A term originally coined by poets Jerome Rothenberg
and Robert Kelly
to describe stylized, resonant poetry that operated according to the Symbolist
theory of correspondences, which posited a connection between the physical and spiritual realms. Rothenberg and Kelly were inspired by Federico García Lorca’s
“deep song.” The idea was later redeveloped by the poet Robert Bly
, and deep image became associated with a group of midcentury American poets including Galway Kinnell
and James Wright
. The new group of deep-image poets was often narrative, focusing on allowing concrete images and experiences to generate poetic meaning.