The New American Poetry, 1945-1960: With a new afterword [Paperback]

Donald Allen (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520209532 | ISBN-13: 978-0520209534 | Publication Date: July 27, 1999 | Edition: 1

With more than 100,000 copies sold, The New American Poetry has become one of the most influential anthologies published in the United States since World War II. As one of the first counter-cultural collections of American verse, this volume fits in Robert Lowell's famous definition of the raw in American poetry. Many of the contributors once derided in the mainstream press of the period are now part of the postmodern canon: Olson, Duncan, Creeley, Guest, Ashbery, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Levertov, O'Hara, Snyder, Schuyler, and others. Donald Allen's The New American Poetry delivered the first taste of these remarkable poets, and the book has since become an invaluable historical and cultural record, now available again for a new generation of readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Donald Allen's anthology, modestly assembled in 1959 to give readers a new sense of directions in American poetry, has turned out to be a wholly prophetic volume. Today, forty years later, it remains THE great anthology of avante-garde poetry, the book that determined the direction poetry would take in the second half of the century!" -- Marjorie Perloff

I Love My Love by Helen Douglas Adam
A Boy by John Ashbery
How Much Longer Will I Be Able To Inhabit The Divine Sepulcher by John Ashbery
The Instruction Manual by John Ashbery
For Hettie by Amiri Baraka
In Memory Of Radio by Amiri Baraka
One Night Stand by Amiri Baraka
Ostriches And Grandmothers by Amiri Baraka
To A Publisher - Cut-out by Amiri Baraka
The Turncoat by Amiri Baraka
Way Out West; For Gary Snyder by Amiri Baraka
The Assistance by Paul Blackburn
The Continuity by Paul Blackburn
The Encounter by Paul Blackburn
Night Song For Two Mystics by Paul Blackburn
The Once-over by Paul Blackburn
The Problem by Paul Blackburn
Sirventes by Paul Blackburn
A 4 Part Geometry Lesson; For Sylvia Townsend Warner by Robin Francis Blaser
Herons by Robin Francis Blaser
Poem by Robin Francis Blaser
Poem by Robin Francis Blaser
Poem By The Charles River by Robin Francis Blaser
Each Found Himself At The End Of by Ebbe Borregaard
Some Stories Of The Beauty Wapiti by Ebbe Borregaard
Sanctuary by Bruce Boyd
This What The Watchbird Sings, Who Perces In The Lovetree by Bruce Boyd
Venice Recalled by Bruce Boyd
Blood by Ray Bremser
Poem Of Holy Madness: Part 4 by Ray Bremser
Feathers Or Lead? by James Richard Broughton
Father by Paul Carroll
Birthplace Revisited by Gregory Corso
But I Do Not Need Kindness by Gregory Corso
Dialogue - 2 Dollmakers by Gregory Corso
A Dreamed Realization by Gregory Corso
From Another Room by Gregory Corso
Marriage by Gregory Corso
Notes After Blacking Out by Gregory Corso
Paranoia In Crete by Gregory Corso
Poets Hitchhiking On The Highway by Gregory Corso
Uccello by Gregory Corso
Zizi's Lament by Gregory Corso
Ballad Of The Despairing Husband by Robert Creeley
A Counterpoint by Robert Creeley
The Door; For Robert Duncan by Robert Creeley
If You by Robert Creeley
The Immoral Proposition by Robert Creeley
The Innocence by Robert Creeley
Just Friends by Robert Creeley
The Kind Of Acting Up by Robert Creeley
A Marriage by Robert Creeley
The Three Ladies by Robert Creeley
The Warning by Robert Creeley
The Way by Robert Creeley
The Whip by Robert Creeley
The Air Of June Sings by Edward Dorn
Are They Dancing? by Edward Dorn
The Hide Of My Mother by Edward Dorn
The Rick Of Green Wood by Edward Dorn
Vaquero by Edward Dorn
When The Fairies Come Back To Sante Fe by Edward Dorn
Strange by Kirby Doyle
Dance With Banderillas by Richard Duerden
Moon Is To Blood by Richard Duerden
Musica No. 3: Pickup On Some Numbers & Balances by Richard Duerden
Dream Data by Robert Duncan
Food For Fire, Food For Thought by Robert Duncan
An Owl Is An Only Bird Of Poetry; A Vale For James Broughton by Robert Duncan
A Poem Beginning With A Line By Pindar by Robert Duncan
The Song Of The Borderguard by Robert Duncan
This Place Rumord To Have Been Sodom by Robert Duncan
B by Larry Eigner
Do It Yrself by Larry Eigner
Environ S by Larry Eigner
A Fete by Larry Eigner
A Gone by Larry Eigner
Keep Me Still, For I Do Not Want To Dream by Larry Eigner
Noise Grimaced by Larry Eigner
Open by Larry Eigner
Passages by Larry Eigner
Advent by William Everson
A Canticle To The Waterbirds by William Everson
The South Coast by William Everson
A Coney Island Of The Mind: 1 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
A Coney Island Of The Mind: 11 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
A Coney Island Of The Mind: 15 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
He (to Allen Ginsberg Of The 1950's, Before 'the Change') by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Pictures Of The Gone World: 23 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Pictures Of The Gone World: 8 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The Floor Is Dirty by Edward Field
A View Of Jersey by Edward Field
Howl; For Carl Solomon by Allen Ginsberg
Kaddish by Allen Ginsberg
Kaddish: Part 3 by Allen Ginsberg
Kaddish: Part 4 by Allen Ginsberg
Kaddish: Part 5 by Allen Ginsberg
Malest Cornifici Tuo Catullo by Allen Ginsberg
Message by Allen Ginsberg
Sather Gate Imagination by Allen Ginsberg
The Shrouded Stranger by Allen Ginsberg
Sunflower Sutra by Allen Ginsberg
A Supermarket In California by Allen Ginsberg
Once And Upon by Madeline Gleason
Parachutes, My Love, Could Carry Us Higher by Barbara Guest
Piazzas by Barbara Guest
Sante Fe Trail by Barbara Guest
Sunday Evening by Barbara Guest
