In this wide-ranging, lively, and insightful book, which begins with an account of the vicissitudes of American political poetry, George Franklin addresses the poetry, and in some cases the poetics, of Frost, Stevens, and Williams. Two subsequent, more personal essays discuss the generative role that reading has played in his own life as a poet. The book concludes with chapters on Hopkins, Mallarme, and Celan. Franklin is particularly alert to the various ways that the work of many of these poets address spiritual concerns in an increasingly secular age. Erudite yet accessible, Voicing Orpheus seeks to engage both those with a special interest in poetry and with the common reader.