Late Modernism in Manhattan: Mary Barnard and May Swenson

This article maps the poetry of Mary Barnard (1909–2001) and May Swenson (1913–89) in relation to late modernist practice in mid-century New York. Exploring their work with image and rhythm, and their respective engagements with the legacies of Imagism and Objectivism, the article finds that Barnard and Swenson innovated poetry and poetics which took account of the example of Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams and Marianne Moore, while extending their experimentation. If, in the 1940s, some of Barnard's and Swenson's contemporaries felt modernism's rails terminate, this article gives voice to two ‘new’ New York women poets who were quietly yet surely extending the line in exciting, experimental directions while resident in Manhattan. It concludes with a reconsideration of their work and significance in the light of recent developments in modernist studies.