Among the 1950s poets who rejected the modernist tradition, D.J. Enright deserves a secure place. Though sometimes associated with The Movement and sharing The Movement's dislike of the esoteric and their cultivation of vernacular diction and accessible imagery, Enright is distinguished by his exceptionally candid, unpatronizing portrayal of working-class conditions, his mild but devastating irony, and his ability to render scenes as various as Berlin and Bangkok with convincing precision. He avoids both private symbolism and political phrasemaking. Though fully aware that to appoint oneself observer of others' lives, whether in Asia, Africa, or Europe, is a morally precarious position to take, he demonstrates the power that such observation can have, where there is humaneness, frankness, and a concern for ordinary decency.

Dennis Joseph Enright has claimed that his parentage and Midlands working-class upbringing left him with the gift of being unable to grasp religious, racial, or...