The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry

by Jay Parini (Editor)

In the nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville suggested that the poetry of the new American democratic state, free from the staggering weight of centuries of European aristocracy and tradition, would focus on "man alone... his passions, his doubts, his rare properties and inconceivable wretchedness."

For hundreds of years, American poets have presented their various images of the land and its people. But what is "American poetry?" Is there truly such a thing as an American poetic tradition, spanning over nearly four centuries from colonial times to the turn of the millennium? In The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry, Jay Parini, a respected American poet and critic in his own right, offers an authoritative survey of the elusive category that is the poetry of the American people.

The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry covers all of the canonical American poets, from the colonial to the contemporary-Anne Bradstreet, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Adrienne Rich are all included.

But Parini has also selected a broad sampling of poetry from voices that have been heard as widely over the years. Here, for the first time, is a thorough collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry by women, Native American, and African Americans. Within these pages readers will find the many different traditions that make up the expansive collage of American poetry. Here are the Transcendentalists-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau; and the Imagists-William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, H.D., and Carl Sandburg.

Readers will discover also the early twentieth-century movement of African-American poetic expression, known as the Harlem Renaissance-James Weldon Johnson, Countee Cullen, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Langston Hughes are all solidly represented in The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry.

Jay Parini's introduction deftly guides us into the rich tradition of poetry in our country. Whether in search of a well-known classic or a poem that is not yet considered part of the American poetic tradition, readers will find much to enjoy in The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Literature

757 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1995

About the author

Jay Parini (born 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels and poetry, biography and criticism.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant introduction to the history and development of American Poetry. As an Englishman this a great way to be introduced to many American Poets rather than just the usual suspects of Whitman and Dickenson.

This is a wonderful anthology of poetry and something that you can keep dipping in and out of as there are poems that are relevant for all aspects of life. If you love poetry this is a great addition to your library and for others a wonderful introduction.

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book covers the gamut of American Poetry. America is a melting pot of voices and perspectives, so editor Jay Parini includes many women, blacks, and native peoples among the poets. A little note though, by America, I mean The United States of America.

We get some standouts like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, and so on. Parini organized the book chronologically. It starts with Anne Bradstreet and moves on through the years. Usually, the poet would have their life and times, but this book doesn't have that. Instead, the editor allows the poems to speak for themselves.

Columbia University Press published The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry in 1995, so the book is refreshing for one significant reason. It is not "woke." This fact alone is enough to warrant five stars from me. It's nice to see a time when people could be inclusive without shoving it down your throat.

Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Stacey Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great poets in one book, great reading.

[Carlton]

A wonderful anthology with many poet read before spanning American History from Anne Bradstreet to the present day

[J. Alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with a strong introduction (the best line is "American poets look backward to Whitman like the Romantic Age looked back to Milton"), this is a interesting collection of poetry- the choices included for each author were sometimes confusing, and sometimes unsatisfactory to a fan (Crane has one little poem in the whole of the anthology) but generally strong and even surprising. Is it just me, or do Robert Hayden, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, and, especially, Wallace Stevens get better every time my back is turned?