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A review by spacestationtrustfund
Immortal Poems of the English Language by Oscar Williams
1.0
The most recent edition of this anthology is from the 1980s, so perhaps I should be nicer on account of the four decades between now and then. Not a chance, folks. Not a goddamn chance.
The front cover proclaims that this book contains 447 poems (well, it says "masterpieces") by 150 poets. Included are only British and American poets, apparently, because those are the only countries in the core anglosphere. The poems are in chronological order, beginning in the 14th century (with Geoffrey Chaucer) and ending in the 20th century (with Dylan Thomas), which is nice. It takes until the 19th century until the first female poet appears (Elizabeth Barrett Browning), which makes sense, because everybody knows that women didn't figure out how to write until 1826. Since there are 150 poets, a nice even number, it's pretty simple for me to do some calculations.
Out of 150 poets, 12 are female (3 American - 2%, 9 British - 6%), for 8% (*I am including "Anonymous" as male, given the context of the poems attributed to "Anonymous"; assuming "Anonymous" is female, that results in 13 women poets, for 8.67%);
Out of 150 poets, 42 are American, for 28% (*I am including poets who primarily lived and worked in the United States, regardless of where they were born);
Out of 150 poets, 88 are British, for 58.67% (*I am including poets who primarily lived and worked in Britain, regardless of where they were born);
Out of 150 poets, 34 are neither American nor British, for 22.67% (despite the claims on the cover);
— Of those 34 poets, 7 are Irish, for 4.67% of the total and 20.59% of non-American non-British;
— 4 are Welsh, for 2.67% of the total and 11.76% of non-American non-British;
— 5 are Scottish, for 3.33% of the total and 14.70% of non-American non-British;
— 1 is Australian, for 0.67% of the total and 2.94% of non-American non-British;
Out of 150 poets, 0 are not white, for 0% (*"white" is pretty arbitrary, but honestly, you couldn't have found anything by Langston Hughes?).
It's not like this anthology was put together in the 18th century, before British and American scholars realised that women knew how to think and black people weren't monkeys. The edition I have is from 1983, well after these sorts of issues had been made quite known in both American and Britain, and yet only 12 poets are women, and none are black (to say nothing of other identities; there's one Spanish guy, one Ukrainian guy, and one Belgian guy, but all three identified as American and spent most of their lives there). A white guy born in South Africa (Delmore Schwartz), an actual Confederate soldier (Sidney Lanier), and a literal fascist (Ezra Pound) managed to make their ways into this anthology, but no black people? Sure. That makes total sense.
//
Full list of poets in chronological order, with demographic details so you can check my maths if you want (and feel free to correct me; I'm not great at maths):
Geoffrey Chaucer - Male British
John Skelton - MB
Anonymous - MB (*assuming based on context, but feel free to yell at me about this)
Sir Thomas Wyatt - MB
Sir Philip Sidney - MB
Sir Walter Raleigh - MB
Sir Edward Dyer - MB
Edmund Spenser - MB
George Peele - MB
Samuel Daniel - MB
Michael Drayton - MB
Christopher Marlowe - MB
William Shakespeare - MB
Thomas Nashe - MB
Thomas Campion - MB
Ben Jonson - MB
John Donne - MB
John Webster - MB
Robert Herrick - MB
George Herbert - M Welsh
James Shirley - MB
Thomas Carew - MB
Edmund Waller - MB
John Milton - MB
Sir John Suckling - MB
William Cartwright - MB
Richard Crashaw - MB
