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Americans' Favorite Poems
This anthology embodies Robert Pinsky's commitment to discover America's beloved poems, his special undertaking as Poet Laureate of the United States. The selections in this anthology were chosen form the personal letters of thousands of Americans who responded to Robert Pinsky's invitation to write to him about their favorite poems. Some poems are memories treasured in the mind since childhood; some crystallize the passion of love or recall the trail of loss and sorrow. The poems and poets in this anthology―from Sappho to Lorca, from Shakespeare and Chaucer to Gwendolyn Brooks, Louise Bluck, and Allen Ginsberg―are poems to be read aloud and memorized, poems to be celebrated as part of our nation's cultural inheritance. Accompanying the poems are comments by people who speak not as professional critics but as passionate readers of various ages, professions and regions. This anthology, in a manner unlike any other, discloses the rich and vigorous presence of poetry in American life at the millennium and provides a portrait of the United States through the lens of poetry.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
March 7, 2021
This highly recommended anthology is a collection of 200 poems. Each poem is selected and then introduced by an "ordinary" American explaining why he/she finds the language or themes so impactful.
Here, a social worker from Boston introduces a poem called “On Pilgrimage” by Czeslaw Milosz, a Nobel Prize winner from Poland. She writes: "Great poems to me raise my flesh. I get goosebumps. This one, always and without fail, does it... It is a reminder of how big and also how small it is to be human.”
Here's the last stanza of "On Pilgrimage" by Milosz:
"May the gentle mountains and the bells of the flocks
Remind us of everything we have lost,
For we have seen on our way and fallen in love
With the world that will pass in a twinkling."
Here, a social worker from Boston introduces a poem called “On Pilgrimage” by Czeslaw Milosz, a Nobel Prize winner from Poland. She writes: "Great poems to me raise my flesh. I get goosebumps. This one, always and without fail, does it... It is a reminder of how big and also how small it is to be human.”
Here's the last stanza of "On Pilgrimage" by Milosz:
"May the gentle mountains and the bells of the flocks
Remind us of everything we have lost,
For we have seen on our way and fallen in love
With the world that will pass in a twinkling."
December 28, 2007
When appointed Poet Laureate in 1997, Robert Pinsky promoted poetry by initiating the "Favorite Poem Project," which invited submissions from Americans to share their favorite poems and the reasons for their choice. A selection of these poems and accompanying commentary have been assembled in this anthology. I would recommend this anthology to any skeptics of poetry or those who have found poetry too intimidating or obscure for every day consumption. The poems are chosen by Americans from all backgrounds, for instance, a 19 yr. old black and gay student from Georgia relating to the torment and struggles within Countee Cullen's "Yet Do I Marvel" and a 75 yr. old professor who eventually let go of her "subterranean anger" towards her father's severity on account of reading "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden.
This anthology is is a firm example of the great benefits of art in illuminating one's experiences and of personalizing an artform that many still believe is otherwise too difficult to enjoy.
This anthology is is a firm example of the great benefits of art in illuminating one's experiences and of personalizing an artform that many still believe is otherwise too difficult to enjoy.
May 2, 2025
"Song of Myself" is my favorite poem. I work for the Boston Gas Company. In recent years I have discovered that poetry offers insight and inspiration that I was unable to find on my own. In 1994 I began attending the University of Massachusetts as an English major. This was looked upon by many of my coworkers as nothing less than ridiculous. I guess a ditchdigger who reads Shakespeare is still just a ditchdigger. But the invaluable lesson that I have learned is that poetry is a universal celebration that exists in everything and everybody. It has fueled my own self-esteem, and helped me to take nothing for granted.
--John Doherty, 33, Construction Worker, Braintree, Massachusetts
When I first read this poem [Philip Levine's "You Can Have It"], I realized that to be a blue-collar worker in the United States didn't mean I had to be ignorant. Since my parents only went to the eighth grade, and since, at the time, there was a real possibility that I would have to follow my father into the steel mill, this was an important discovery.
--Tim Skeen, 40, Community College Teacher, Prestonburg, Kentucky
The circle is closed, and the net
Is being hauled in. They hardly feel the cords drawing, yet they shine already.
The inevitable mass-disasters
Will not come in our time nor in our children's, but we and our children
Must watch the net draw narrower, government take all powers--or revolution, and the new government
Take more than all, add to kept bodies kept souls--or anarchy, the mass-disasters.
These things are Progress;
Do you marvel our verse is troubled or frowning, while it keeps its reason?
