To Sing Along the Way: Minnesota Women Poets from Pre-Territorial Days to the Present

Many Minnesotas Project

by Joyce Sutphen (Editor), Thom Tammaro (Editor), Connie Wanek (Editor)

The first historical and contemporary anthology of Minnesota women poets, this anthology is edited by three prize-winning poets. Poems included range from the earliest poetry in Minnesota—oral song-poems of Ojibwe women—through the sounds and rhythms of early-twentieth-century formalism and contemporary free verse.
 
Arranged chronologically, these disparate poems are connected by the common thread of universal themes and reflect Minnesota’s diversity of women’s voices. Among the more than one hundred contributors are Harriet Bishop, Candace Black, Frances Densmore, Elaine Goodale Eastman, Mary Eastman, Louise Erdrich, Diane Glancy, and Patricia Hampl. Contributors’ biographies and suggestions for further reading are included. 

Genres: Poetry

249 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Joyce Sutphen (born 1949) is an American poet, currently serving as Minnesota's Poet Laureate. She is the state's second laureate, appointed by Governor Mark Dayton in August, 2011. Sutphen also serves as a professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Barbara Irene Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming collection of poetry by such Minnesota women writers as Carol Ryrie Brink, Meridel LeSueur, Harriet Bishop and many other notable writers. This book is arranged with an alphabetical list of all contributors plus individual bigraphal sketches with other publishing information at the end of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all poems and felt inspired to try my hand at writing poetry after I finished the book. This is remarkable because, except for nursery rhymes, I've never cared much for poetry.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retrospective of "women poets from pre-territorial days to the present". I was amazed the authors were able to find this many examples of Minnesota women poets --that were published. Their scholarship and research is impressive, even including tribal poems. It reflects how valued poetry has changed over time, the types of things women had to say.