Richard Lovelace - MB
Abraham Cowley - MB
Andrew Marvell - MB
Henry Vaughan - MW
John Dryden - MB
Thomas Traherne - MB
William Douglas - M Scottish
George Berkeley - M Irish
John Gay - MB
Alexander Pope - MB
William Oldys - MB
Thomas Gray - MB
William Collins - MB
Christopher Smart - MB
Oliver Goldsmith - MI
William Cowper - MB
Thomas Chatterton - MB
William Blake - MB
Robert Burns - MS
William Wordsworth - MB
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - MB
Thomas Campbell - MS
Walter Savage Landor - MB
Thomas Moore - MI
Leigh Hunt - MB
George Gordon, Lord Byron - MB
Percy Bysshe Shelley - MB
William Cullen Bryant - M American
John Keats - MB
Thomas Hood - MB
Ralph Waldo Emerson - MA
Thomas Lovell Beddoes - MB
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Female B
John Greenleaf Whittier - MA
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - MA
Edward FitzGerald - MB
Edgar Allan Poe - MA
Alfred, Lord Tennyson - MB
Oliver Wendell Holmes - MA
Robert Browning - MB
Edward Lear - MB
Emily Brontë - FB
James Russell Lowell - MA
Herman Melville - MA
Walt Whitman - MA
Charles Kingsley - MB
Arthur Hugh Clough - MB
Julia Ward Howe - FA
Matthew Arnold - MB
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - MB
George Meredith - MB
Christina Rossetti - FB
Emily Dickinson - FA
Lewis Carroll (C.L. Dodgson) - MB
Sir W.S. Gilbert - MB
Algernon Charles Swinburne - MB
Thomas Hardy - MB
Sidney Lanier - MA
Gerard Manley Hopkins - MB
Robert Bridges - MB
William Ernest Henley - MB
Francis Thompson - MB
John Davidson - MS
A.E. Housman - MB
George Santayana - MA (*born in Spain but considered himself American)
William Butler Yeats - MI
Rudyard Kipling - MB
Ernest Dowson - MB
Edgar Lee Masters - MA
Edwin Arlington Robinson - MA
W.H. Davies - MW (*lived extensively in US, UK)
Walter De La Mare - MB
Robert Frost - MA
John Masefield - MB
Sarah N. Cleghorn - FA
Carl Sandburg - MA
Harold Monro - MA (*born in Belgium)
Vachel Lindsay - MA
Wallace Stevens - MA
William Carlos Williams - MA
Elinor Wylie - FA
D.H. Lawrence - MB
Ezra Pound - MA
Rupert Brooke - MB
Robinson Jeffers - MA
Edwin Muir - MS
Marianne Moore - FA
Thomas Stearns Eliot - MB (*born in US)
John Crowe Ransom - MA
Conrad Aiken - MA
Edna St. Vincent Millay - FA
John Peale Bishop - MA
Archibald MacLeish - MA
Wilfred Owen - MB
E.E. Cummings - MA
Robert Graves - MB
F.R. Higgins - MI
Allen Tate - MA
Hart Crane - MA
Oscar Williams - MA (*born in Ukraine; yes this is also the editor)
Ogden Nash - MA
C. Day Lewis - MB (*born in Ireland)
Richard Eberhart - MA
Peter Quennell - MB
Esther Mathews - FA
William Empson - MB
Vernon Watkins - MW
W.H. Auden - MB (*spent much time in US)
Louis MacNeice - MI
Stephen Spender - MB
Alfred Hayes - MB
W.R. Rodgers - MI (*born in Northern Ireland)
Elizabeth Bishop - FA
Lawrence Durrell - MB
F.T. Prince - MB
Delmore Schwartz - MA (*born in South Africa)
Karl Shapiro - MA
George Barker - MB
Henry Reed - MB
John Manifold - M Australian
Robert Lowell - MA
Gene Derwood - FA
Dylan Thomas - MW
The front cover proclaims that this book contains 447 poems (well, it says "masterpieces") by 150 poets. Included are only British and American poets, apparently, because those are the only countries in the core anglosphere. The poems are in chronological order, beginning in the 14th century (with Geoffrey Chaucer) and ending in the 20th century (with Dylan Thomas), which is nice. It takes until the 19th century until the first female poet appears (Elizabeth Barrett Browning), which makes sense, because everybody knows that women didn't figure out how to write until 1826. Since there are 150 poets, a nice even number, it's pretty simple for me to do some calculations.
