The term Cold War describes the prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in earnest in 1947 and lasted until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Rather than direct military conflict, it was waged through proxy wars, propaganda, espionage, and arms races. The anxiety of living under the threat of nuclear annihilation pervaded poetry and literature on both sides of the Iron Curtain throughout the period.

The onset of the Cold War in 1947 inspired a surge of poetry reflecting the anxieties of nuclear fear and espionage. Poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Adrienne Rich used their work to articulate the emotional and psychological impacts of this geopolitical tension, shaping the literary landscape of the era.