H.D. and the American Avant-Garde: Gender, Nation, and Poetic Innovation by Dean Wallace offers a comprehensive exploration of H.D.'s pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of American modernism. The book delves into the intersections of gender, nationhood, and poetic innovation, arguing that H.D.'s avant-garde contributions were foundational to both the feminist and modernist movements of the early 20th century. Through an examination of her works, from her involvement in the Imagist movement to her later, more experimental poetry in Trilogy, Wallace illuminates how H.D. used her unique position as a woman and expatriate to challenge literary conventions, redefine female subjectivity, and engage with the political and psychological dimensions of war, trauma, and identity. The book offers fresh insights into H.D.'s reimagining of classical mythology, her engagement with surrealist techniques, and her feminist poetics, arguing that her work is central to understanding the cultural transformations of her era and the ways in which poetry can be a vehicle for both personal and collective renewal.
