Contemporary American Poetry

by A. Poulin Jr. (Editor)

This highly respected anthology presents the work of 66 poets who have "shaped the contours and direction of the mainstream of American poetry" from 1955 to the present. The alphabetically arranged collection provides a generous sampling of each poet with a photo, biographical sketches, and bibliographies.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies, Reference, 20th Century, Read For School, Literature, Collections

752 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I own many books of poetry and a few poetry anthologies. It is rare that an anthology includes all of the poets whose work I admire, but this is one of those. As is the case for many anthologies, for those who are looking for samples of more experimental work, this is not for you. This includes the typical major players like Robert Hayden, Galway Kinnell, and Philip Levine, but it also offers work by culturally varied poets like Gary Soto, Kimiko Hahn, and Naomi Shihab Nye. There really wasn't a single poem which was not deeply felt. I would recommend this for anyone needing an introductory book into contemporary American poetry.

[Ad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm admittedly unaware of the modern poetry scene (is there one!?!?!??) but this remains the best compilation of all the heavy-hitters and essential poets from our country.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for The Wellfleet Whale
By Stanley Kunitz

[Tim Nason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great anthology (3rd edition) of American poetry published from 1945 to 1979, nicely limited to 40 poets with 7 to 16 poems from each, allowing selections from each poet's work over a period of years. Biographies appear at the end with bibliographic information to 1980. The editor's essay "Contemporary Poetry: The Radical Tradition" appears at the end as well, along with a bibliography of critical works relating to the poets. I really enjoyed the selection of poems in this anthology. Certain poets in the book do not appear in McClatchy's Vintage Contemporary Poetry (1990), such as Imamu Amiri Baraka, Alan Gugan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Donald Hall, David Ignatow, Maxime Kumin, Stanley Kunitz, Louis Simpson and William Stafford, despite the book's 65 poets (but often only 2 to 5 poems each). Both anthologies show the richness of American poetry in its wealth of styles and subjects.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating would have been higher but I'm not the biggest fan of poetry. This is an excellent collection of poets and their poems. I actually found this book in a pile that some of my college professors were giving away. I had just been in a Poetry class, and I felt the need to continue reading poetry even though it's not my favorite reading material. I am glad I read this collection of poetry, and I would recommend it to anyone who has a love for poetry.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very difficult for me to find a collection of poetry that I can read most of the way through. This had good work from authors I never knew, and am now a fan of. Besides that, there were good bios and acknowledgements section to find a lot of books from. A good mixture of some poets; others, I have no idea how they got into publication at all.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I first got it (first poetry workshop), and I love returning to it. The more years that pass, the more I realize it's a fantastic introduction to some of the most important poets we have. A great compilation!

[Cassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for class. Don't read it all in one day like I did, you'll explode.

Good collection of authors, interesting enough work, nothing I found "spoke" to me.

[Indy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just re-read for the twentieth time at least. I love this compilation. Thanks Dr. Taylor!

[Auntjenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose this is the book that introduced me to contemporary American poetry. I still read it (it's on my nightstand!). So many poets to keep falling in love with.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a textbook in college, but I still pick it up every once in awhile and read some poems. This is the best anthology I can think of for modern poems. Amen.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. If you come across a copy, buy it.