Or it lets go, lets the mood flow
In the manner of the recent young men into mere hysteria, splintered gleams, crackled laughter. But they are quite wrong.
There is no reason for amazement: surely one always knew that cultures decay, and life's end is death.
from Robinson Jeffers' "The Purse-Seine"
Despite the spit and polish given to this enterprise in the Introduction and on the dust-cover's sleeves, Robert Pinsky wanted to justify his position as our nation's poet laureate. So he asked his fellow Americans to send him their favorite poems. Some chose the expected ones ("The Road Not Taken," "Mother to Son," "Invictus," "Jabberwocky," "How Do I Love Thee?" etc.), and some choose some truly odd ones ("Hornworm: Autumn Lamentation," "Pot Roast," "Notes from a Nonexistent Himalayan Expedition" etc.). It's a mixed bag, for sure.
Each poem comes with a brief note from the contributor explaining why they chose the poem and how much it means to them. Though Pinsky claims he's showing that the stereotype of Americans and poetry is inaccurate, a distinct majority of contributors are teachers or librarians. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. But Pinsky's underlying goal is to show that poetry is a vibrant force in the lives of a variety of Americans. But, as this collection attests, it doesn't seem like it is.
I also want to note the italics, font, design of this collection are less than ideal to cozy up to and enjoy. The print is too small, the font too plain. No effort is made regarding design whatsoever.
So is it worth a gander? Of course. What poems do people put forth when asked? No one suggested--or the editors ignored these entries--Yeats' "The Second Coming," Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow" or Stevens' "The Emperor of Ice Cream." We do not receive a single poem by Shelley (not even "Ozymandias") or Angelou (not even "Phenomenal Woman"), which surprised me. But we get Lycidas and Prufrock, Lady Lazarus and "Ode to a Nightingale." As I said already, it's a mixed, confusing bag. Gander it and move on. Maybe, just maybe, these Americans will proffer a poet worth looking into.
--John Doherty, 33, Construction Worker, Braintree, Massachusetts
When I first read this poem [Philip Levine's "You Can Have It"], I realized that to be a blue-collar worker in the United States didn't mean I had to be ignorant. Since my parents only went to the eighth grade, and since, at the time, there was a real possibility that I would have to follow my father into the steel mill, this was an important discovery.
--Tim Skeen, 40, Community College Teacher, Prestonburg, Kentucky
The circle is closed, and the net
Is being hauled in. They hardly feel the cords drawing, yet they shine already.
The inevitable mass-disasters
Will not come in our time nor in our children's, but we and our children
Must watch the net draw narrower, government take all powers--or revolution, and the new government
Take more than all, add to kept bodies kept souls--or anarchy, the mass-disasters.
These things are Progress;
Do you marvel our verse is troubled or frowning, while it keeps its reason?
Or it lets go, lets the mood flow
In the manner of the recent young men into mere hysteria, splintered gleams, crackled laughter. But they are quite wrong.
There is no reason for amazement: surely one always knew that cultures decay, and life's end is death.
from Robinson Jeffers' "The Purse-Seine"
Despite the spit and polish given to this enterprise in the Introduction and on the dust-cover's sleeves, Robert Pinsky wanted to justify his position as our nation's poet laureate. So he asked his fellow Americans to send him their favorite poems. Some chose the expected ones ("The Road Not Taken," "Mother to Son," "Invictus," "Jabberwocky," "How Do I Love Thee?" etc.), and some choose some truly odd ones ("Hornworm: Autumn Lamentation," "Pot Roast," "Notes from a Nonexistent Himalayan Expedition" etc.). It's a mixed bag, for sure.
Each poem comes with a brief note from the contributor explaining why they chose the poem and how much it means to them. Though Pinsky claims he's showing that the stereotype of Americans and poetry is inaccurate, a distinct majority of contributors are teachers or librarians. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. But Pinsky's underlying goal is to show that poetry is a vibrant force in the lives of a variety of Americans. But, as this collection attests, it doesn't seem like it is.
I also want to note the italics, font, design of this collection are less than ideal to cozy up to and enjoy. The print is too small, the font too plain. No effort is made regarding design whatsoever.
So is it worth a gander? Of course. What poems do people put forth when asked? No one suggested--or the editors ignored these entries--Yeats' "The Second Coming," Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow" or Stevens' "The Emperor of Ice Cream." We do not receive a single poem by Shelley (not even "Ozymandias") or Angelou (not even "Phenomenal Woman"), which surprised me. But we get Lycidas and Prufrock, Lady Lazarus and "Ode to a Nightingale." As I said already, it's a mixed, confusing bag. Gander it and move on. Maybe, just maybe, these Americans will proffer a poet worth looking into.
