Joyful Noise: An Anthology of American Spiritual Poetry [Paperback]

Robert Strong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1932870121 | ISBN-13: 978-1932870121

A selection of poems and songs that trace America's diverse spiritual traditions. This comprehensive survey includes Native American songs, traditional Protestant hymns, nineteenth-century transcendental verse, and selections from major modern and contemporary authors, such as T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Langston Hughes, Allen Ginsberg, Agha Shahid Ali, Mark Doty, Jane Hirshfield, and Denise Duhamel.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Strong is the author of Puritan Spectacle and an assistant professor at SUNY Canton. He is currently writing a book on the social history of Sunday in America.

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Autumn House Press (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932870121
• ISBN-13: 978-1932870121
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joyful Noise meets a need, December 21, 2006

By 

Jane Augustine (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joyful Noise: An Anthology of American Spiritual Poetry (Paperback)

Joyful Noise: An Anthology of American Spiritual Poetry fills a distinct need. The introduction's opening line, "all poetry is spiritual", sets the tone. With minimal initial definition of the "spiritual," the book opens up to a wide range of moments of "extra-ordinary perception" that show the construction, over more than four centuries, of "a national conscience and consciousness." The claim is large but exact. Joyful Noise is a pleasure to read and a help to anyone looking for a deeper personal path. Teachers of American literature, history, religion, psychology or culture can make good use of it, too. An excellent and unusual collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The search never ends, April 5, 2007

By 

Charles M. Nobles (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joyful Noise: An Anthology of American Spiritual Poetry (Paperback)

This anthology of over 300 poems showcases America's diverse spiritual traditions in one handy volume. The book is almost overwhelming in its scope and content. It's all here, from ancient Native songs to Traditional Spirituals and Hymns of the Nineteenth Century; from Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; from Langston Hughes to Shaker Hymns and just about everything and everyone in-between. This is a must have volume for any reader interested in the centuries old search for the spiritual in poetry.