The Oxford Book of American PoetryDavid Lehman Here is the eagerly awaited new edition of The Oxford Book of American Poetry brought completely up to date and dramatically expanded by poet David Lehman. It is a rich, capacious volume, featuring the work of more than 200 poets-almost three times as many as the 1976 edition. With a succinctand often witty head note introducing each author, it is certain to become the definitive anthology of American poetry for our time. Lehman has gathered together all the works one would expect to find in a landmark collection of American poetry, from Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to Stevens's The Idea of Order at Key West, and from Eliot's The Waste Land to Ashbery's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But equally important,the editor has significantly expanded the range of the anthology. The book includes not only writers born since the previous edition, but also many fine poets overlooked in earlier editions or little known in the past but highly deserving of attention. The anthology confers legitimacy on theObjectivist poets; the so-called Proletariat poets of the 1930s; famous poets who fell into neglect or were the victims of critical backlash (Edna St. Vincent Millay); poets whose true worth has only become clear with the passing of time (Weldon Kees). Among poets missing from Richard Ellmann's 1976volume but published here are W. H. Auden, Charles Bukowski, Donald Justice, Carolyn Kizer, Kenneth Koch, Stanley Kunitz, Emma Lazarus, Mina Loy, Howard Moss, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, James Schuyler, Elinor Wylie, and Louis Zukosky. Many more women are represented: outstanding poets such asJosephine Jacobsen, Josephine Miles, May Swenson. Numerous African-American poets receive their due, and unexpected figures such as the musicians Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Robert Johnson have a place in this important work. This stunning collection redefines the great canon of American poetry from its origins in the 17th century right up to the present. It is a must-have anthology for anyone interested in American literature and a book that is sure to be consulted, debated, and treasured for years to come. Web Site A companion web site is now available at a href="http://www.oxfordpoetry.com"www.oxfordpoetry.com/a |
From inside the book
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Page xviii
... lines . But I am not convinced by it - the original is better , and not only because it is the version I grew up ... lines . " This is not quite accurate . Originally the first line read , “ I , too , dislike it : there are things that ...
... lines . But I am not convinced by it - the original is better , and not only because it is the version I grew up ... lines . " This is not quite accurate . Originally the first line read , “ I , too , dislike it : there are things that ...
Page 246
... line stanza form containing twenty - two syllables , with the four , six , and eight syllables in its middle three lines sandwiched between opening and closing lines of two syllables each . Her life was marked by great sadness . In 1906 ...
... line stanza form containing twenty - two syllables , with the four , six , and eight syllables in its middle three lines sandwiched between opening and closing lines of two syllables each . Her life was marked by great sadness . In 1906 ...
Page 956
... lines that are spoken in the voice of the mouse . I mean we've seen these images in cartoons before , but I still love the details he uses when he's describing where he lives . The tiny arch of an entrance in the white baseboard , his ...
... lines that are spoken in the voice of the mouse . I mean we've seen these images in cartoons before , but I still love the details he uses when he's describing where he lives . The tiny arch of an entrance in the white baseboard , his ...
Contents
ANNE BRADSTREET c 16121672 | 1 |
PHILLIS WHEATLEY c 17531784 | 13 |
CLEMENT MOORE 17791863 | 19 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
American American Poetry beauty bird blood blue body born breath Charles Simic cold dark dead death Desolation Row door dream earth Elizabeth Bishop eyes Ezra Pound face fall father feel feet flowers girl gone grass green hair hand head hear heard heart heaven James Merrill James Schuyler John Ashbery knew laugh leaves light live look Louise Glück mind moon morning mother never night once poem poet poetry rain Randall Jarrell river Robert Creeley Robert Lowell rock rose shadow shore silence sing sleep smile snow song soul sound stand stars stone street summer sweet T. S. Eliot talk tell thee things thou thought trees turn voice W. H. Auden waiting walk watch waves wind window woman words wrote young