August 18, 2021
2021 reads, #58. Big news -- for the first time in twenty years, I've started writing poetry again! And unlike last time, this time it ain't any of that poetry-slam nonsense either, but actual formal poetry based on actual classic poetry forms, things like sonnets and haikus and other thousand-year-old traditions. As part of my research into what the genre of poetry currently contains, this month I'm doing what I consider a really interesting reading of four anthologies in a row, all four of which have very different flavors, so that I hope they give me a good broad overview by the end of everything the entire world of poetry has to offer.
The first anthology I read was The Classic Hundred, edited and published by Columbia University (my review), an "anthology of anthologies" in which this academic institution aggregated the tables of content of over 400 other anthologies by academic institutions, to arrive at the one hundred poems most recommended by college professors over the course of human history (well, English language history, at least); while today's anthology, while coming from just as prestigious a background, approaches the subject in almost the opposite way, when in the late 1990s Robert Pinsky (US Poet Laureate under the Clinton administration) used all the resources of the White House to initiate one of the grandest poetry projects ever, inviting literally every citizen of the United States to nominate their favorite poem of all time, as long as they were willing to then also read it out loud on video for posterity. Over 18,000 people accepted the challenge; and the curated results were published as this book, containing 200 pieces that Pinsky and project manager Maggie Dietz considered a broad and inclusive sampling of all the nominations they received.
I'm giving it four stars, because the sheer ambition of the project is undeniably admirable, an attempt at no less than completely redefining how an institution of authority like the US government even approaches the subject of the arts, a refreshing bottom-up "people's history" approach that resulted in a hugely different set of poems from Columbia's top-down approach (which, as you can imagine, resulted in a ton of poems by John Keats and William Shakespeare, and virtually nothing from the 20th century, nor barely a single piece by a woman or a person of color). That said, for better or for worse, this book also confirmed the theory I've recently had about why I've found the entire subject of poetry so detestable for most of my life, and by extension why I think so many modern Americans do too; and that's because "poetry" in the 21st century is now largely synonymous with so-called "modern free-verse poetry," and I find free-verse poetry to be the single laziest form of writing the human race has ever invented, terrible little flash-fiction short-short stories that have been cut up into funny-looking lines for no particular reason, in order to call more attention to themselves and to co-opt an unearned sense of gravitas they don't deserve.
It's very telling, I think, that while reading The Classic Hundred, I very enthusiastically looked forward to tackling another five or ten pieces each morning over my breakfast coffee and toast, eating outside at my co-op's backyard picnic table and greeting the summer day with a little John Donne or William Blake or Emily Dickinson; but even just 50 pages into this Pinsky anthology, I found myself dreading and putting off the same activity, to the point where by the time I got halfway through I dejectedly decided to just give up for good and return the book back to the library. That says a lot about how much I've been positively responding to poems that follow strong rules and rhyme schemes, and how negatively I've been reacting to the 20th-century scourge of "yeah, here's some random words, it's a poem because I say it is, whatever, screw off if you think differently." I do think differently, and I will not screw off, and I'm pretty much convinced at this point that not only am I unambiguously right, but that the vast majority of other humans agree with me; and that this is why poetry as an entire genre has become something that now mostly elicits exasperated eyerolls from most Americans when the subject is even brought up, because the Modernists essentially killed the genre and then the Postmodernists did a tap dance on its grave. That said, I haven't entirely given up on modern poetry yet; and that's why the next anthology on the list is going to be so interesting, in that it's the 90th anniversary celebration anthology of Poetry magazine, the publication that essentially kickstarted the Modernist poetry movement back when it was first established in the 1920s. (It's the magazine that first published T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg and Wallace Stevens, to give you a little idea of what you're in for with it.) That should be a fascinating read, so I hope you'll have a chance to come by again in a few weeks for my review of that.
The first anthology I read was The Classic Hundred, edited and published by Columbia University (my review), an "anthology of anthologies" in which this academic institution aggregated the tables of content of over 400 other anthologies by academic institutions, to arrive at the one hundred poems most recommended by college professors over the course of human history (well, English language history, at least); while today's anthology, while coming from just as prestigious a background, approaches the subject in almost the opposite way, when in the late 1990s Robert Pinsky (US Poet Laureate under the Clinton administration) used all the resources of the White House to initiate one of the grandest poetry projects ever, inviting literally every citizen of the United States to nominate their favorite poem of all time, as long as they were willing to then also read it out loud on video for posterity. Over 18,000 people accepted the challenge; and the curated results were published as this book, containing 200 pieces that Pinsky and project manager Maggie Dietz considered a broad and inclusive sampling of all the nominations they received.
