Norman Friedman establishes Cummings as a major poet of the 20th century by showing where his modernism lies with regard to the mainstream.  He suggests that Cummings at his best provides ways of broadening and deepening our understanding of the concept of modernism.   Re)Valuing Cummings focuses first on Cummings's work as a poet and his place in the modernist movement, with emphasis on his later writings.  It then surveys the criticism of his work and the ups and downs of his reputation, from the 1920s until the present; finally, it describes Friedman's personal relationship with Cummings and the impact that it has had upon his own life and career.