The context for Malcolm Lowry's masterpiece, "Under the Volcano," is simple: a single day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin. It happens to be his last. The place is Quauhnahuac, Mexico, the day the Day of the Dead. As the locals celebrate the souls of the deceased, Firmin (also known as "the Consul"), h

Death, Dense, Euphoric, Hallucinatory, Modernist literature, Sprawling, Tragic

Craig Raine has an extraterrestrial sensibility. His 1979 volume, "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home," established a new school of poetry -- for those who experience this world as if it were Mars. Writing from the unfamiliar perspective of a space alien living in modern England, Raine forces his reader

Clever, Dense, Distorted, Illusive, Postmodern poetry, Quirky

In 1994 Dennis Potter knew he was going to die. The writer of such television theater masterpieces as "The Singing Detective" and "Pennies from Heaven" had just been diagnosed with untreatable cancer of the liver and pancreas. In a strange move, he agreed to talk with the BBC about his life and immin

Contemplative, Contemporary plays, Dense, Political, Profane, Witty

Tom Stoppard's intention is always to entertain, first and foremost. Though his plays are intellectually and philosophically rigorous, they're also good stories told with voluble wit. Sometimes he takes too easy a road to difficult issues in science and history, and for this he has been criticized by

Clever, Contemplative, Contemporary plays, Dense, Quirky, Sophisticated