by which twentieth century poets have expressed their verse forms at recitals. Related to this, I directed a performance of Basil Bunting's long poem Briggflatts at Cambridge in 2023, which was recited by an actor and accompanied by a harpsichordist. 

 

Selected Publications

As Editor:

Basil Bunting Special Issue, The Cambridge Quarterly 54:2 (2025)

As Author:

'Performing "Briggflatts"', The Cambridge Quarterly 54:2 (2025)