The New Pocket Anthology of American Verse

by Oscar Williams (Editor)

Book by Oscar williams

Genres: Poetry, Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Markian · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a handful of books I can honestly say changed my life. I bought it at a library book sale and quickly read the cover off it. I will be forever grateful to its editor Oscar Williams for including 8 poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay across 13 pages. A sizable selection from her for the time. I have yet to come across a American anthology of poetry to include as many of her poems. Millay gushing aside, packed with 500 poems from several dozen poets, many of whom are often forgotten or overlooked, this is an excellent anthology. I am particularly fond of the economy of its pages. Except for a short preface and the customary index of authors and first lines, the book is 600+ pages of poetry. No space is wasted as each poem and poet flows into the next. Perfect!

[pjr8888]

my copy:
8th printing...October 1965

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bertrand Russell never traveled anywhere without the OXFORD ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH VERSE. After I discovered this mind-blower in our local bookstore in Los Angeles I've never ventured forth without the POCKET ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN VERSE. How thrilling, and curious given the American political and artistic landscape, that American poetry began with a woman, Ann Bradstreet and, per Oscar Williams in 1972, the year this anthology came to light, ended with two women of color, Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni. In teaching race relations in the Americas I always quoted Ms. Sanchez to my students: "White motherfucker, white motherfucker, white motherfucker----honky. Now, that that's over, let the healing process begin." After Ms. Bradford, the first writer in fiction to be published in the English colonies, we are treated to "Thanatopsis"by William Cullen Bryant, a poem that used to be obligatory reading in American schools, plus Poe, Whitman and Melville. (Notice the drop-off of female poets in the nineteenth century, which I attribute to industrialization and separate spheres for the two genders.) In the twentieth century, however, Williams's selections become more problematic. Frost is pro forma, but Ezra Pound cannot be truly selected for an anthology. THE CANTOS should never be taken out of context and long poems, such as "Hugh Mauberly Selwyn", are incomprehensible without knowing something of Pound's life. Wallace Stevens's poems will appeal to those already familiar with his pagan outlook, and e.e. cummings is delightful but not very deep. I love it that Williams, at the height of second wave feminism, chose to write "finis" to American poetry by including the profane and profound, Ms. Sanchez, and the subtle and profound. Ms. Giovanni. A volume to be enjoyed for a lifetime.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read through another poetry anthology collection published in the 20th-century, A Comprehensive Anthology of American Verse. Like that, The New Pocket Anthology by Oscar Williams is definitely a book of its time, and therefore a lot of American voices are missing in this collection.

If I were to rank these two against each other, I would put this one, The New Pocket Anthology of American Verse above the Comprehensive Anthology.

Why? This one was published in 1961 and so it contains more poetry from the 20th-century.

This one is arranged in alphabetical order by poet, whereas the Comprehensive anthology is done chronologically and I like that. Neither has any information about the poets, and it is funny to think that someone reading them in their publication time wouldn't have access to Wikipedia and would have to look up to find more about the poets in Encyclopedias, card catalogs, etc.

What is the difference in the editors? Both were poets. Aiken was a poet laureate. Williams was more of an anthologist (he published over a dozen) while Aiken was more of a working writer (of novels and short stories).

[Robyn Luk · Rating 5 out of 5]

solid collection. reminds me of good times.