Ian Hamilton Finlay Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Ian Hamilton Finlay

The earliest poems and short stories of Ian Hamilton Finlay are characterized by economy of language and a direct, simple effectiveness. During the 1960s he turned for his materials toward a largely unexplored territory (at that time misleadingly labeled "concrete poetry") which can be mapped only in terms of an aesthetic attitude; it is not helpful to think about a halfway stage "between painting and poetry," for example. Consciously in the traditions of experimental modernism, Finlay has created poems which make imaginative use of unusual materials and surroundings. His influence on other artists has been strong and controversial, in Britain and elsewhere. He has challenged contemporary critics and writers to reconsider their conceptions of poetic language, artistic objectivity, and environment, as well as classical ideals of beauty and order. To this accomplishment--in itself no small achievement--should be added the sheer formal variety and lyricism to be encountered in his large poetic output.

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