The Facts on File Companion to 20th-Century American Poetry (Facts on File Library of American Literature) [Hardcover]

Burt Kimmelman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–In spite of the number of contributors, the quality of writing in this resource is remarkably even. Referencing poems, poets, poetry institutions, and poetic movements, the alphabetically arranged entries encompass much of what the past century had to offer in this genre. The signed articles range from one to four pages and each one is followed by a brief bibliography. Biographical information about poets is often coupled with a critical evaluation of their works. References to specific poems offer an analysis of the writer's style, influences or consistent themes, and the period in which the work was composed. While not in depth, the articles are academic, cross-referencing and comparing works, authors, and time periods. One appendix offers a glossary of poetic terms. A second appendix gives a more complete bibliography. Marie Rose Napierkowski and Mary K. Ruby's Poetry for Students (Gale, 1998) is more in depth, but also deals with a broader base of poets. The century-specific Companion would be a solid purchase for libraries needing a single-volume resource.–Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This A-Z compendium of 500-plus signed entries presents an eclectic approach to the study of twentieth-century American poetry, reflecting the wide variety of poetic styles, schools, and movements of the century. Kimmelman, a professor of English at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and himself a poet, draws upon the expertise of 244 academic contributors from all parts of the country and abroad. Analysis by contributors from academic institutions in Australia, Canada, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.K. lends unique cross-cultural perspectives.

Entries range in length from 500 to 2,000 words, and each has a bibliography. In addition to individual poets, coverage encompasses important poems and collections as well as topics such as Caribbean poetic influences, Deep image poetry, Fugitive/Agrarian school, and Poetry journals. Of note is the book's expert inclusion of African American poets and poetry. Entries offer extensive, authoritative interpretations of well-known poets Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, and Langston Hughes, to name three, and entries for lesser-known writers like the late modernist African American poet Melvin Tolson.

A work that attempts to offer an encyclopedic treatment of such a broad topic in one volume will no doubt contain omissions, but this does not detract from the overall quality, relevance, and caliber of the book. A valuable companion to standard reference sources like Gale's Contemporary Poets series or Poetry for Students series, it is recommended for all public libraries and undergraduate collections and is sure to be a handy reference guide during National Poetry Month and Black History Month. Diana Kirby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 572 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816046980
• ISBN-13: 978-0816046980
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,725,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Burt Kimmelman (BurtKimmelman.com) has published seven collections of poetry - The Way We Live (Dos Madres Press, 2011), As If Free (Talisman House, Publishers, 2009), There Are Words (Dos Madres Press, 2007), Somehow (Marsh Hawk Press, 2005), The Pond at Cape May Point (Marsh Hawk Press, 2002), a collaboration with the painter Fred Caruso, First Life (Jensen/Daniels Publishing, 2000), and Musaics (Sputyen Duyvil Press, 1992). A poem from As If Free titled "Taking Dinner to My Mother" was featured on NPR's The Writer's Almanac. For over a decade he was Senior Editor of the now defunct Poetry New York: A Journal of Poetry and Translation. He is a professor of English at New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of two book-length literary studies: The "Winter Mind": William Bronk and American Letters (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1998); and, The Poetics of Authorship in the Later Middle Ages: The Emergence of the Modern Literary Persona (Peter Lang Publishing, 1996; paperback 1999). He also edited The Facts on File Companion to 20th-Century American Poetry (Facts on File, 2005) and co- edited The Facts on File Companion to American Poetry (Facts on File, 2007). He has published scores of essays on medieval, modern, and contemporary poetry. Recent interviews of Kimmelman are accessible online, one with Tom Fink has appeared online in Jacket magazine (number 40), while another with George Spencer has been aired on Poetry Thin Air and is now available at Vimeo. More infomation about Kimmelman and relevant links are available via his website at BurtKimmelman.com.