Edna St. Vincent Millay: Collected Lyrics
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Read in January, 1992
It seems like I've had this book forever.
Ms. Millay's poems are vibrant and sad. She writes about a variety of subjects.
Small example from a poem called The Musician:
"There, today, as in the days when I knew you well,
The willow sheds upon the stream its narrow leaves,
And the quiet flowing of the water and its faint smell
Are balm to the heart that grieves.
Together with the sharp discomfort of loving you,
Ineffable you, so lovely and so aloof,
There is laid upon the spiri...more
Ms. Millay's poems are vibrant and sad. She writes about a variety of subjects.
Small example from a poem called The Musician:
"There, today, as in the days when I knew you well,
The willow sheds upon the stream its narrow leaves,
And the quiet flowing of the water and its faint smell
Are balm to the heart that grieves.
Together with the sharp discomfort of loving you,
Ineffable you, so lovely and so aloof,
There is laid upon the spiri...more
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recommends it for:
readers of poetry
I pursued Edna St. Vincent Millay after reading John McWhorter's "Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music." He cited her as the poet of careful craft, an exemplary poet of pre-beat twentieth century America. And indeed, his promotion did not let me down. There were many poems I didn't care for in the volume, some too loose, some too political. The good ones were amazing, though, very carefully constructed, conscious of meter and rhyme. Many meditations on life, love,...more
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Read in July, 2008
Can one be ever done reading a book of poetry? If it sucks, maybe. But her lyrics are amazing, and I jumped around a bit trying to find something to read for my grandmother's funeral. Millay's poems are maybe too incisive for funereal purposes, but I read and re-read "Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies." It just shakes me.
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At one point the best selling modern american poet, this great writer has fallen off the radar. She has been neglected for adherance to trdational poetic forms, though her subject matter was topical and often controversial. She wrote about free love and against war and did little to hide her bisexuality in the 1920s! Well worht a read if you have any love of poetry or feminist literature.
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Read in April, 2004
the anguish
i would to god i were quenched and fed
as in my youth
from the flask of song, and the good bread
of beauty richer than truth.
the anguish of the world is on my tongue.
my bowl is filled to the brim with it; there is more than i can eat.
happy are the toothless old and the toothless young,
that cannot rend this meat.
i would to god i were quenched and fed
as in my youth
from the flask of song, and the good bread
of beauty richer than truth.
the anguish of the world is on my tongue.
my bowl is filled to the brim with it; there is more than i can eat.
happy are the toothless old and the toothless young,
that cannot rend this meat.
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The True Encounter
"Wolf!" cried my cunning heart
At every sheep it spied,
And roused the countryside.
"Wolf! Wolf!"--and up would start
Good neighbors, bringing spade
And pitchfork to my aid.
At length my cry was known:
Therein lay my release.
I met the wolf alone
And was devoured in peace.
"Wolf!" cried my cunning heart
At every sheep it spied,
And roused the countryside.
"Wolf! Wolf!"--and up would start
Good neighbors, bringing spade
And pitchfork to my aid.
At length my cry was known:
Therein lay my release.
I met the wolf alone
And was devoured in peace.
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