I'm giving it four stars, because the sheer ambition of the project is undeniably admirable, an attempt at no less than completely redefining how an institution of authority like the US government even approaches the subject of the arts, a refreshing bottom-up "people's history" approach that resulted in a hugely different set of poems from Columbia's top-down approach (which, as you can imagine, resulted in a ton of poems by John Keats and William Shakespeare, and virtually nothing from the 20th century, nor barely a single piece by a woman or a person of color). That said, for better or for worse, this book also confirmed the theory I've recently had about why I've found the entire subject of poetry so detestable for most of my life, and by extension why I think so many modern Americans do too; and that's because "poetry" in the 21st century is now largely synonymous with so-called "modern free-verse poetry," and I find free-verse poetry to be the single laziest form of writing the human race has ever invented, terrible little flash-fiction short-short stories that have been cut up into funny-looking lines for no particular reason, in order to call more attention to themselves and to co-opt an unearned sense of gravitas they don't deserve.
It's very telling, I think, that while reading The Classic Hundred, I very enthusiastically looked forward to tackling another five or ten pieces each morning over my breakfast coffee and toast, eating outside at my co-op's backyard picnic table and greeting the summer day with a little John Donne or William Blake or Emily Dickinson; but even just 50 pages into this Pinsky anthology, I found myself dreading and putting off the same activity, to the point where by the time I got halfway through I dejectedly decided to just give up for good and return the book back to the library. That says a lot about how much I've been positively responding to poems that follow strong rules and rhyme schemes, and how negatively I've been reacting to the 20th-century scourge of "yeah, here's some random words, it's a poem because I say it is, whatever, screw off if you think differently." I do think differently, and I will not screw off, and I'm pretty much convinced at this point that not only am I unambiguously right, but that the vast majority of other humans agree with me; and that this is why poetry as an entire genre has become something that now mostly elicits exasperated eyerolls from most Americans when the subject is even brought up, because the Modernists essentially killed the genre and then the Postmodernists did a tap dance on its grave. That said, I haven't entirely given up on modern poetry yet; and that's why the next anthology on the list is going to be so interesting, in that it's the 90th anniversary celebration anthology of Poetry magazine, the publication that essentially kickstarted the Modernist poetry movement back when it was first established in the 1920s. (It's the magazine that first published T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg and Wallace Stevens, to give you a little idea of what you're in for with it.) That should be a fascinating read, so I hope you'll have a chance to come by again in a few weeks for my review of that.
December 28, 2015
I picked this up at the library after reading a bio of Edna St. Vincent Millay. I thoroughly appreciate the effort Mr. Pinsky went to in order to create this book. The little snippets of why people chose their poems were wonderful, and not too much. I originally thought it was just poems by American authors, but they are from all over the world. It was nice reading old favorites, and being introduced to new authors. There were some that I have no desire to explore further, and some spoke deeply to me.
January 24, 2010
Did I like all the poems? Of course not. But even when a poem left me cold, when all I could muster was a, "Um. Well. Whatever," I found the introductions by the people who'd chosen the poems to be interesting, especially when their lives had been changed by what I thought to be an um-well-whatever poem.
December 31, 2017
I did not really enjoy reading this book because of its lack of plot. This book contained poems that were categorized by author, and none of the poems really related to each other. It was a good book to read to learn more about poetry as I could see the different writing styles between each author. However, maybe if the poems related to and flowed with each other I think I would of enjoyed the book more.
April 15, 2019
I don't usually enjoy poetry, but this collection kept me interested. The stories range from a touching story of baby birds getting mercilessly devoured by foxes to a mother mouse grieving over her lost child who wandered down from the tree hollow. The dark tone of most of the stories throughout this book captures the reader in sinking feelings that aren't theirs - the unfamiliarity of the hopelessness puts readers on edge, making them wait for an inevitable end that awaits us all. There's some happy stuff too, of course, like parties full of diversity, full of people looking waiting for drinks and looking for other people to take home. Most readers of poetry are matured, so it's no surprise that adult topics are usually the road the writer takes, but I did find the sheer amount of depressed feeling to be a bit down putting. I recommend this book for those looking for amazing poetry, but who are also okay with that poetry enveloping them in feelings of darkness, love, and unsurity.
