Poetry Anthology Recommendation
September 30, 2018 5:19 PM Subscribe
For next on my reading list I think it's time for a book of poetry, but I don't know where to start in looking for one. I would be grateful for suggestions.
To help out a little, I like a wide range of poetry, from Pope to Frost to Paz, for three quick examples off the top of my head, sonnets to free verse, etc., and my favourite poem might be September 1, 1939, by Auden. I really enjoyed a collection of greatest English poetry, medieval to modern, but trying to find something on Google or Amazon, etc. is not really going anywhere.
To help out a little, I like a wide range of poetry, from Pope to Frost to Paz, for three quick examples off the top of my head, sonnets to free verse, etc., and my favourite poem might be September 1, 1939, by Auden. I really enjoyed a collection of greatest English poetry, medieval to modern, but trying to find something on Google or Amazon, etc. is not really going anywhere.
Maybe, Poetry 180, a compilation of contemporary poetry assembled by Billy Collins, the US poet laureate back in 2003.
posted by metahawk at 5:28 PM on September 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 5:28 PM on September 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'll second Orlop's recommendation for the 'The Art of Losing'.
I also really love The Open Door: 100 Poems, 100 Years of Poetry Magazine. It covers a broad stylistic range and includes some well-known poems but also has many obscure gems. The editors eschew the common practice of sorting chronologically or by subject matters, which results in each poem standing on its own, instead of being prejudged by the context in which it's presented.
posted by diamondsky at 6:09 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
I also really love The Open Door: 100 Poems, 100 Years of Poetry Magazine. It covers a broad stylistic range and includes some well-known poems but also has many obscure gems. The editors eschew the common practice of sorting chronologically or by subject matters, which results in each poem standing on its own, instead of being prejudged by the context in which it's presented.
posted by diamondsky at 6:09 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Very little I enjoy more than recommending poetry!
Narrowing from that information, I think my suggestions would be:
Lighthead by Terrance Hayes -- a contemporary poet who is Audenesque in his mastery of form and his genius for exploding it when his talent might be better used in the wreckage. He's enjoying some well-earned time in the light right now because of his most recent collection "American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin" but his National Book Award winner from 8 years ago is ace and really helped get me back into contemporary poetry.
or
The Changing of the Light at Sandover by James Merrill if you're ok with poetry you could physically defend yourself with. It is actually several volumes he wanted presented together, including the 1977 Pulitzer Prize winner, and itself won the National Critic's Circle Award. Merrill had already been described as the heir to Auden at the time, but in these poems, without trying to spoil the conceit, occasionally and quite literally seeks to channel him (which, in live readings, featured his spot-on imitation of his friend).
dark horse recommendation: the above were pretty prestige-centric and sort of trying to hew to an Auden theme, but if people are asking me about some of the best new poetry without giving me much to go on, I am very earnest about recommending CAConrad. I would give this excerpt in the Toronto Quarterly a gander -- if its intriguing or up your alley, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon or his newest While Standing In Line For Death are a great place to take your reading.
posted by Chipmazing at 6:11 PM on September 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
Narrowing from that information, I think my suggestions would be:
Lighthead by Terrance Hayes -- a contemporary poet who is Audenesque in his mastery of form and his genius for exploding it when his talent might be better used in the wreckage. He's enjoying some well-earned time in the light right now because of his most recent collection "American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin" but his National Book Award winner from 8 years ago is ace and really helped get me back into contemporary poetry.
or
The Changing of the Light at Sandover by James Merrill if you're ok with poetry you could physically defend yourself with. It is actually several volumes he wanted presented together, including the 1977 Pulitzer Prize winner, and itself won the National Critic's Circle Award. Merrill had already been described as the heir to Auden at the time, but in these poems, without trying to spoil the conceit, occasionally and quite literally seeks to channel him (which, in live readings, featured his spot-on imitation of his friend).
dark horse recommendation: the above were pretty prestige-centric and sort of trying to hew to an Auden theme, but if people are asking me about some of the best new poetry without giving me much to go on, I am very earnest about recommending CAConrad. I would give this excerpt in the Toronto Quarterly a gander -- if its intriguing or up your alley, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon or his newest While Standing In Line For Death are a great place to take your reading.
posted by Chipmazing at 6:11 PM on September 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics is maybe less general than you’re looking for, but it’s an excellent anthology! Includes CAConrad who is recommended above. :)
Maybe also subscribe to poem-a-day, which is a nice free email list.
posted by Gymnopedist at 8:00 PM on September 30, 2018
Ain't I A Woman: Women's Poetry From Around The World
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 10:00 PM on September 30, 2018
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 10:00 PM on September 30, 2018
I've been lusting after A Book of Luminous Things that jj's.mama mentioned.
Slightly older anthologies that I own & love are Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times and The Rattle Bag.
posted by yesbut at 1:29 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
Slightly older anthologies that I own & love are Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times and The Rattle Bag.
posted by yesbut at 1:29 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you so much for all the great suggestions! I am really excited about checking them out further and know that I will end up with getting more than just one book.
They don't need to be in the style of Auden or anyone in particular, and I'm interested in both anthologies and single author collections, although not so much on single topics.
Poem-A-Day also looks very interesting.
posted by blue shadows at 11:33 AM on October 1, 2018
They don't need to be in the style of Auden or anyone in particular, and I'm interested in both anthologies and single author collections, although not so much on single topics.
Poem-A-Day also looks very interesting.
posted by blue shadows at 11:33 AM on October 1, 2018
Bloodaxe Books is a publisher who has consistently produced anthologies I have loved to read over the years. The page I linked to contains three fantastic collections of poems and I am delighted to see the Lifesaving Poems one as I hadn't realised there was another volume out. In general, Bloodaxe has a great catalogue of authors and is well worth a browse.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 1:56 PM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 1:56 PM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
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The Art of Losing edited by Kevin Young is an anthology of poems on death and grief, but is not nearly as dismal as it sounds.
Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time was originally published in 1989, so it's not so much "our time" anymore, but it includes a lot of poets one might not hear of otherwise (as well as Auden!), and it's a good time capsule of the 70s and 80s. Available used for a very modest price.
Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English 1500-2001, edited by Carolyn Forche, is big an uneven (all anthologies are uneven) but a fair share of gems.
Looking forward to the other answers here.
posted by Orlop at 5:27 PM on September 30, 2018