A dense reticulum of ideas, which unravels into a swarm of images and a cacophony of sounds but nevertheless maintains a fluid coherence: such is the world of Wallace Stevens, Modernist poet par excellence, a man of stoic temperament and intimidating intelligence. With a daunting arsenal of unfamilia

Composed, Contemplative, Dense, Modernist poetry, Quirky, Smart, Sophisticated

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

Kipling was never one to pity the vanquished or cry for the victim. He preferred to praise the victors, fortify the reign of imperialism, legitimize and rationalize colonial order. Having lived in both Bombay and England, Kipling came to see English civilization as the only hope for a dirty, barbaric

Dark, Dense, Eclectic, Masculine, Modernist literature, Modernist poetry, Tense

Baroque, Beautiful , Composed, Dense, Elegant, Essays, Implosive, Layered, Playful, Postmodern fiction, Repetition, Science fiction, Surreal, Surrealist literature, Whimsical