The poetry of Raymond Souster.

Despite Raymond Souster's acknowledged stature as major Canadian poet, no in-depth study of his poetry has been made. Consequently, basic misconceptions exist, the most fundamental one being the tendency to consider Souster's poetry as being static. This thesis is intended to fill partially the void of criticism, thereby erasing the above misconception. The Introduction contains a brief biographical note and description of the literary climate existing when Souster began writing, Chapter II traces the development of Souster's poetic style and examines the influences upon his poetry. Through time, these influences have been the poetry of Kenneth Fearing, Kenneth Patchen, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Charles Olson, and Robert Creeley. The third chapter deals with the full range of Souster's poetry, discussing the interplay of both fear and joy operative in Souster's treatment of the city, nature, woman, and youth. Munro Beattie, for instance, in his Literary History Of Canada (p. 780), states that the form of Souster's poetry has changed scarcely at all since 19^3? Desmond Pacey in Creative Writing in Canada (p. 1?*0 , asserts that although the poems have not deteriorated, there has been no significant development in Souster's poetry since the early 19*4-0's.