Mexico City Blues (113th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (127th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (146th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (179th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (182nd Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (183rd Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (211th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (219th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (221st Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (225th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (228th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Mexico City Blues (230th Chorus) by John Kerouac
Fresh Air by Kenneth Koch
Mending Sump by Kenneth Koch
Thank You by Kenneth Koch
Man Is In Pain by Philip Lamantia
Morning Light Song by Philip Lamantia
Still Poem 9 by Philip Lamantia
Terror Conduction by Philip Lamantia
Beyond The End by Denise Levertov
The Five-day Rain by Denise Levertov
The Goddess by Denise Levertov
The Hands by Denise Levertov
Merritt Parkway by Denise Levertov
Pleasures by Denise Levertov
Scenes From The Life Of The Peppertrees by Denise Levertov
The Sharks by Denise Levertov
The Third Dimension by Denise Levertov
The Way Through by Denise Levertov
Insomniac Poem by Ron Loewinsohn
Mrs. Loewinsohn & C by Ron Loewinsohn
My Sons by Ron Loewinsohn
Pastoral by Ron Loewinsohn
The Stillness Of The Poem by Ron Loewinsohn
The Thing Made Real by Ron Loewinsohn
Leave The World Alone by Edward Marshall
The Breech by Michael Thomas Mcclure
Canticle by Michael Thomas Mcclure
The Flowers Of Politics: 1 by Michael Thomas Mcclure
The Flowers Of Politics: 2 by Michael Thomas Mcclure
For Artaud by Michael Thomas Mcclure
Hymn To Saint Geryon by Michael Thomas Mcclure
Ode For Soft Voice by Michael Thomas Mcclure
Peyote Poem: Part 1 by Michael Thomas Mcclure
The Rug by Michael Thomas Mcclure
12th Raga %for John Wieners by David Meltzer
15th Raga: For Bela Lugosi by David Meltzer
4th Raga: Revelation by David Meltzer
Prayerwheel - 2; For John Wieners by David Meltzer
Chez Jane by Frank O'hara
The Day Lady Died by Frank O'hara
For James Dean by Frank O'hara
Hotel Transylvanie by Frank O'hara
In Favor Of One's Time by Frank O'hara
In Memory Of My Feelings; To Grace Hartigan by Frank O'hara
Ode by Frank O'hara
Ode To Joy by Frank O'hara
Ode To Michael Goldberg ('s Birth And Other Births) by Frank O'hara
Ode: Salute To The French Negro Poets by Frank O'hara
Poem by Frank O'hara
Poem by Frank O'hara
To Hell With It by Frank O'hara
Why I Am Not A Painter by Frank O'hara
You Are Gorgeous And I'm Coming by Frank O'hara
As They Pray Upon Us by Charles Olson
The Death Of Europe (a Funeral Poem For Rainer M. Gerhardt) by Charles Olson
The Distances by Charles Olson
I, Maximus Of Gloucester, To You by Charles Olson
The Kingfishers by Charles Olson
The Lordly And Isolate Satyrs - Look At Them Come In by Charles Olson
Maximus, To Himself by Charles Olson
A Newly Discovered 'homeric' Hymn (for Jane Harrison) by Charles Olson
The Songs Of Maximus: Song 1 by Charles Olson
The Songs Of Maximus: Song 2 by Charles Olson
The Songs Of Maximus: Song 3 by Charles Olson
The Songs Of Maximus: Song 4 by Charles Olson
Variations Done For Gerald Van De Wiele: 1. Le Bonheur by Charles Olson
Variations Done For Gerald Van De Wiele: 2. The Charge by Charles Olson
Variations Done For Gerald Van De Wiele: 3. Spring by Charles Olson
The Bath by Joel Oppenheimer
Blue Funk by Joel Oppenheimer
The Bus Trip by Joel Oppenheimer
The Feeding by Joel Oppenheimer
Mare Nostrum by Joel Oppenheimer
Second Poem by Peter Orlovsky
Feasts Of Death, Feasts Of Love by Stuart Z. Perkoff
Flowers For Luis Bunuel by Stuart Z. Perkoff
The Recluses by Stuart Z. Perkoff
'the Elizabethans Called It Dying' by James Schuyler
February by James Schuyler
Freely Espousing by James Schuyler
Salute by James Schuyler
For A Far-out Friend by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 1. Second Shaman Song by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 10. Amitabha's Vow by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 11 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 13 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 14 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 15 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 17 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 2 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 3. Maudgalyayana Saw Hell by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 4. Maitreya The Future Buddha by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 7 by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 8. John Muir On Mt. Ritter by Gary Snyder
Myths And Texts: Burning: 9 by Gary Snyder
Praise For Sick Women by Gary Snyder
Riprap by Gary Snyder
This Tokyo by Gary Snyder
A Classic Case by Gilbert Sorrentino
The Zoo by Gilbert Sorrentino
Imaginary Elegies by Jack Spicer
Imaginary Elegies: 2 by Jack Spicer
Imaginary Elegies: 3 by Jack Spicer
Imaginary Elegies: 4 by Jack Spicer
Chicago Poem by Lew Welch
Taxi Suite: After Anacreon by Lew Welch
10:x:57, 45 Xyears Since The Fall Of The Ch'ing Dynasty by Philip Whalen
2 Variations: All About Love by Philip Whalen
Denunciation: Or, Unfrock'd Again by Philip Whalen
For C by Philip Whalen
Martyrdom Of Two Pagans by Philip Whalen
The Same Old Jazz by Philip Whalen
Sourdough Mountain Lookout; For Kenneth Rexroth by Philip Whalen
Take 1, 4: 2: 58 by Philip Whalen
A Poem For Museum Goers by John Wieners
A Poem For Painters by John Wieners
A Poem For The Insane by John Wieners
A Poem For The Old Man by John Wieners
A Poem For Trapped Things by John Wieners
The Distances To The Friend by Jonathan Williams
Fast Ball by Jonathan Williams
A Little Tumescence by Jonathan Williams
The Switch Blade (or, John's Other Wife) by Jonathan Williams
Those Troublesom Disguises by Jonathan Williams
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

