Reading Modern Poetry: A Critical Anthology

by Paul Engle, Warren Carrier

Genres: Poetry

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Engle was a noted American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. During his tenure (1941–1965), he was responsible for luring some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City. Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Kurt Vonnegut and other prominent authors served as faculty under Engle. Additionally, Engle increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver and Robert Bly.
Born Paul Hamilton Engle, he attended Coe College, The University of Iowa, Columbia University, and Oxford University (where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar). Engle's first poetry collection "Worn Earth" won the Yale Series of Younger Poets and his second, "American Song" (1934), was given a rave front-page review in the New York Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Marta E C R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a poetry text, which was used in high school by my sister back in 1969. She died in 1972 when she was 19 and I was 15, so seeing her notes and doodles on the pages of the poems she’d studied was a bit of a window into her soul for me. I decided to read the book cover to cover, and will have to admit that some of the poems were way beyond me. The analysis which peppered the book was interesting and helpful, but did not cover every poem, unfortunately. Nevertheless I did enjoy this book and am very glad I read it. I read every poem out loud, a technique which increases accessibility for me.