The poems in this anthology emerged from a creative writing short course devised by Steve Ely, entitled 'Writing the Apocalyptic Landscape' – the first in a planned series under the rubric of 'The Expressionist Poetry Workshop'. Participants were encouraged to generate visionary responses to the crisis of the Anthropocene in the context of landscapes important to them.

The course and anthology are also part of a wider AHRC-funded research project, entitled Ted Hughes's Expressionism: Visionary Subjectivity, which explores the contention that Hughes's most distinctive and original work is essentially Expressionist, and seeks to encourage innovative and experimental poetry informed by Expressionist principles.