"The everyday is what the prophetic poet focuses on, that is what fills him with rage, that is what he wants to transform." "Everyday and Prophetic is the first book to describe and analyze at length the complex relationship between the prophetic voice and the everyday voice in postwar and contemporary American poetry. Halpern demonstrates the ways in which the tension between these voices is centrally important to poetry and argues that focusing on this crucial relationship will allow readers to describe more accurately and precisely the inner operation of an enormous variety of poems. After a comprehensive introduction, Halpern offers extended readings of the work of Robert Lowell, A.R. Ammons, James Merrill, Adrienne Rich, Jorie Graham, and Louise Gluck, presenting readers with a fresh and original context in which to see their work and to understand postwar and contemporary American poetry as a whole." "Halpern traces the complex relationship between the everyday and prophetic voices, arguing that their failure or success in the poem determines whether the reader is rewarded with sharp disappointment or tremendous excitment."--Jacket.