It's got the greats: Whitman, Dickinson, Emerson....but I really enjoyed the poetry of Sidney Lanier, a rather obscure Southern writer, too...and I've had a couple of really nice experiences hearing William Cullen Bryant read aloud, too...Where are you gonna hear THAT???
Really important, formative book for me. Christmas present at maybe 17 or so....helped fuel the lifelong poetry obsession I've had
Nearly half this book is dedicated to the poetry of Whitman. While Whitman's tripe is definitely an aspect of nineteenth century American Poetry, it certainly doesn't deserve quite so much attention in a book supposedly dedicated to presenting a sampling of this century's poets of note.