The reissue of this essay is an important event. The controversy between the life of the imagination and the life of technology has never been as strong as it is today, and so Professor Richards’ observations are of special value.

Richards here offers anew the 1935 edition of his work (then entitled Science and Poetry) with commentary that reveals not only the development of his own criticism but also the ways in which the relationship between the two disciplines has evolved. He has also written a new essay entitled “Re-Orientation” and has included, as another kind of commentary on the basic text, his essay “How Does a Poem Know When It Is Finished?”