Lowell, Bishop, Plath, Berryman, Jarrell and Schwartz formed one of the great constellations of talent in American literature. In the decades after the Second World War, they changed poetry forever by putting themselves at risk in their poems in a new and provocative way. Their daring work helped to inspire the style of poetry now known as confessional but they have become better known for their tumultuous lives-afflicted by mental illness, alcoholism and suicide-than for their work. In The Wounded Surgeon one of the most promising young poet-critics in America (Los Angeles Times) reclaims their achievement by offering critical biographies of the poetry-tracing the development of each poet's work, exploring their major themes and techniques, and examining how they transformed life into art.