Schools

Agrarians

A group of American regional writers in the South, especially associated with Nashville's Fugitive magazine, focusing on regional and pastoral literature.

Black Mountain School

A group of poets from the 1950s and 60s, including Charles Olson, known for projective verse poetry.

Bloomsbury Group

A group of 20th-century writers and thinkers led by Virginia Woolf, emphasizing the pleasures of beauty and human interaction.

Cavalier Lyricists

A group of light-hearted lyric poets during the reign of Charles I of England, including Robert Herrick.

Celtic Renaissance

A movement in the 1880s-1890s focused on the preservation of Gaelic language and the works of Irish writers such as W.B. Yeats.

Cockney School

A derogatory term for 19th-century writers known for their alleged poor taste in diction, including Hazlitt and Keats.

Courtly Makers

Court poets of the 1500s introduced 'new poetry' to England, notably the sonnet, including Sir Thomas Wyatt.

Cyberpunk

A subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the intersection of technology and society, emerging around 1975.

Decadents

Late 19th to early 20th-century writers who valued art over nature and found beauty in decay.

Frankfort School

A group of Marxist social theorists, including Theodor Adorno, known for their analyses of economics and society.

Geneva School

A group of 20th-century literary scholars focusing on existential expressions in literature.

Graveyard School

18th-century poets who wrote about death and immortality, including Thomas Gray.

Hartford Wits

Connecticut writers during the American Revolution, including Timothy Dwight and Joel Barlow.

Kit-Kat Club

A group of London Whigs from 1703-1733 who engaged in literature and political discourse.

Knickerbocker Group

Early 19th-century American writers based in New York, including Washington Irving.

Lake School/Lake Poets

A group of Romantic writers, including Wordsworth and Coleridge, living in the Lake District.

The Literary Club

A discussion group formed in London in 1764, led by Samuel Johnson.

Little Theater Movement

A late 19th-century movement emphasizing significant plays beyond commercial success.

Local Color Writing

19th-century writing that focuses on regional characteristics, especially in the US.

Lost Generation

American writers who came of age during WWI and reacted against older literary traditions.

Magical Realism

A literary movement in the 20th century that blends realistic narrative with magical elements.

Metaphysical Poets

17th-century poets who explored complex psychological themes, diverging from traditional forms.

The Movement

A British literary movement in the mid-1950s promoting middle-class values in literature.

Muckrakers

American writers exposing corruption in business and politics between 1902-1911.

New Criticism

A 1930s movement among American critics focusing on the text itself, independent of context.

New Formalism

A late 20th-century movement emphasizing traditional poetic forms and structures.

New York School

A group of American poets active from 1950-1970 known for their urban and witty style.

Oxford Reformers

Early Renaissance scholars advocating for church and state reform based on humanist ideals.

Pre-Raphaelitism

An 1848 movement that sought to return to simpler and more natural aesthetics in art and literature.

Satanic School

A term used to describe radical poets like Byron and Shelley, contrasting them with traditional schools.

Saturday Club

An informal group of Boston intellectuals and writers from the mid-19th century.

School of Donne

Another name for the Metaphysical Poets.

School of Night

A group of Elizabethan writers, potentially skeptical of traditional beliefs.

School of Spenser

A group of 17th-century poets influenced by Edmund Spenser.

Scriblerus Club

An early 18th-century group formed to satirize literary incompetence.

Silver-Fork School

A group of 19th-century English novelists characterized by themes of gentility.

Transcendental Club

A Boston-based group including Emerson and Thoreau focusing on transcendental philosophy.

Tribe of Ben

Poets during the reign of Charles I who were inspired by Ben Jonson's lyricism.

University Wits

A group of late 16th-century dramatists who developed blank verse in English literature.