100 Essential American Poems

by Leslie M. Pockell (Editor)

The way we view our nation---its history, its traditions, even our distinctly American voice---is largely determined by our literature. In this rewarding and thought-provoking book are gathered poems that have been essential components of our common American culture, from the earliest days of our nation through canonic works of the nineteenth century and up to the present day. 100 Essential American Poems includes fondly remembered works by such familiar figures as Longfellow, Poe, and Whitman, and popular classics like "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and "Casey at the Bat," but it also features passionate outcries from poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes that highlight our ongoing national racial tensions, and poems by such women as Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St. Vincent Millay that supply a distinctly female perspective on American life. Also included are the lyrics of such expressions of the American spirit as "Yankee Doodle," "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "This Land Is Your Land," in addition to a few surprises! The immortal poems and songs included here, each preceded by an illuminating headnote, will remind every reader of the richness and variety of the poetry of America and its people.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Classics

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2009

Reviews

[Sarah Key · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection I probably recited in the second grade at the elementary school Veteran's Day Program.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate an anthology of historical poetry if I'm not very familiar with the population its drawn from so I've given a neutral rating here.
This is sort of the editor's history of the US told through its approach to language and theme. Some of the 'poems' are song lyrics or playground rhymes and some of them are household names like Walt Whitman and Robert Frost.
I found there was a great deal here that I was not familiar with but that my American friends were, which provided some nice talking points.
Below are some small observations from when I was reading each part of the anthology:

- The first 4 poems are by Anne Bradstreet, a puritan. The opener is dripping in sarcasm and disdain, heaping praise on men who would 'deign these lowly lines their eyes'. Cracking. Her closing poem on her love for her husband was also very touching. A great start to the anthology!
- I very much enjoyed learning about the history of the star-spangled banner. To a foreigner this anthem often sounds eye-rolling and cheesy but I was touched by the sombre story behind it.
Most of the other poems have been either popular rhymes or lengthy verses, not really digging most of them to be honest.
- The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes was excellent but I have a penchant for naturalist work anyway.
- It was nice to reread Poe after so many years, but I wasn't a big fan of Helen or the Bells. His macabre stuff is so atmospheric, I'm surprised more of it wasn't included.
- I've never actually read Whitman and I think I'd actually need to read/attend some sort of class to really get everything out of his work. Much of the imagery in it was splendid but what it was actually referring to? Not so sure. Also so many of the poems were so long! Like "When the lilacs in the doory'rd bloom" and "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" - these two I had to read aloud to stop myself glazing over after 3 or 4 pages. Then some of his shorter verses were either too sentimental (A noiseless patient spider) or .. personally irritating (When I heard the learn'd astronomer).
- More spirituals and gospel would have been appreciated. Certainly could have replaced that Vachel Lindsay.
- Emily Dickinson is so entrenched in our culture I didn't know most of these verses or phrases came from her work.
- The Face on the Barroom Floor is a BOP.
- More Sioux poetry would have been nice. Only The Ghost Dance was included here.
- Emily Lazarus's poem, the one that is included on the statue of liberty, hit me harder than I was expecting. This country was founded on such wonderful ideals, it feels like anyone running with those ideas nowadays wouldn't even be nominated as a local representative.
- Apparently Casey at the Bat is really famous and disney even made a short of it! One of my more sports-savvy US friends also told me it used to be chanted, or parts of it chanted, at his childhood little league!
- LOVED Richard Cory by Edward Arlington Robinson.
- I was surprised to find I liked a good deal of the Frost, particularly Mending Wall.
- Carl Sandburg's poem about the fog on its "little cat feet" was perfection, as was Wallace Steven's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" (hilarious and poignant!), and both verses from William Carlos Williams (again, funny and colorful). I feel like I'll return to all three of these authors again in the future.
- The Waste Land felt like it could have an entire thesis written about a single verse. Far too dense for me to be enjoyable. Not to mention that there were 6 PAGES of notes following it to explain the symbolism!
- Woody Guthrie: was very interested to hear that This Land is Your Land was originally written to question whether migrant workers really were living the american dream they were promised during the Great Depression. I always saw it as yet another nationalistic chore but in this new light it's just as depressing as the statue of liberty song.
- Allen Ginsburg: I wish she'd included more than just this poem talking to Whitman! He's a very local author and as a frequenter of City Lights I know his legend but haven't spent any time with his work. This poem really didn't push me to do so either.
- The Sylvia Plath and Billy Collins choices made me cringe. They may have other great work but, particularly, the Collins just made me Grimace. Kind of a low note to end on!

So, overall, an interesting mix and the commentary was very much appreciated. I'll be staying with more focused anthologies going forward though.


Fog comes on little cat feet: from here

[Alex]

It’s a good mix of distinctly American poetry and a good introduction for someone who wants a taste of everything. Some made me laugh, some bored me, and Dream Deferred hit me like a ton of bricks in a way it certainly didn’t when reading it in high school.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I'm supposed to like poetry. And I do like some of it. But even though I know the poems in this book were essential to the making of America, I felt like I had to slog through a good portion of them (Walt Whitman, Vachel Lindsay and others) to get to the good stuff.

