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iantbullock's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Great collection of American poems, I wish a few more were included by some authors but still good.
babettevdw's review
4.0
I had to read this for my writing semester, I think it is a tiny but powerful collection of poems. It really is a collection of the greatest of the great, it is really fun to read the works together. Many of the poets featured in this book have multiple poems added, so it is also a summary of their works.
I really enjoyed reading the works of Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Wallace Stevens and E.E. Cummings.
I really enjoyed reading the works of Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Wallace Stevens and E.E. Cummings.
shaunnow38's review
4.0
A good but by no means expansive collection of American verse. As I expected, many of the major moments and beats of American poetics are included. There are some more eclectic offerings, as well as some forays into more experimental authors, but in general this collection is a basic introduction to great American verse. It is diverse and carefully considered, while also providing a good view of the scope of American verse.
My one major complaint is that the collection does not go far enough into more current works of poetry. This could have been contentious and made the collection more divisive on the whole, but some major American voices are left out here (notably Allen Ginsberg, Hart Crane, and Richard Wright). I understand how bloated the collection could become with the inclusion of other authors, but there is a risk of glorifying only works of the past. While I think this collection is more inspirational, I did think often of where the good modern work fit in. This collection makes it seem like it doesn't, that the only works to be glorified were in our distant past. This is resoundingly not the case.
Otherwise this is a fine collection. It never reads as bland, and the verse is incredibly lively. Many of it reads with a resonance to our modern problems, anxieties, and joys.
My one major complaint is that the collection does not go far enough into more current works of poetry. This could have been contentious and made the collection more divisive on the whole, but some major American voices are left out here (notably Allen Ginsberg, Hart Crane, and Richard Wright). I understand how bloated the collection could become with the inclusion of other authors, but there is a risk of glorifying only works of the past. While I think this collection is more inspirational, I did think often of where the good modern work fit in. This collection makes it seem like it doesn't, that the only works to be glorified were in our distant past. This is resoundingly not the case.
Otherwise this is a fine collection. It never reads as bland, and the verse is incredibly lively. Many of it reads with a resonance to our modern problems, anxieties, and joys.
1morechapterplz's review
5.0
I love this anthology so much because it has so many of my favorite poems. 'Solitude' by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 'The Raven' by Edgar Allen Poe, 'Thanatopsis' by Bryant, and many others. But I also discovered new ones that I'd never even heard of before, like Abraham Lincoln's 'My Childhood's Home I See Again.' This little volume has a permanent place on my shelf!
themellowmaker's review
4.0
As a novice to poetry I found this book a good introduction to several different poets. I read through the entire book in a few hours and I now know of several poets who of which I'd like to read more of their works, which was my hope for this collection.
booknerderika's review
4.0
I'm not the biggest fan of poetry (eventhough I have been reading a lot of it lately), but I like that this was a collection of many different poets' work. Some I liked, some I didn't, so that is why I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.
earlgreybooks's review
3.0
I haven't read many classic American poems, so I thought this would be a good place to start. It gave a good introduction to a few poets I'd heard of but never read and a few I'd never heard of. I feel like there was a lot missing.
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