American Poetry: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #690

by David Caplan

A leading critic explains what makes American poetry--a vast genre covering diverse styles, techniques, and form--distinctive.

In this short and engaging volume, David Caplan proposes a new theory of American poetry. With lively writing and illuminating examples, Caplan argues that two characteristics mark the vast, contentious literature. On the one hand, several of America's major poets and critics claim that America needs a poetry equal to the country's distinctiveness. They advocate for novelty and for a break with what is perceived to be outmoded and foreign. On the other hand, American poetry welcomes techniques, styles, and traditions that originate from far beyond its borders. The force of these two competing characteristics, American poetry's emphasis on its uniqueness and its transnationalism, drives both individual accomplishment and the broader field. These two characteristic features energize American poetry, quickening its development into a great national literature that continues to inspire poets in the contemporary moment.

American A Very Short Introduction moves through history and honors the poets' artistry by paying close attention to the verse forms, meters, and styles they employ. Examples range from Anne Bradstreet, writing a century before the United States was founded, to the poets of the Black Lives Matter movement. Individual chapters consider how other major figures such as T.S. Eliot, Phillis Wheatley, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, W.H. Auden, and Langston Hughes emphasize convention or idiosyncrasy, and turn to American English as an important artistic resource. This concise examination of American poetry enriches our understanding of both the literature's distinctive achievement and the place of its most important writers within it.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2021

Reviews

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a great job of helping the reader understand what distinguishes the American strain of poetry from other poetic traditions, particularly the one from which it sprang and to which it’s most closely related, linguistically speaking: i.e. English poetry. Among the unique aspects of American poetry are a shift toward more idiosyncratic poetry, a shift that flows from America’s individual-centric orientation, the employment of American idiom – especially informal language, the connection to other American artforms (e.g. Blues music,) the diversity of form and style that resulted from being a diverse population, and the loud and clear expression of dissenting voices.

The page limitations of a concise guide keep this book from drifting wide in its discussion. The reader will note that it’s focused on mainstream poetry, and there’s little to no mention of counter-cultural movements, e.g. the Beats (e.g. Ginsberg and Synder) are not discussed. However, even within the restriction to mainstream poets, there’re only a few poets that are discussed in depth. Of course, these include the two poets largely considered the pillars of the American form: Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. It also includes two poets who were challenging cases for a discussion of national poetic movements: W.H. Auden, a Brit by birth who spent most of his poetry writing years in America; and T.S. Eliot, who was an American by birth but moved to Britain. Both poets produced poetry of importance while on both sides of the Atlantic, and, so, the question is whether anything of note can be said about their poetry vis-a-vis its location of origin (and, if not, have we exited the era in which nationality of poetry is worth discussing?)

I learned a great deal from this book. Again, if you’re looking for a broad accounting of American poetry, this isn’t necessarily the book for you, but if you want to gain a glimpse of the interesting and unique elements of American poetry through a few of its most crucial poets, this is an excellent choice.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mix of American history and American poetry. It covered some of the more well known poets like T.S. Elliot, Walt Whitman, W.H. Aiden, and Phyllis Wheatley, as well as a couple more modern and lesser known poets. Poetry can be a good metric when checking the pulse of a particular era, simply because it can convey feeling and emotion where history typically conveys facts and stats. I mentioned this in another review of a different "Very Short Introduction" that it was sneakily just geographically focused on the USA despite it being portrayed as more of a global take on the particular issue. That bothered me because it neglected all other nations without warning, but this one enters the stage telling you where the focus will be and it made it easier to follow and understand as a result. One of the problems with this book wasn't the fact that BLM poets and poetry were included in the book, but the way in which they were included seemed so far out of place. At times placed on par with the issues and themes that Phyllis Wheatley endured and wrote on, it came across as political grasping instead of poetical inspiration.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Professor of English David Caplan published American Poetry: A Short Introduction in 2022. The date of publication is noticeable because the last chapter (Caplan 94-108) is about American Poets responding to the Black Lives Matter Movement and other events of the early 2020s. The poets that list human names sometimes respond to Poet Robert Lowell’s poem, “Sailing Home from Rapollo,” written in the 1950s (Caplan 96). Caplan’s book is organized around several themes, and he shows how past poets influence today's poets. The book starts with an English American Poet, Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan woman who wrote poetry in response to the English Civil War in the 1640s and who lives in New England (Caplan 2-6). The book connects Bradstreet’s poems to the poem of the 20th Century American Poet Wallace Stevens, who wrote about the relationship between England and the United States. The poem was “Autumn Refrain” (Caplan 6-10). The whole book is full of connections between different American Poets. I read the book on my Kindle. The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Caplan 123-125). The book has illustrations. The book has a section on references and an index. I thought this book was an excellent introduction to American Poetry.

