Genre
Contemporary Poetry
Contemporary poetry is a genre of poetry which does not conform to rules in traditional poetry. Contemporary poems are generally written in free verse. Poems from this genre do not state ideas; they imply ideas. Poems written anywhere from the mid-nineteenth century to modern day may be part of the contemporary poetry genre (languagehumanities.org). This genre is extremely broad, and it has many sub-genres.
William Stafford is a poet who writes contemporary poetry. He writes poems in free verse, and his poems lack the elements of traditional poetry like rhyme and having a set number of lines in a stanza. His poetry is easy to read, and the language he uses is relatively modern.
Modern Romanticism
Modern Romanticism is a genre of poetry related to contemporary poetry. It defined by The Silver Petticoat Review as "a movement that emphasizes stories from 1900 to the present day influenced by Medieval Romanticism and the Romantic Era of the 18th and 19th centuries." Poetry in this genre visits topics like "personal expression," "love of nature," and "feelings." (The Silver Petticoat Review).
William Stafford's poetry follows Modern Romanticism. Many of his poems are written about topics in Modern Romanticism. One example is Traveling through the Dark, which discusses the death of a wild animal in a regrettful manner.