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American Poetry : The Twentieth Century, Volume 1 : Henry Adams to Dorothy Parker

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The real job of the anthologist is not, of course, to assemble anthologies but to anger and annoy readers. Only census takers have more doors slammed in their innocent faces. That said, a few words in defense of this excellent volume. Yes, there's plenty of second-tier or third-tier verse here, and those in search of pure poetry (no rocks, no soda, shaken not stirred) should probably save their pennies and buy the LOA volumes devoted to Frost, Stevens, etc etc. But a book like this one does give a splendid sense of cultural context. Sometimes the giants loom only larger when they're stuck in a line-up with their diminutive peers. And some of those lesser lights are actually quite talented, too. So unless you're truly fixated on iambic quality control, you should find much to love, and even more to like, in the capacious and paper-thin pages of APTTCV1.

Charles Erskine Scott Wood's "The Poet in theDesert"---"I have come to the lean and stricken land//Whichfears not God, that I may meet my soul..." Wow, now there's a place to start a survey of a century's poetry (or almost, since Volume 2 doesn't go all the way through to 1999 in poetic samplings.) Only this isn't a desert. It's a feast. : )

A new poet for me was Frances Desmond (excerpts from "Chippewa Music") and I wish there were more than 2 pages of her brief, subtle, lovely poems that made me think of Japanese haiku. A poet worth seeking out for lovely moments of reading like "it will resound finely//the sky//when I come making a noise".

Who is generously represented? Frost, WAllace Stevens, W.C. Williams, Pound, H.D, Marianne Moore, Millay. T.S.Eliot!-- 14 poems and 50+ pages for his works.

There were other new names for me (I guess I"m not as widely read poetically as I would like. As someone who appreciates spirituality in poetry, finding Anna H. Branch was a treat--"Ye stolid, homely, visible things//Above you all brood glorious wings" and "It took me ten days//To read the Bible through--//Then I saw what I saw,//And I knew what I knew."

The unfortunately named Adelaide Crapsey nevertheless has poems of sober beauty and lyrical melancholy---"Keep thou//Thy tearless watch//All night but when the blue dawn//Breathes on the silver moon, then weep!//Then weep!" Glad to meet her at last.

For those who enjoy odd little pleasures, there are forty pages of poetry by that singular personage: Gertrude Stein. "I have tried earnestly to express//Just what I guess will not distress//Nor even oppress or yet caress" --or how about?-- "What do you think of watches.//Collect lobsters//And sweetbreads//and a melon,//and salad,"

I'd rather collect poetry....to read while I eat that lobster and melon.

An enjoyable and varied collection for any American reader. It was rather more fun than Volume 2, but then, when you have Ezra and Gertrude and Wallace S. and VachelL. and T.S. and H.D., you are bound to have a ripping time.

*Mir* END

Although not widely read and appreciated, American poetry underwent a renaissance in the Twentieth Century. At some point, readers will look back at our Twentieth Century poetry as a benchmark of literature and a guide to the thoughts, feelings, and events of our difficult century.

In this, the first of four projected volumes covering the Twentieth Century, the Library of America gives access to a treausre of reading, moving, elevating, and disturbing. The book consists of readings from 85 (by my count) poets. The poets, are arranged chronologically by the poet's birthday. The earliest writer in the volume is Henry Adams (born 1838) and the concluding writer is Dorothy Parker (born 1893). Some writers that flourished later in life, such as Wallace Stevens, thus appear in the volume before works of their peers, such as Pound and Elliot, who became famous earlier.

For me, the major poets in the volume are (not surprising choices here), Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, W.C. Williams, Ezra Pound, T.S. Elliot, Marianne Moore. They are represented by generous selections,including Elliot's Waste Land, Steven's Notes Towards a Supreme Fiction, and several Pound Canto's given in their entirety.

It is the mark of a great literary period that there are many writers almost equally meriting attention together with the great names. There are many outstanding writers here, some known, some unknown. To name only a few, I would includeE.A Robinson, James Weldon Johnson, Adelaide Crapsey, Vachel Lindsay, Sara Teasdale, H.D. Robinson Jeffers, John Crowe Ransom, Conrad Aiken, Samuel Greenberg. It would be easy to go on.

There are different ways to read an anthology such as this. One way is to browse reading poems as they catch the reader's eye. Another way is to read favorite poems the reader already knows.

I would suggest making the effort to read the volume through from cover to cover. Before beginning the paricular poet, I would suggest reading the biographical summary at the end of the volume. These are short but excellent and illuminate the authors and the poetry. The notes are sparse, but foreign terms in Pound and Elliot's poetry are translated, and we have selections from Elliot's and Marianne Moore's own notes.

By reading the volume through,one gets a sense of continuity and context. Then, the reader can devote attention to individual poems. Some twentieth century works, such as those by Pound, Elliott,Moore Stevens are notoriously difficult. Read the works through,if you are coming to them for the first time, and return to them later.

I was familiar with many of the poems in the book before reading the anthology but much was new to me. I learned a great deal. My favorite poet remains Wallace Stevens, partly because he comibined the life of a man of affairs, as an attorney and insurance executive, with deep art. This remains an ideal for me. It is true as well for W.C. Williams, although I am less fond of his poetry.

The title to this review is taken from "Libretto" by Ezra Pound,
(page 371). It is the best single sentence summation I can think of for the contents of this volume.

I think the two volumes published thus far are only half of what's expected, but I'm not sure, as these were put into print five years ago, as far as I can tell. There is plenty to enjoy here, and some to rightfully forget. There's also plenty missing. (Attempts at political correctness can be so tedious and obvious.) For instance, on the enjoyment side, Marianne Moore's The Steeple-Jack is a wonder of construction, as is Robert Frost's obsessively worked out "Familiar with the Night." But such anthologies as this are always questioned as to the method of selection, the poets disregarded, and the poems picked. Why, for instance, was Marianne Moore's Octopus overlooked? Where are W. H. Auden, Robert Lowell, Adrienne Rich, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Allen Ginsburg, and James Merrill, among so many others? Are they still to come? I hope so. And I just don't care for Gertrude Stein. Her work is unreadable and does nothing at all for me. I don't know why so much space is always allotted to her in so many anthologies. Yes, I get the point. No, I don't need 37 pages of this point. It seems her importance only lies in who she knew and how she lived, not in any actual talent she had.

If the Library of America is coming out with any more volumes to round out the twentieth century, they are taking their sweet time about it. I really can't wait that long. In the meantime, a new American anthology is due out from Oxford in 2006, edited by David Lehman. I've had a sneak peek, and it's inclusive and won't disappoint.

This is an amazing collection of some of the best 20th century poets. Intriguing and exciting. The book offers much more than the poems, it envokes the reader into poet's lives, and engrosses them to understand them. Beautiful collection of poems from the most enduring century.

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