the penguin anthology of 20th century american poetry

Guggenheims, Pulitzers, Lenore Marshall Awards, National Book Awards, Lannan Awards, Yale Younger Poets Awards, National Endowment For the Arts Grants and, Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, before and after the post was renamed U.

The collection is a valid model of an establishment icon. Let’s hope it’s soon available electronically, or issued in paperback with a CD. The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry is an immensely welcome addition to the mix and it covers A LOT of worthwhile, thrilling territory in a relatively small amount of space. Not long ago I would have said of many, “Their work will last.” Now I believe it is more fair-minded to say, “Their work deserves to last,” because changes in the way we access words are taking place so quickly. It is clear from Dove’s introduction to the anthology, and from her selections, that she just wanted an engaging, informative, high -quality collection.

It is clear from Vendler’s review that she wants a canon carved in marble. The poetry blogosphere, to no surprise, exploded in the time between essays, and people also noted Vendler’s final words in December : “I have written my review and I stand by it.” Poet Laureate, and her December 23rd NYRB response was graceful, reasonable and pained. In an uncharacteristically inept, mean-spirited piece in the November 24th New York Review of Books, Helen Vendler, whom I have praised here and elsewhere, failed to prove that her view of 20th century American verse should prevail over Rita Dove’s choices and thinking as expressed in The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry, which Dove edited. Rarely does a review warrant a foreward, not to mention an afterword. March 31st, 2012 It is clear from Dove’s introduction to the anthology, and from her selections, that she just wanted an engaging, informative, high -quality collection.

The penguin anthology of 20th century american poetry