Twentieth-Century American Poetry

A Great Experiment--100 Years of Crafting the American Tradition in PoetryDiversity and inventiveness have always been defining traits of America, and over the past 100 years they have blossomed in the nation's poetry. By the beginning of the twentieth century, American poets had brought new and experimental voices to our literature. Twentieth-Century American Poetry culls the most inspiring and influential works of American poetry that, together, capture the spirit and sensibility of the nation.The poems in this volume have been selected by a distinguished editorial team of scholar-poets: Dana Gioia, David Mason, and Meg Schoerke. Offering clear explanations of artistic movements and events of the twentieth century, the editors explore how the poetry affected--and was affected by---the times in which it was written. The commentary will offer fresh insights to those well versed in poetry and provide a foundation of knowledge for newcomers to the genre.These pages contain works from such well-known poets as Stephen Crane, Robert Lowell, and Gwendolyn Brooks and bring to the forefront poets like Amy Lowell and Sterling A. Brown, who were influential in their own day but are often neglected in anthologies. The future of American verse--such young poets as Larissa Szporluk, Christian Wiman, and Kevin Young--are also included here.Twentieth-Century American Poetry carries readers across the bountiful, colorful, and sometimes stormy landscape of America. The editors describe American poetry as "traditional, ancient, strange, with never before heard music." Here the lyrical and the experimental, the dark and the comical, the formal and the free-wheeling are brought together in a celebration of American verse that will bring readers to the frontiers of one of literature's richest periods.Dana Gioia (Washington, DC, and Northern California), noted poet and critic, won the prestigious American Book Award in 2003. He was selected in 2003 to direct the National Endowment for the Arts.David Mason (Colorado Springs) is an award-winning poet and critic who has been a Fulbright Fellow to Greece. He teaches at Colorado College.Meg Schoerke (San Francisco), whose collection of poems Anatomical Venus is forthcoming, teaches English at San Francisco State University.*******************************************************************************[Headline]Celebrate the Visions and Voices of American Poetry[Text]The past century was host to unprecedented innovation in American poetry. Experimenting with language and form, poets rewrote all the rules established by their European forebears, developing a style and voice uniquely American.With a distinguished editorial team including Dana Gioia (noted poet and critic), David Mason (professor, Colorado College), and Meg Schoerke (professor, San Francisco State University), Twentieth-Century American Poetry draws together the best poets of the past 100 years. From the well-established to the previously obscure, each poet featured here contributes his or her share to the vitality of our nation's poetry. The country's youngest poets--those writers exploring poetry's newest frontiers--speak here, too. As rich and diverse as America itself, this collection of poems is sure to offer both well-versed readers and newcomers to poetry fresh insight into the American experience.Included are works by over 150 noteworthy poets including:Robert FrostGertrude SteinCarl SandburgWallace StevensMarianne MooreLangston HughesTheodore RoethkeElizabeth BishopRobert LowellGwendolyn BrooksDenise LevertovAdrienne RichBilly CollinsLouise GlückYusef KomunyakaaRita DoveKim AddonizioSherman AlexieChristian WimanGioia, Dana is the author of 'Twentieth-Century American Poetry', published 2004 under ISBN 9780071427791 and ISBN 0071427791.