The Oxford Book of American Verse Chosen and with an Introduction by F. O. Matthiessen

by F.O. Matthiessen (Editor)

A worthy companion to The Oxford Book of English Verse , this anthology covers, in 571 selections, the whole range of American poetry from colonial times; more than half of it is devoted to the best work of the period from 1900 to 1950. Fifty-one poets represented--deliberately fewer than in
most anthologies, so that sufficient space can be devoted to each poet to afford a real understanding of his or her work. More recent and less well-known poets are represented wherever possible by works of some length rather than by a scattering of short poems. Brief biographical notes at the end
enable the reader to know in what volume of the poet's work each poem originally appeared.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Anthologies, 20th Century, Fiction, Literature

1184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

Reviews

[Jim]

This book came to our house in a big box of books sent from a relative when I was about 11 years old. Picking through the books, for some reason I took this one. It has been a friend to me for all these years, and especially early on when I wanted to find out about this or that poet. I remember an especially powerful session when I decided to read all of the Walt Whitman poems in the anthology. . .and there are many. I had barely ever read poetry at all before. The poems shocked and excited and challenged and puzzled me. When I was done reading, I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Only it was not myself I saw, but someone changed. I still love this anthology, where I first read Frost and Whitman and Dickinson and William Carlos Williams! What a marvelous thing, this book coming to me as a boy!

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, *I finally read the whole thing!!!!* It only took...years?
The chronological arrangement is brilliant because it gives almost a poetic history of our nation. It begins with my dear Anne Bradstreet and features other favorites like Longfellow and Frost. The poetic history ends sadly as the 20th century poets at the end vent grief and disillusionment in the face of war and the crumbling of all that is sacred. Form and content reek blood and brokenness. The second half was hard to read, but I forced myself to just read through to the end without the rereads which are usually valuable when studying poetry. I'm ready to go reread some Robert Frost now.

[Lucifer "Argyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea of anthologies and such because then I can read a sampling of stuff from so many different people. I did like this collection, but I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of the poets. I did, however, appreciate having the opportunity to discover them and read some of their work.

[Jim Manis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of these 1650 to 1950 anthologies that I've read in the past year or so. And the longest. At this point, it's difficult to differentiate between them in quality. Considering when they were published, it shouldn't be surprising that they lack considerable in the area of diversity. The book contains most of the usual suspects from Bradstreet to Lowell.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sparked the beginning of my epic infatuation with prose and poetics. I've read out of it countless times and to innumerable amounts of people. When my friends all moved in to the same house, I got them one for their bookshelf. A true classic.

[Maryann Gestwicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read. Learning so many different ways to write & getting inspired to write my own poems through this book. A lot of authors I've never heard of that I'm reading, Lots of poets I've read that are my favorites.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice collection of American poetry.

[Blue Caeruleus · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were many poems that I liked, such as those by Poe, Masters, Frost, Longfellow, and Dickenson. Most of them, however, were boring and incomprehensible.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Favorite of Whitman's "Song of Myself" along with many of the greats.