The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002 [Paperback]

Joseph Parisi (Author), Stephen Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2004

Publishing monthly without interruption since 1912, Poetry has become America's most distinguished magazine of verse, presenting, often for the very first time, virtually every notable poet of the last nine decades--an unprecedented record. Decade by decade, this ninetieth-anniversary anthology from Poetry includes the poems of the major talents, along with several lesser known. Poetry is an American institution. --T. S. Eliot

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the premier single-volume anthologies available. (Library Journal )

This modest Chicago monthly has featured not only many of the 20th century's greatest poets, but also many of their famous poems. It is pleasant to think, given everything that Poetry has meant to literature in the last 100 years and everything it may yet mean to generations of readers that it will not have such troubles in the future. (David Yezzi Philadelphia Inquirer )

It is a fitting collection that not only features their work, but helped place them in the pantheon. (Richard Wakefield Seattle Times )

This anthology makes clear that American poetry is as powerful, diverse, and vibrant as ever. (San Diego Union-Tribune )

For the LOVER of poetry there is much to savor here... (Ron Smith Times-Dispatch )

A Who's Who of American verse...a landmark collection.... Highly recommended. (Library Journal )

Superb and invaluable...comprehensive and thrilling...a veritable history of twentieth-century poetry in English.... A tremendous resource. (Booklist, Starred Review )

A great catch...I so thoroughly enjoyed this book that every time I lay eyes on it I can't help picking it up — even if it is for the hundredth time. (Kliatt )

The two kinds of anthology--that of summary and that of advocacy--will suffice to define the type of Parisi's book. (James Matthew Wilson Contemporary Poetry Review )

About the Author

Joseph Parisi joined Poetry in 1976 and served as its tenth editor from 1983D2003. Among his books are Marianne Moore: The Art of a Modernist and, with Stephen Young, Dear Editor: A History of Poetry in Letters. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002, and is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. Mr. Parisi has also edited a definitive modern poetry collection, 100 Essential Modern Poems published with Ivan R. Dee in 2005. Stephen Young, former senior editor of Poetry, is program director of the Poetry Foundation. He was educated at Dartmouth and joined the magazine in 1988. Messrs. Parisi and Young live in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (August 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566636043
• ISBN-13: 978-1566636049
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 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: #156,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a field of golden wheat, March 7, 2006

By 

Barnaby Thieme (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002 (Paperback)

The Poetry Anthology presents works from the 90-year span of America's premier poetry magazine. This book contains gems by the acknowledged masters of the Twentieth Century (including every American figure you could likely name from that period), all of which appeared in Poetry's pages for the first time. Best of all, you shall find in this book countless remarkable specimens of the first rank by a host of lesser-known artists, many of whom are scarcely less deserving of accolades than Stevens, Moore, Pound or Eliot.

But one can only read so much. The editors of Poetry must be thanked for wading through the vast sea of mediocrity that constitutes the world of verse, and bearing back this hard-won treasure for us.

This collection is a pleasure to read and an affirmation of the great capacity of poetry to inspire, illuminate, and nourish that which is alive within us. Along with "The Rattle Bag", it is one of the finest poetry anthologies I own.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most evenly scattered and talented collection I have seen, July 9, 2010

By 

J. KNOWLES (Wimington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002 (Paperback)

Almost every poetry collection I have ever seen has clear personal preference and bias. This is like the 'Smithsonian' of poetry, though, from classically styled, to beats to avants and those indescribable
individuals who stand alone. If there is work from a type I have trouble with, at least it is the most
talented and cunning of its type, and I have expanded my preferences with this volume. The indexing is
great and I can follow the years, follow a poet through the years, or look for themes handled differently.
There are so many "best of" collections that only dig a narrow tunnel. This shows a long commitment to
sampling all over the map, and picking those who make a strong case for their style even among others.
I have been able to find different spirits that cut across time and types here, and gain insight into
areas I wouldn't have had the time to wade into otherwise. With an open mind (from either the structured
or the chaotic side) you can find a lot to enjoy in this thick volume. If you don't like the stanza or
the arrangement of things, I find the lines and coined phrases are always sharp and individual. Check it
out. There is a love of the art that cuts across this collection. I pop it open for a surprise often.
I have piles of less surprising stuff around. This is shelf space well-spent, for me. It's not the
'ultimate', but it has a great sense of what's happened, what's similar and different across the range
of poetry. My top pick for "a giant book of poetry" as regards the 20th century - plus.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Providing the greatest poems of the last century, November 6, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002 (Paperback)

THE POETRY ANTHOLOGY gathers works from Poetry Magazine, providing the greatest poems of the last century from Yeats and Eliot to Millay, Hughes, and many more famous names. These are some of the greatest works by the greatest contemporary poets: if only one representative poetry anthology were to be part of a lending collection, make it Joseph Parisi and Stephen Young's THE POETRY ANTHOLOGY. The fact that its editors are also editors of Poetry Magazine only lends further authority to their selection choices.