[Prisoner 071053 · Rating 1 out of 5]

A silly book with silly things to say about American poetry by (unsurprisingly) a silly person who doesn't know or care about the subject. The Audible version is horrible, read by someone who doesn't understand how to read aloud.

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovering American Poetry In A Very Short Introduction

The United States has been blessed with a gifted, large, and diverse tradition in poetry that is not as appreciated as it might be. It is valuable to broaden awareness of American poetry, particularly in April which courtesy of the Academy of American Poets, has been, since 1996 designated as National Poetry Month. The group states on its website: "National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives. "

On a visit to the local library, I found a selection of books prominently displayed encouraging readers to explore American poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. The display included this small volume "American Poetry: A Very Short Introduction" (2022) written by the American poet and literary critic David Caplan and published by Oxford University Press in its invaluable "Very Short Introductions" series. Over the years, I have read considerably in American poetry and decided to read Caplan's "Very Short Introduction" which consists of 108 pages of text together with a detailed list of references and a short list of suggestions for further reading.

A very short introduction need not be superficial, and Caplan's book is well-informed, thoughtful, and provocative. It aims to introduce readers to American poetry while also presenting a distinctive point of view. Caplan's view of American poetry is given at the outset as he identifies its "two characteristics" which are in substantial tension with one another. On the one hand, American poets seek to capture the distinctiveness of the United States and of the American experience. On the other hand, American poetry is "Transnational" and seeks to capture and make use of broad human experience and reflection from beyond national borders. This is a highly perceptive distinction which covers not only American poetry but other forms of American literature and art, perhaps most obviously music, as well as American life.

Caplan proceeds by explaining the" two characteristics" and showing them at work in different American poets at different times and with different emphases, such as the use of American English. While the book is limited by its size, it offers surprisingly insightful discussions of many American poets from Anne Bradstreet through Black Lives Matter influenced poets including Claudia Rankine. Predicting the future course of an art form is treacherous. Caplan suggests that "many poets promoting contemporary social justice movements urge a 'cultural revolution,' and if in fact we are witnessing one, their poetry may well clarity the radical change in human sensibility we are undergoing, its necessity and limitations, and the innovations it will bestow to our country and its art."

With that said, the book is better at analyzing the past of American poetry than at suggesting its future. The book is strongest in its discussion of particular American poets and of specific poems. Caplan shows the two characteristics of American poetry from earliest times in the works of Anne Bradstreet and Phyllis Wheatley and offers a perceptive look at the continuation of these themes in the work of the 20th century poet, Wallace Stevens. He shows how the two characteristics work in different ways to shape the work of the two greatest 19th century American poets, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson while also considering other, now somewhat marginalized voices including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's. The Twentieth Century poets discussed include Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, Adrianne Rich. W.C. Williams, Stevens, and several others. The discussions are insightful and helped me with poets I have read. It made me want to revisit them. In a chapter devoted to T.S. Elliot and W.H. Auden, two of the most influential poets, Caplan explores the special cases of expatriates from the United States, in the case of Elliot, and immigrants, in the case of Auden. This very short introduction makes no pretense of being exhaustive, and some of my favorite poets, including Herman Melville from the 19th Century and Hart Crane from the 20th. are not as much as mentioned.

Caplan's very short introduction fulfills the goal of the series in presenting an important subject to both new and experienced readers in a fresh, informed and provocative way. I learned a great deal about American poetry and about why I have read it over the years. I also thought further about the United States and the American experience in a way somewhat different from Caplan's. This book will be valuable for readers interested in learning about the practice of poetry in the United States, especially during the celebration of National Poetry Month.

Robin Friedman

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief touch on the history of poetry and how it began and grew in America.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

slayed. though i do wish they would have printed the poems they were talking about in full in the back of the book