Poetry is best read aloud, so I sat on the couch mumbling the words to myself. As I did, I fell in love with several works in this book: Edgar Allen Poe (wow, I loved The Bells!), Emily Dickensen and Hugh Antoine D'Arcy (Face on the Barroom Floor), Robert W. Service (Cremation of Sam McGee) and Allen Ginsberg (A Supermarket in California), among others.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great poems in here! Many that I can't believe I'd never read before. But then, I'm definitely a newbie to poetry appreciation.

I enjoyed the book. But even as someone who doesn't know a lot about poetry, some of the choices seemed like odd ones to me. I thought that the author seemed a bit slanted toward including ones about death, non-mainstream religions, and lesbianism, but maybe that was just me. Anyway, I thought many of them were fantastic and I appreciated the introduction. It was great to finally read some that I'd always heard quoted and never got around to reading. There were two or three on death that I thought were really remarkable.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read!

Some of my favorites in this book:

Amazing Grace by John Newton
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key
A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas the Night Before Christmas) by Clement Clarke Moore
Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow
The Raven by Poe
Battle-Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe
Go Down, Moses
Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer
Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

[Alex Sommers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nearly all the famous ones in here. Lovely compilation. Something that really takes the open and willing mind and gives it a spin towards a new way of seeing things. This is a small book full of some of the truest artists we've had the pleasure of knowing. And they all either relished life or hated it with a fiery passion...just as I do both.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection a poems. I'd heard of most of the poets and poems who were included and felt well-rounded as I read through them.

[kewl]

this was great a great refresher. compendium of classics. inspired a dramatic reading of "Old Ironsides" in the living room. what a great poem.


Old Ironsides
By Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;—
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!

Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every thread-bare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,—
The lightning and the gale!

[Alejandra Tovar Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book edited by Leslie M. Pockell is a compendium of the most important poems in American history. The editor included poems and songs that fondly remember the beginning of our country like
"The Star-Spangled Banner" or "This Land is Your Land". It also included many authors like Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson and many others that have shape American literature, many poems in this book are about love, freedom, death, and happiness. This book was a representation of how diverse and rich American literature is.

I would give this book 4 stars because I felt it was missing other important poems in American literature like "the yellow paper " or "On Being Brought from Africa to America" you can't represent America if you don't have the full history. but overall I think I will recommend this book because is general knowledge that everyone should learn.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed that most of the poems are "old" (only 1 that is post 1950 -- Billy Collins "Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes") and also already frequently anthologized, but appreciate Pockell's commentary about each poem and its reflection of American identity. Nice tapestry of influences. (Star-Spangled Banner, Paul Revere's Ride, I Hear America Singing, Hope is the thing with Feathers, Chicago, Dream Deferred, One Art, We Real Cool and 92 other favorites.) Classic and reliable.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of these are songs, hymns, or traditionals, so while I enjoyed it, I wouldn't necessarily categorize them all as poetry. Good representation, however, and many of my favorites were here. I also love the author's succinct and insightful descriptions and I learned a lot (I didn't know Bradstreet was a Puritan in Salem! How scandalous, and brave, to be so innately and unabashedly sensual in such a society).

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library to re-read an old chestnut (Poe's "The Raven"), and I thoroughly enjoyed skimming through it. Poetry is too often ignored for reading pleasure.

[Tony Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

One-part obvious selections, one-part weird nationalistic propaganda, ultimately disappointing, useless 'anthology'. (100 poems? What the Hell am I supposed to do with 100 poems?)

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of poems.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s like revisiting the history of your past education and then some. Great memories. Words help me process feelings. This collection worked well.

[Shannon Donaldson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, worth reading in small chunks. I would’ve given it 5 stars if there had been more Langston Hughes and Sylvia Plath, but that’s just personal preference 😉

[Toni Cacioppo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It ignited my interest in poetry.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, doesn't time get away from us. I finished reading this at the end of August, and just now am getting around to writing a review.
All in all, this was a decent, but not fantastic anthology. It purports to be the 100 most important American poems, and I am willing to say that it may well be that. Not the 100 best--it contains some of my absolute least favorite work ("Casey at the Bat", anything by Robert Service)--but even the poems that I want to dismiss as cheap doggerel have had a lasting impact on American culture and writing. There are some gems here: "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", "The Waste Land", "One Art", "Daddy", and a few others, but most of the best (and some of the others) any given reader has probably seen before. A fair survey of American verse throughout history, but nothing particularly special as a collection.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful overview of American poetry, including some that we've all read in school, some song lyrics, some famous poems I've never really read, and more. It's not comprehensive, but it's an effective look at the styles and themes of American poetry over the centuries.

[Elizabeth StClair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had purchased this book years ago for a high school English class and just recently decided to read it again. I'm very glad I did. It's reignited my love of poetry. Great selection and variety of American poets. This anthology unknowingly helped me realize which types of poetry I prefer.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning of the poems in this book are short introductions to put the poem in context. This book is an interesting starting point for jumping into poetry, but not essential.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of these poems we read at some point in high school. I'm re-discovering some of the ones I really like and reading a few for the first time that I also really like.

[tiph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think my favourite is The Waste Land by Thomas Stearns Eliot. A bit longish, but haunting and beautiful all the same.

[Kirsten Kinnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This certainly isn't the 100 *best* American poems. I found the discussion about what made these poems essentially American to be somewhat interesting, but the selection was strange, I thought.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot.
This is worth an annual reading.

[Hayley Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool anthology.

[John Wise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great survey of American poetry. Highly recommended.

[Heather]

this was good, had some poems i really liked.