The Oxford Book of American Poetry [Hardcover]

David Lehman (Author), John Brehm (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"David Lehman's Oxford anthology is the single most important volume of American poetry in a generation. While we can all quibble about inclusions and exclusions (even in a 1,000-page selection), Lehman's eye--and his ear--have produced a work that will last us well into the new century."--Ashton Nichols, Dickinson College

"It can't get much better than this."--Rochelle Moore, Associated Content

"The book is not only a sound historical survey, but also gives the reader a powerful taste of poetry's impact upon the wider world."--The Economist

"Indeed, for the reader otherwise disinclined to pick up a volume of poetry, you may also find yourself enjoying the selections in this collection. It will be a purchase that will stay with you far longer than any meal at a fancy restaurant upon which you might spend the money. And it will be better for you as well."--The Washington Times

"There is no one more qualified to undertake such a project...a brilliant updating of the previous edition."--James Tate, a member of the Academy of American Arts and Letters and winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in poetry

Product Description

Here is the eagerly awaited new edition of The Oxford Book of American Poetry brought completely up to date and dramatically expanded by poet David Lehman. It is a rich, capacious volume, featuring the work of more than 200 poets-almost three times as many as the 1976 edition. With a succinct and often witty head note introducing each author, it is certain to become the definitive anthology of American poetry for our time.

Lehman has gathered together all the works one would expect to find in a landmark collection of American poetry, from Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to Stevens's The Idea of Order at Key West, and from Eliot's The Waste Land to Ashbery's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But equally important, the editor has significantly expanded the range of the anthology. The book includes not only writers born since the previous edition, but also many fine poets overlooked in earlier editions or little known in the past but highly deserving of attention. The anthology confers legitimacy on the Objectivist poets; the so-called Proletariat poets of the 1930s; famous poets who fell into neglect or were the victims of critical backlash (Edna St. Vincent Millay); poets whose true worth has only become clear with the passing of time (Weldon Kees). Among poets missing from Richard Ellmann's 1976 volume but published here are W. H. Auden, Charles Bukowski, Donald Justice, Carolyn Kizer, Kenneth Koch, Stanley Kunitz, Emma Lazarus, Mina Loy, Howard Moss, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, James Schuyler, Elinor Wylie, and Louis Zukosky. Many more women are represented: outstanding poets such as Josephine Jacobsen, Josephine Miles, May Swenson. Numerous African-American poets receive their due, and unexpected figures such as the musicians Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Robert Johnson have a place in this important work.

This stunning collection redefines the great canon of American poetry from its origins in the 17th century right up to the present. It is a must-have anthology for anyone interested in American literature and a book that is sure to be consulted, debated, and treasured for years to come.

Web Site

A companion web site is now available at www.oxfordpoetry.com

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; ZZZ edition (April 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019516251X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195162516
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #29,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #54 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Poetry > 20th Century
  #8 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > United States > Poetry
  #28 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but Unbalanced, October 28, 2007

By	polumetis (Indianola, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Book of American Poetry (Hardcover)

The one thing a reader may reasonably ask of such a collection is that it make a serious effort to be balanced. Greatness and coverage have to fight it out, with a vision of the whole book acting as referee. This does not really happen here. For example, the editor is something of an expert on A.R.Ammons, and a dozen or so of his poems are included. James Dickey? Nothing. Nary a jingle. This raises uncomfortable questions, as Dickey was clearly one of the finest American poets of the second half of the twentieth century (read Cherrylog Road, or The Heaven of Animals, or any of another 30-40 of his best poems). By all accounts, Dickey was a difficult, even boorish, person who alienated most of the literary establishment with his objectionable personal qualities and his "manly man" old-boy non-literary accomplishments (football player, fighter pilot). Who cares? Leaving him out of a 1080-page collection of American poetry could be seen as an act of editorial dishonesty. While (as far as I can tell) no other omission matches this one, the large amount of space devoted to some poets of the first rank, as another reviewer noted, does tend to freeze out a number of first-rate poems by poets of the second or third rank.

In Dickey's case it looks like literary politics; in other cases it is a matter of taking some good poets (like Ammons) or great poets (like Whitman) and overplaying them so others are underrepresented or absent.

If an anthologist were guided by a question such as "What would I say to a reader of 200 years hence if that reader knew how to read English but would never know any other American poetry?" then a fair balance between greatness and coverage might be approximated. As it stands, this is another seriously flawed anthology. Perhaps the only thing the national tradition can do is to assemble an anthology of anthologies and hope that, as usual, the wisdom of all will surpass the tastes of one. This is not guaranteed, however, in the short to medium term, at least. Until T.S.Eliot and a few adventurous editors helped to resuscitate people like the Jacobean poets and dramatists, they were known mainly to astute scholars and alert readers who searched them out in the musty corners of famous university libraries. Nearly 300 years after the fact, literary readers were still stuck in Thomas Moore, Cowper, and other now mostly forgotten worthies, in addition to the usual suspects (the big names), and had barely heard of Tourneur, Webster, or even Donne.

Editing a big-name anthology like the Oxford, and following in the steps of two illustrious predecessors, brings with it the responsibility to fulfill a serious educational trust. Everything included means something is excluded, and the difference between having one poem in the book and none is a thousand times bigger than the difference between one and two. It would be interesting to do an anthology of 1000 American poets, with each poet getting a single entry.

So, dear reader, if you already have a few anthologies of American poetry, go ahead and add this one. Like other "doorstops," it will serve as a decent collection of links to individual poets. If you have none, buy three or four and consider including this duckling.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 31, 2006

By	Jordan M. Poss (Georgia, United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Oxford Book of American Poetry (Hardcover)

The Oxford Book of American Poetry is a fine anthology of most of America's premier poets. While, as one reviewed pointed out, the South is a bit under-represented, the collection is still excellent and offers the best that American poetry has to offer. The book is strongest in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the more modern stuff not quite as good or as generously selected--most contemporary poets have very little of their work represented here.
This book's greatest non-literary asset, though, is its affordability. While a Norton anthology can run between $70 and $80 (and they are usually worth it), this book just costs $35 and is even cheaper here on Amazon. The Oxford Book of American Poetry is not only a good anthology, it's a steal.
And yes, this book really does look impressive on the shelf (though of course it won't be on the shelf often, if you're a poetry lover).

27 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unbalanced and Biased, June 10, 2006

By	R. Moore (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Oxford Book of American Poetry (Hardcover)

An anthology of this type should capture representative selections of all worthy poets; given that personal bias, I find this to be an unbalanced treatment of American verse. Walt Whitman gets 68 pages (as though his work is not readily available elsewhere), while the entire contribution of Stanley Kunitz (just to note a single example) is reflected in one short poem--and many other fine poets are slighted in this lamentable fashion.

Glance through the table of contents and browse the volume itself, and you'll find tiny snippets of some of our best poets, engulfed by huge selections of the few that this editor considers laudable.

It's unfortunate that Oxford should have issued a biased and arbitrary selection of this sort, which is of very limited use to those interested in the breadth of achievement of American poets. Many other anthologies offer more generous selections of accomplished poets, and will, one imagines, be much more frequently consulted by readers looking for a favorite poem.