From the Inside Flap

"Donald Allen's prophetic anthology had an electrifying effect on two generations, at least, of American poets and readers. More than the repetition of familiar names and ideas that most anthologies seem to be about, here was the declaration of a collective, intelligent, and thoroughly visionary work-in-progress: the primary example for its time of the anthology-as-manifesto. Its republication today--complete with poems, statements on poetics, and autobiographical projections--provides us, again, with a model of how a contemporary anthology can and should be shaped. In these essentials it remains as fresh and useful a guide as it was in 1960."--Jerome Rothenberg, editor of Poems for the Millennium

"The New American Poetry is a crucial cultural document, central to defining the poetics and the broader cultural dynamics of a particular historical moment."--Alan Golding, author of From Outlaw to Classic: Canons in American Poetry

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 479 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (July 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520209532
• ISBN-13: 978-0520209534
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,944 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 A great introduction to this poetry, November 4, 1999

By 

Juan Marcelo Bodenheimer (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New American Poetry, 1945-1960: With a new afterword (Paperback)

I find this book a great introduction to this type of poetry. You can find a lot of different authors, topics, type of poetry, and each piece you read has something good. I recommend it to everyone that loves contemporany poetry or wants to start reading some.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Significant anthology., July 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Shelton, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New American Poetry, 1945-1960: With a new afterword (Paperback)

I would like to quote from the recent book "A Secret Location on the Lower East Side" by Steven Clay and Rodney Phillips. The New York Public Library/Granary Books.

There was no more significant poetry anthology in the second half of the twentieth century than THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY, 1945-1960, edited by Donald M. Allen and published (orig) by Grove Press.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting moment in American literature, August 17, 2000

By 

DJ Rix (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New American Poetry, 1945-1960: With a new afterword (Paperback)

Donald Allen's New American Poetry served its purpose very well as a dignified, major anthology of poets whose reputations were then far from secured. It has two very serious flaws. It vastly under-represents women & poets of color. It also creates arbitrary "schools" of poetry that hardly existed then & exist not at all now. In the year 2000, the purpose of this book is perhaps not so clear. Except for Olson, these are all early poems from young poets, many of whom are quite dead now. This anthology is hardly a fair representation of, or introduction to, their art.

But there are two strengths at work here. The New American Poetry is a marvelous historical document of a particular time, an exciting moment in American literature. Also, there are many poets here who subsequently had wonderful careers without attaining the celebrity of Allen Ginsberg, John Ashbury or Robert Creeley. Some of the finest poets in this book have pitifully few of their own best books in print .. the delights of their smaller collections. So the reader may be encountering Helen Adam, Larry Eigner, Ron Lowensohn, Ray Bremser & Joel Oppenheimer for the first time. Or become reacquainted with Paul Blackburn & Denise Levertov.

Even when you keep in mind that the New American Poetry is neither an infallible literary bible of its time nor a substitute for broader anthologies like The Voice that is Great Within Us, the beautiful music it contains will still pack a wallop to your heart & mind.

Bob Rixon