Poetry in Photography

For almost 200 years, the work - and the writings - of pioneering photographers have transformed the way we see the world, and each other. Their ideas have inspired heated debate and dissent. And their images have helped form those we see all around us today. Our Writings on Photography titles bring you the thinking of these radicals and visionaries in their own words. Poetry in Photography brings together a collection of writings - and stunning images - from "one of the most virulent polemicists in the history of photography", P H Emerson (1856-1936), whose writing was compared at the time to "dropping a bombshell at a tea party". Emerson argued against the fine art-based academism of photography of the period, and in favour photography as a medium in its own right, whose distinctive characteristics should be adhered to if it was to attain its full artistic potential. His writings mark the beginning of the transition into modernism and are recognised as ranking alongside those of Rola