The Yale Younger Poets Anthology (Yale Series of Younger Poets) [Hardcover]

Mr. George Bradley (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Yale Series of Younger Poets | Publication Date: March 30, 1998

"An important and elegant history of American poetry -- how it has been written, received, and read over the course of the century. It is a fascinating survey of the shifting tides in this country's literary tastes". -- J. d. McClatchy

"Like most editors the Yale series has had, Auden had no sooner taken the job than he began to worry about the amount of work involved.... He complained vigorously about the introduction requirement he had agreed to only a week before: 'Personally, I am very much against the critical estimate business and would like to see the policy changed. These introductions always sound awful, and the whole idea that a new poet should be introduced by an older one as if he were a debutante or a new face cream, deplorable and false.' The Press held its ground, though. If Benet and MacLeish could do it, so could the new editor. And so, over his objections, Auden was brought to doa task he would accomplish spectacularly well". -- from the Introduction

In 1919 Yale University Press inaugurated the Yale Series of Younger Poets, designed to "afford a public medium for the work of young men and women who have not vet secured a wide public recognition". This anthology of the longest-running poetry series in the United States tells the story of American poetry in this century. At first a forum for a conservative taste in parochial college verse, the Younger Poets Series soon opened up to unconventional but profound young talents from across the country -- such as James Agee, Muriel Rukeyser, Margaret Walker, William Meredith, Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery John Hollander, James Tate, Carolyn Forche, and Robert Hass. This anthology includes poems from the first book by eachof the 92 winners of the annual Younger Poets contest.

The selections are accompanied by an introduction by George Bradley, the 1986 winner of the contest. Bradley charts the course of the series under the aegis of such contest judges as Stephen Vincent Benet, W. H. Auden, and James Merrill, lacing his narrative with anecdotes about the judges and winners. He also establishes the series' vital role in the development of American poetry and American publishing. The anthology is divided into two sections: "The Early Years", which briefly presents the first 31 winners of the contest, and "The Modern Series", which gives ample room to display the early work of some of America's finest poets. All poets are introduced by a biographical headnote, and in the second section Bradley has added a brief commentary directing the reader to the salient features of each poet's work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Foounded in 1919 as a way to exhibit the poetic precocity of Yale students, the Yale Younger Poets series has evolved over 78 years into a flagship imprimatur for a poet's first book. As this volume demonstrates, the series remained a venue for late-19th-century neo-classicism until 1933, when the able Stephen Vincent Benet took the helm as judge. James Agee, Muriel Rukeyser and Margaret Walker were all published during his tenure. As Bradley (a winner himself in 1986) describes in his informative introduction, each of the judges carried out their duties with their own styles, from the distant and difficult Archibald MacLeish and the eccentric classicist Dudley Fitts (who selected James Tate and George Starbuck), to the series' most famous and successful arbiter, W.H. Auden. The work Auden chose (no less idiosyncratically than the others) is some of the best here: John Ashbery's Some Trees, early formal work by Adrienne Rich, the debuts of W.S. Merwin, John Hollander and James Wright. Stanley Kunitz, Richard Hugo and James Merrill were among Auden's successors, and their picks included Alan Dugan, Jean Valentine, Carolyn Forche, former laureate Robert Hass, and Cathy Song. There is some surprisingly good work from two little-known poets whose single volumes were from the series, Joan Murray (who died at 25) and Robert Horan, as well as by Rosalie Moore?all chosen by Auden; there is also some embarrassing work that, ironically, is mostly taken from volumes that were among the series' bestsellers. Part of the fun of this skewed, sometimes claustrophobic history of 20th-century American poetry is to try to determine who will "make it" from the contest's last judge, the late James Dickey, or to find an underdog to champion from among the lesser-knowns.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

As Bradley wisely observes in his long introduction, a history of the Yale Younger Poet Series is virtually a history of all the important Modernist poetry written in America after 1919, the year the series began. The series plodded along sleepily at first, until Stephen Vincent Ben?t became editor in 1933, quickly publishing poets like James Agee, Muriel Rukeyser, and Margaret Walker. But the tenure of W.H. Auden (1946-58) established the reputation of the series beyond all doubt with the publication of such poets as Adrienne Rich, W.S. Merwin, John Ashbery, James Wright, and John Hollander. Editors since Auden have included such important figures as Dudley Fitts, Stanley Kunitz, Richard Hugo, James Merrill, and the late James DickeyAa period that included such key books as Robert Hass's Field Guide (1973) and Carolyn Forch?'s Gathering the Tribes (1976). Bradley, a Yale Younger Poet of 1986, does a superb job of editing, following perhaps Robert Hass's notion that there are "poems in the mind/ we survive on." Essential for all poetry collections.ADaniel L. Guillory, Millikin Univ., Findlay, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 406 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300074727
• ISBN-13: 978-0300074727
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,982,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eclectic and Provocative, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Yale Younger Poets Anthology (Yale Series of Younger Poets) (Paperback)

George Bradley's collection of the Yale Series of Younger Poets is an eclectic gathering of some of the best poetry produced by young, first time writers. Throughout the book, the voice of a distinct decade can be heard: from the tumultuous and forboding echoes of World War II to the radical tension of the sixties. Each poet is introduced with a concise biography and a brief comment on his or her poetry by Bradley. This book gives the reader an opportunity to view the early works of some of the greats: W.S. Merwin, John Hollander, John Ashbery, Adrienne Rich, Robert Hass, and many others. Though the selections are brief, they are rich in their content. A must for every poetry reader seeking to discover the fledgling works of well known and not-so well known poets alike.