June 2, 2019
This book was the result of "The Favorite Poem Project." There are 200 poems in the book. Poems were selected from letters written by Americans explaining what certain poems meant to them and how, in many cases, changed their lives. I was disappointed at times because some of my favorite poems were not selected. However, I discovered many excellent poems I had never read that certainly were worthy of inclusion in this anthology. What I found particularly interesting was that people of all classes and circumstances appreciate poetry and it can shape their lives.
November 13, 2007
I LOVE this book! These authors went all over the United States and asked people what their favorite poems were, and put them all in this book. They also put the people's explanations of why they liked that poem, which I think is really cool, because it helps you see other people's perspective of the poem, which helps you shape your own perspective.
October 26, 2012
I go back to this collection of poems again and again. Sometimes the poems make me cry. Sometimes it's the introductions about why the poem is someone's favorite that makes me cry. It's not the same old same old poems that you find in most anthologies.
January 4, 2009
I read, and re-read and re-read.
March 8, 2009
This is a must-have book for any American who enjoys poetry. A true treasure of poems...some will make you laugh and others cry...but each is a classic.
September 6, 2010
Amazing Poems in here!
April 24, 2024
This anthology is a written interpretation of the multimedia Favorite Poem Project first launched in 1997. Americans ages 5+ of every description were asked to submit a video of them reading a favorite poem after a brief explanation of what it means to them. These explanations are what makes this more than just a poetry anthology. Many of these statements helped me look closer at a poem I may otherwise overlook - this is the favorite of (for example) Barbara K, 53, technical writer in MA, not just something I "should" read selected by an editor.
The drawback of this anthology is also tied to the scope - over 200 poems and even more explanations (Such as Robert Frost, submitted by many). They are arranged in alphabetical order by the poet which means there isn't a flow between the poems. By the time I got to the end, I was struggling to keep going, which means some very worthy poets didn't get my full attention.
The drawback of this anthology is also tied to the scope - over 200 poems and even more explanations (Such as Robert Frost, submitted by many). They are arranged in alphabetical order by the poet which means there isn't a flow between the poems. By the time I got to the end, I was struggling to keep going, which means some very worthy poets didn't get my full attention.
April 24, 2020
I do not pretend to know anything about poetry, so take this review for what it is. I found poems within these pages that held depth, that held beauty, that held love and loss and sorrow, and so I give it five stars. This is not a review by a critic, but a simple evaluation of the emotions and truths contained herein.
October 31, 2021
This is probably my favorite anthology of poetry I've ever read. I loved the concept- favorite poems of a diverse assortment of Americans. While not every poem spoke to my heart, I loved reading the reasons that each poem was selected by a specific individual. I will definitely be reading this one again.
June 14, 2026
I loved this book. This project is so special, I loved reading what ‘ordinary Americans’ had to say about these beautiful poems, it is great to have a small glimpse into people’s lives and what makes them tick, especially being able to see their ages and occupations.
This compilation introduced me to my now favorite poem: “Grandmother Think Not I Forget” by Willa Cather. She is a genius
This compilation introduced me to my now favorite poem: “Grandmother Think Not I Forget” by Willa Cather. She is a genius
August 16, 2018
A rather beautiful and unique anthology. Every poem is accompanied by a testimony from the individual who submitted the poem - showing, at least for me, the remarkable ways that words can influence peoples lives when they are elegantly arranged.
February 11, 2020
I keep this poetry collection next to my bed. It is my favorite compilation, helping me to move through outrage, joy, courage, despair, bravery, hope, and frivolity. There's a poem for every feeling.
September 10, 2021
Not every poem in this book is a gem, honestly I almost abandoned ship a few poems in because they weren’t grabbing me. I am glad I persevered. Even on the poems I didn’t love, reading why someone else chose that as their favorite poem was interesting.
December 28, 2018
Love this book. Love reading the stories from readers who wrote in to describe their favorite poems and what they mean to them.
November 13, 2019
I enjoyed working my way through this and (re)discovering poems that move others enough to write about them.
September 1, 2020
A great read.
Read
November 28, 2020good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2021
I appreciate this collection of poems even more so as I read the comments included from people explaining why it is a favorite.
July 14, 2021
Of the 200 poems in this anthology, I only added three to my personal list of good poems, and each of the three were ones I had read before.
September 9, 2022
A bit long but some good poems in there.
November 17, 2023
What I love about anthologies like this is that I discover so many poets I didn’t know before. Plus, I loved reading why each person selected the poem they included.
July 27, 2025
this is the very best reference book on American poems. so very well written, an excellent reference, with added details of personal people who loved each poem
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews