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Spoon River Anthology: New Edition with New Poems
by
Stories originally appeared in Reedy's Mirror, beginning May 29, 1914,
New York, The Macmillan Company, 1931. 1st Edition, thus. Hardcover. Black cloth with gold lettering on spine; white dustcover with black printing. ...more
New York, The Macmillan Company, 1931. 1st Edition, thus. Hardcover. Black cloth with gold lettering on spine; white dustcover with black printing. ...more
Hardcover, 1st. Thus., 306 pages
Published
March 1931
by The Macmillan Company
(first published 1915)
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Start your review of Spoon River Anthology: New Edition with New Poems

If you liked Fannie Flagg's THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING, Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN, and/or Virginia Woolf's THE WAVES, you might like this. I read this because of THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING.
Thanks for reading....and listening! ...more
Thanks for reading....and listening! ...more

The dead tell their secrets where they are buried. With no reason to lie we find that all is not what it seemed to be: some of the 'pillars' of the community were rotten to the core and some of the 'dregs' of the town were the best citizens. I think of this book every time I see a homeless person and wonder: has society abandoned this person while (somewhere) a CEO commits crimes that will never come to light?
...more

Edgar Lee Masters was the first poet whose poetry I loved with my whole heart. My high opinion of his work has never changed, notwithstanding the fact that he hasn't been cool for 50 years, if ever. Ha! Neither have I.
...more

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, published in 1915, is a unique literary experience.
A collection of inter-related free-form poems, each title a person’s name, and each person a resident of the town cemetery. Masters has each relate a short story; some folks talk about their life, many about the circumstances of their death. Husbands and wives relate different perspectives of the same events, lovers and soldiers tell of their history, and each is a distinct, poetic voice.
Masters begins ...more
A collection of inter-related free-form poems, each title a person’s name, and each person a resident of the town cemetery. Masters has each relate a short story; some folks talk about their life, many about the circumstances of their death. Husbands and wives relate different perspectives of the same events, lovers and soldiers tell of their history, and each is a distinct, poetic voice.
Masters begins ...more

One of the few books that I would take to a desert island. A book that must be read many times, over the years, because every time you discover new ideas, new beauties. A book that you want to read many times, because it always provides new emotions. That's why it has inspired great songwriters, among all the great Fabrizio De Andrè, the only Italian singer-songwriter worthy of the name. Spoon River is basically the collection of all the epitaphs (about 200) of the people in the cemetery of this
...more

I, like many people, had read some of the pieces in "Spoon River Anthology" in college, but I have to recommend reading the entire work. It is a unique and very fulfilling experience. Edgar Lee Masters' greatest work was published as a unified whole in 1915 and is 244 individual poems, each from the perspective of a different dead person in the cemetery. Their name serves as the poem's title. Woven throughout the 244 pieces are 19 stories that are pieced together through interwoven portraits fro
...more

244 dead residents of the Midwestern town of Spoon River (some based on real people and some fictional) tell the stories of their triumphs, frustrations, unrequited longings, their secrets -- often harboring lingering grudges about people buried alongside them. Whole families and neighbors, cross-talking in death. Each poem is titled with the name of the person speaking; each is short and most of them are heartbreaking. The wife and husband and the doctor, all scandalized by an abortion, the boy
...more

I've trawled through many a 19th century small town newspaper for various research projects, and one's dirty linen was often hung out to dry for public view in the printed word. Old men running off with the serving girls, errant wives being tracked down and found in flagrante with their lovers, etc. I've even got a great-great-uncle whose wife was run out of town on a rail by "The Community" for her illicit affair with a neighbor. Nasty little Victorian Peyton Places. Reading Spoon River Antholo
...more

Dall'Antologia:
Samuel Gardner
I who kept the greenhouse,
Lover of trees and flowers,
Oft in life saw this umbrageous elm,
Measuring its generous branches with my eye,
And listened to its rejoicing leaves
Lovingly patting each other
With sweet aeolian whispers.
And well they might:
For the roots had grown so wide and deep
That the soil of the hill could not withhold
Aught of its virtue, enriched by rain,
And warmed by the sun;
But yelded it all to the thrifty roots,
Through which it was drawn and whirled to th ...more
Samuel Gardner
I who kept the greenhouse,
Lover of trees and flowers,
Oft in life saw this umbrageous elm,
Measuring its generous branches with my eye,
And listened to its rejoicing leaves
Lovingly patting each other
With sweet aeolian whispers.
And well they might:
For the roots had grown so wide and deep
That the soil of the hill could not withhold
Aught of its virtue, enriched by rain,
And warmed by the sun;
But yelded it all to the thrifty roots,
Through which it was drawn and whirled to th ...more

Apr 03, 2019
Fede
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-canadian,
poetry-and-poetic-prose
Maybe we never really die as long as we are remembered. Only after we are forgotten can we find the peace of the soul and get rid of our burden of guilt, mistakes and regrets; it is the oblivion of the living that allows us to leave the world behind and enter the life we were truly meant to live.
If so, the best we can do for our beloved is to set them free from the snares of our sorrow until we meet again.
If so, the best we can do for our beloved is to set them free from the snares of our sorrow until we meet again.

May 17, 2012
Thomas
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
poetry,
read-for-high-school
Not a bad book, but not one I would read again or recommend to others. It's a collection of free-verse poems, crafted as epitaphs of the former citizens of the Midwestern town Spoon River. While there were some meaningful poems and well-developed characters, there were quite a few sections that I did not care for at all. I've never been an ardent fan of poetry, though, and this one, while a good read, did nothing to change that.
Here's my favorite poem from the book:
"George Gray:
I have studied ma ...more
Here's my favorite poem from the book:
"George Gray:
I have studied ma ...more

This was so very lovely.

I grew up in Northwestern Illinois. I knew the land to the Southeast of us was fertile ground for poets, with Galesburg’s Carl Sandburg and Springfield’s Vachel Lindsay, and with Spoon River’s Edgar Lee Masters about halfway between. I have long known that Master’s “Spoon River Anthology” was a series of short poems based on names on the gravestones in a cemetery near the river, having learned that from my Dad’s copy of his high school Literature book. I’m not sure how my Dad ended up with a cop
...more

This is a conceptually intriguing book in which the residents (represented by over 200 poems) of a small town cemetery speak from the grave about the truth as they see it, being free from social pressure or potential retribution to present themselves or others in a good light.
I think it's important to remember that Masters was a lawyer by profession, a person who had heard people's testimonies about incidents and different people and had seen how judges and juries dealt with them. This book isn' ...more
I think it's important to remember that Masters was a lawyer by profession, a person who had heard people's testimonies about incidents and different people and had seen how judges and juries dealt with them. This book isn' ...more

I have read this book about 50 times, in bits and pieces, and about a half-dozen from start to finish in order. I love it.
Let me start with what the book is about. This is a book of free-form poems that serves as a narrative, each poem told from the point of view of a resident of Spoon River who has died and who is telling their story after the fact, their own epitaph. Some poems go together, some stand alone, but they form the elaborate portrait of a community.
A seeming non-sequitur, perhaps, ...more
Let me start with what the book is about. This is a book of free-form poems that serves as a narrative, each poem told from the point of view of a resident of Spoon River who has died and who is telling their story after the fact, their own epitaph. Some poems go together, some stand alone, but they form the elaborate portrait of a community.
A seeming non-sequitur, perhaps, ...more

i admit that i probably love the idea of this book more than the actual book, but i love the idea of it so damn much that the actual thing still gets five stars. a portrait of a small american town through the from-the-dead poem-soliloquies of hundreds of its departed inhabitants, it's unlike any other book i've ever read. the dead folk discuss their lives and deaths and thoughts and beliefs and relationships with each other, the town, and the larger world. it's from the dead so there's a pronou
...more

Since Thornton Wilder mentions Edgar Lee Masters in Act Two of Our Town, I’ve always been intrigued by Spoon River Anthology. “Lucinda Matlock,” which is referenced by Wilder’s Stage Manager in the opening of Act Two, is the poem I am most familiar with from the collection; however, there are several that I recognized because I’ve used Spoon River Anthology as a poetry project with students in the past.
It amazes me how the stories of the citizens of Spoon River are told after their deaths throu ...more
It amazes me how the stories of the citizens of Spoon River are told after their deaths throu ...more

The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Edgar Lee Masters' great work is impressive in its scope; with over two hundred "epitaphs," each one an individual person, the collection takes apart small-town America in the early 20th century with astonishing precision. Masters makes no bones about the presence of corruption and cruelty (Thomas Rhodes is frequently indicted by the other dead), secret sins, everything that those who would have lived in a town like Spoon River saw every day of ...more
Edgar Lee Masters' great work is impressive in its scope; with over two hundred "epitaphs," each one an individual person, the collection takes apart small-town America in the early 20th century with astonishing precision. Masters makes no bones about the presence of corruption and cruelty (Thomas Rhodes is frequently indicted by the other dead), secret sins, everything that those who would have lived in a town like Spoon River saw every day of ...more

Jun 14, 2013
Franky
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-hard-challenge,
poetry
Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology is a series of poems representing the voices of Spoon River, a fictional Southern town. The citizens, who speak from beyond the grave on The Hill, tell of their lives and those they knew, lamenting on various aspects of their past life. The poems have a dramatic monologue, epitaph-like quality; they are snapshots of emotion, philosophy, wisdom and morals from these residents.
The individual voices of Spoon River are quite diverse, as you might imagine. Mu ...more
The individual voices of Spoon River are quite diverse, as you might imagine. Mu ...more

Jul 17, 2017
Emily Dybdahl
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Emily by:
David Dybdahl
Shelves:
american-lit
This was a fascinating walk through a graveyard of lives lived and ended in passion-whether it was despair, yearning, resentment, or remembered dreams. Each poem gave a brief glimpse into the most emotional portion of the person's life. Stories were interwoven as names cropped up in other people's poems or epitaphs. Opposing perspectives showed unreliable narrators-liars, those who were just plain delusional, and maybe two equally true but incompatible sides to a story. Below are the titles that
...more

I heard about this anthology first in The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker, and when I went back to look for it, I also found an album based on the songs. So I used my Rhapsody account and listened to The Hill by Richard Buckner while reading the 244 accounts by dead people in the cemetary on the hill in Spoon River.
Some of my favorites included Robert Davidson (creepy), Faith Matheny (and her visions of God and love), Mary McNeely ("Passerby, To love is to find your own soul through the soul of t ...more
Some of my favorites included Robert Davidson (creepy), Faith Matheny (and her visions of God and love), Mary McNeely ("Passerby, To love is to find your own soul through the soul of t ...more

When I'd see the title of this book, published more than one hundred years ago, it always sounded as if it were written by a Southern writer. In a sense, it was. Though the author grew up in small towns in Illinois and eventually went to practice law with Clarence Darrow in Chicago, his family had Southern roots. He always maintained sympathy for the Confederacy and wrote scathing "biographies" of both Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain.
This book of blank verse poetry, focusing on the character and ...more
This book of blank verse poetry, focusing on the character and ...more

After a full summer battling Infinite Jest (and thoroughly enjoying it), this book was welcome relief. It is a mix of homespun wisdom and incredibly insightful commentary. While very accessible, Masters is astute. He has a lot to say about living, death, and regret (and a surprising amount on lawyers). This is the kind of book you can give to your Grandma, with a nice note that says "I love you," and then have something to discuss over the holidays as you help her wash the dishes.
On morality's ...more
On morality's ...more

We read selections from this in English and I was like "Whoa this is a cool and eclectic mix of epitaphs written by themselves." I get the book and realize that it's not an eclectic mix it's just one unrealistically depressing epitaph after another of people having affairs and lieing all the time and I'm like "OK no town is this depressing." It just got repeptive and sameish. If it was 20 pages shorter it would have been better, but it was just overkill of the same basic idea over and over again
...more

3.5 rounded up. Another freebie for Kindle from Amazon.
A banned book until 1974, Masters writes of the lives of those buried on "The Hill". Dead men tell tales here! Masters reveals that even in small town America evil doings are afoot, just the same as the big cities. Each short poem starts with a name and some important aspect of their life. I only remember one that wasn't complaining, bitter or regretful.
A sample--
Deacon Taylor
I belonged to the church,
And to the party of prohibition;
And the ...more
A banned book until 1974, Masters writes of the lives of those buried on "The Hill". Dead men tell tales here! Masters reveals that even in small town America evil doings are afoot, just the same as the big cities. Each short poem starts with a name and some important aspect of their life. I only remember one that wasn't complaining, bitter or regretful.
A sample--
Deacon Taylor
I belonged to the church,
And to the party of prohibition;
And the ...more

Feb 06, 2015
Joshua Buhs
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
school-house-classics,
poetry
I get it--I do. But intellectually, not emotionally, which is the problem.
As everyone knows, this is a book of free verse poems told by citizens of the mythical Spoon River--from the grave, reflecting on their lives. These reflections are realistic--they (mostly) avoid Victorian pieties in favor of irony and the harrowing difficulties of life in an even seemingly idyllic small town.
I would have to make a real study of the book to uncover the narrative structure, but there is one, with the first ...more
As everyone knows, this is a book of free verse poems told by citizens of the mythical Spoon River--from the grave, reflecting on their lives. These reflections are realistic--they (mostly) avoid Victorian pieties in favor of irony and the harrowing difficulties of life in an even seemingly idyllic small town.
I would have to make a real study of the book to uncover the narrative structure, but there is one, with the first ...more

I'm rereading this after 25 years and can't put it down. These are beautiful poems, all of them. So short, so simple, never plain, so complex, so surprising. Eat them, taste them, drink them, go back and roll in them again.
When I read this book at fourteen, I was depressed and wanted to die, and here I found a couple hundred people who already had. (For some reason, after eight months of nuclear holocausts, the Civil War, sci-fi and horror, my English teacher thought it was a good idea for us to ...more
When I read this book at fourteen, I was depressed and wanted to die, and here I found a couple hundred people who already had. (For some reason, after eight months of nuclear holocausts, the Civil War, sci-fi and horror, my English teacher thought it was a good idea for us to ...more

I can appreciate why, at the time of its publication in 1915, the book was seen as creative in its structure -- lots of short poems, each in the voice or a different deceased former resident of the town of Spoon River, Illinois -- and bracingly blunt in its substance. Some of the deceased admit to having committed murder or adultery; others offer sardonic reflections - all is vanity and chasing the wind. Since then, of course, the themes have become commonplace, and been explored with greater nu
...more

I told a friend while reading this “I had no idea how vindictive dead people could be.” As I continued reading, I realized that this delightful book, with poems told from the perspectives of the people buried in Spoon River Cemetery, was about more than just vindictiveness; it was about humanity - about love, regret, success, failure, bitterness, joy, resentment, and pride. How can a single page-long poem summarize the person speaking it? I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Masters brillian
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Story told by headstone epitaphs, high school English. [s] | 5 | 25 | Feb 03, 2019 09:21AM | |
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fiction, 1920s-1940s: Book tells the life stories of the people buried in a single cemetery - maybe in PA?. Published first half of 20th c. Author name Edmund/Edward (I think?). Haunting fiction book about the lives of the dead. [s] | 4 | 30 | Mar 15, 2018 12:23PM |
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Edgar Lee Masters (Garnett, Kansas, August 23, 1868 - Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1950) was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of Spoon River Anthology, The New Star Chamber and Other Essays, Songs and Satires, The Great Valley, The Serpent in the Wilderness An Obscure Tale, The Spleen, Mark Twain: A Portrait, Lincoln: The Man, and Illinois Poems. In all, Master
...more
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