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69th out of 125 books
—
92 voters
The Poets Laureate Anthology
Schmidt offers the first anthology to gather poems by the 43 poets laureate of the United States.
Hardcover, 762 pages
Published
April 5th 2010
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 2010)
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The 43 poets laureate from the first in 1937 to W.S. Merwin. A really well-done anthology which provides an introduction to some of America's most renowned poets.
A few of my favorites include:
A few of my favorites include:
...It had its task:
to imagine the future. Steadily flying around,
patiently bearing small twigs to the solitude
of the exposed tree in the steady coldness
of the outside world...
Louise Glück, Nest
...Those were the afternoons. Evenings...more
she took in piecework, the treadle machine
with its locomotive whir
traveling
This is a special book for me. It was presented at the beginning of May to the Pittsford Library, kindness of the group I have been leading there for over three years, where each week we read good poems out loud and discuss what works in the poem first, before saying what works for us.
This book will give you 43 views from 43 men and women, some black, some white, some academic, some anti-elitist, but ALL understanding that there is something about poetry which slows down time. It will also take...more
This book will give you 43 views from 43 men and women, some black, some white, some academic, some anti-elitist, but ALL understanding that there is something about poetry which slows down time. It will also take...more
My daughter gave me this book for Christmas, having heard about it on NPR. This is a fearsomely chunky book, with BEAUCOUP big-time poems and commentary from the poets. I have to admit that I am not generally inclined to seek out modern poets, but this volume is crammed with gems. The editors have sifted through the works of the American Poets Laureate and served up the tastiest morsels. Prior to reading the commentary from the editors and poets, I had a dim notion that there was such a thing as...more
I have read many of the poets' works included here and new to me poems. I believe in the saving or healing power of words/language when put together well. Billy Collins has become a new favorite. I only regret that James Wright's works are not included here as he still is held high on my list of contemporary poets. "A Blessing" being my particular favorite from among Wright's many works.
This is book to savor; hence I'll not put a date to finish it. I plan on returning to it often.
This is book to savor; hence I'll not put a date to finish it. I plan on returning to it often.
Though I guess I'm glad someone finally thought to put together a collection of the Poets Laureate (as if any of them needed to be anthologized again), one would do well to remember that the position itself is typically political and relies heavily on certain criteria (being alive, for instance; popularity and accessibility; marketability, even) that don't always guarantee good poetry.
Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, and Kay Ryan are among some of the more lackluster Poets Laureate in recent years--a...more
Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, and Kay Ryan are among some of the more lackluster Poets Laureate in recent years--a...more
The Library of Congress recently collaborated with Elizabeth Hun Schmidt to collect a select group of poems from the 43 U.S. Poets Laureate in The Poets Laureate Anthology, which lays out the poems in reverse chronological order (click for a list of the poets laureate) from the current laureate W.S. Merwin through the first poet laureate Joseph Auslander. The table of contents also points out that poems in brackets listed for each laureate are considered their signature poems. The collection con...more
It is an anthology after all, and so it has all the best of the works of all the U.S. Poet Laureates. The book is well printed, edited, and presented. It is a very good anthology. My conclusion after reading all of it is that poetry is not my medium. I can not say that I found any poet to "spark a fire". I confess I did not spend hours meditating on each poem as I probably should have done. Yet only a few of the poets produced images I could comprehend. I do not blame the poets. I think I am muc...more
A great look at each of the U.S. poets laureate; if you have collections by many or most of these poets, the book will be mostly interesting for the synopsis of each poet's tenure while in office. But if not, you might find yourself a new poet or two to like (I'd never read Ted Kooser before starting this book). Lots of great poems inside, though choices are obviously limited due to its scope, and many poems will be ones most poetry fans are familiar with. One exception: the poems chosen for W.S...more
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In an age where form has largely been disdained as greeting card verse, it is chastening to perceive how impressive the formalists were, in both contemporary speech and skill. Those like Wilbur, Penn Warren, Hecht…amazingly talented not only in what they said but how they said it. The Poet’s Laureate Anthology is limited in that it features only poems by the Laureates, and there have certainly been notable poets who never attained this honor, and some who did, can’t match the achievements of man...more
I love the way this collection of poetry is organized. It begins with the most modern of the poets laureate, and moves successively back in time. As one of those people who always starts at the beginning of books and never jumps around, I all too often I miss out on “the folks in the back” when reading chronological anthologies. This present-to-past organization helped me to approach each poet in his or her own right – without focusing too much on possible influences by the poets I’d just read.
A...more
A...more
This is a wonderful, huge volume of poetry anthologizing all those poets who've served as the nation's Poet Laureate or--as the position was originally appointed--as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. They range from Joseph Auslander (1937) to W. S. Merwin (2010), the outgoing laureate now that Philip Levine was named a few weeks ago to succeed him.
Two things are interesting about The Poets Laureate Anthology. First, the arrangement of the poets and their poems runs backward in tim...more
Two things are interesting about The Poets Laureate Anthology. First, the arrangement of the poets and their poems runs backward in tim...more
Apr 05, 2011
Christy Hart
is currently reading it
Reading a large book of poetry is like taking a long trip. You have to stop and look around you to truly enjoy where you are. Sometimes I read through books so quickly but poetry is more about sitting still and savoring the experience. It is not so important to get somewhere else, the journey is the destination.
this anthology features seventy-five years of recognized poets and not-so-known snippets of their lives. Mix in popular works and some of their unloved pieces yielding a rare collection.
Reading for poetry class on America's Poets Laureate. Excellent collection.
This is the closest I've ever come to being able to select one book for deserted island reading.
I will have to buy this while its on the 25% off table at Prairie Lights.
I liked the idea of collecting signature poems from the past Poets Laureate more than the actual poems selected.
can't rate poetry
Sep 24, 2012
Stacey V
added it
Not a book you to read from beginning to end, like many anthologies. But has some good poets--like Ted Kooser!
A great overview of 20th Century American poetry from the people selected by the Library of Congress to represent it, accompanied by brief yet helpful biographies of the poets. Especially of interest were the more recent laureates, who were not necessarily famous enough to have made it into my literature courses back in the 90s. Good stuff.
Oct 04, 2011
Lisa
marked it as to-be-continued-later
Had to stop at Richard Wilbur because someone else has requested it from the library. An interesting collection so far. Though I still just don't get Louise Gluck.
Most of the poets I knew and had read a little before, but some I had not. It was a nice reminder of their work and a tour of 20th-century American poetry.
Schmidt offers the first anthology to gather poems by the 43 poets laureate of the United States.
OK, so now I know that there are only a few American Laureate's that I truly care for (see Frost)
A must have in every reader's collection.
Jun 06, 2013
Phoebe
marked it as to-read
May 26, 2013
Teresa
marked it as to-read
May 26, 2013
Jill
is currently reading it
May 14, 2013
Veronika
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Elizabeth Hun Schmidt, a former poetry editor at the New York Times Book Review, is the editor of the acclaimed anthology Poems of New York and The Poets Laureate Anthology. She lives in New York City and currently teaches American literature at Sarah Lawrence College.
More about Elizabeth Hun Schmidt...
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