Out of 150 poets, 12 are female (3 American - 2%, 9 British - 6%), for 8% (*I am including "Anonymous" as male, given the context of the poems attributed to "Anonymous"; assuming "Anonymous" is female, that results in 13 women poets, for 8.67%);
Out of 150 poets, 42 are American, for 28% (*I am including poets who primarily lived and worked in the United States, regardless of where they were born);
Out of 150 poets, 88 are British, for 58.67% (*I am including poets who primarily lived and worked in Britain, regardless of where they were born);
Out of 150 poets, 34 are neither American nor British, for 22.67% (despite the claims on the cover);
— Of those 34 poets, 7 are Irish, for 4.67% of the total and 20.59% of non-American non-British;
— 4 are Welsh, for 2.67% of the total and 11.76% of non-American non-British;
— 5 are Scottish, for 3.33% of the total and 14.70% of non-American non-British;
— 1 is Australian, for 0.67% of the total and 2.94% of non-American non-British;
Out of 150 poets, 0 are not white, for 0% (*"white" is pretty arbitrary, but honestly, you couldn't have found anything by Langston Hughes?).
It's not like this anthology was put together in the 18th century, before British and American scholars realised that women knew how to think and black people weren't monkeys. The edition I have is from 1983, well after these sorts of issues had been made quite known in both American and Britain, and yet only 12 poets are women, and none are black (to say nothing of other identities; there's one Spanish guy, one Ukrainian guy, and one Belgian guy, but all three identified as American and spent most of their lives there). A white guy born in South Africa (Delmore Schwartz), an actual Confederate soldier (Sidney Lanier), and a literal fascist (Ezra Pound) managed to make their ways into this anthology, but no black people? Sure. That makes total sense.
//
Full list of poets in chronological order, with demographic details so you can check my maths if you want (and feel free to correct me; I'm not great at maths):
Spoiler
Geoffrey Chaucer - Male British
John Skelton - MB
Anonymous - MB (*assuming based on context, but feel free to yell at me about this)
Sir Thomas Wyatt - MB
Sir Philip Sidney - MB
Sir Walter Raleigh - MB
Sir Edward Dyer - MB
Edmund Spenser - MB
George Peele - MB
Samuel Daniel - MB
Michael Drayton - MB
Christopher Marlowe - MB
William Shakespeare - MB
Thomas Nashe - MB
Thomas Campion - MB
Ben Jonson - MB
John Donne - MB
John Webster - MB
Robert Herrick - MB
George Herbert - M Welsh
James Shirley - MB
Thomas Carew - MB
Edmund Waller - MB
John Milton - MB
Sir John Suckling - MB
William Cartwright - MB
Richard Crashaw - MB
Richard Lovelace - MB
Abraham Cowley - MB
Andrew Marvell - MB
Henry Vaughan - MW
John Dryden - MB
Thomas Traherne - MB
William Douglas - M Scottish
George Berkeley - M Irish
John Gay - MB
Alexander Pope - MB
William Oldys - MB
Thomas Gray - MB
William Collins - MB
Christopher Smart - MB
Oliver Goldsmith - MI
William Cowper - MB
Thomas Chatterton - MB
William Blake - MB
Robert Burns - MS
William Wordsworth - MB
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - MB
Thomas Campbell - MS
Walter Savage Landor - MB
Thomas Moore - MI
Leigh Hunt - MB
George Gordon, Lord Byron - MB
Percy Bysshe Shelley - MB
William Cullen Bryant - M American
John Keats - MB
Thomas Hood - MB
Ralph Waldo Emerson - MA
Thomas Lovell Beddoes - MB
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Female B
John Greenleaf Whittier - MA
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - MA
Edward FitzGerald - MB
Edgar Allan Poe - MA
Alfred, Lord Tennyson - MB
Oliver Wendell Holmes - MA
Robert Browning - MB
Edward Lear - MB
Emily Brontë - FB
James Russell Lowell - MA
Herman Melville - MA
Walt Whitman - MA
Charles Kingsley - MB
Arthur Hugh Clough - MB
Julia Ward Howe - FA
Matthew Arnold - MB
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - MB
George Meredith - MB
Christina Rossetti - FB
Emily Dickinson - FA
Lewis Carroll (C.L. Dodgson) - MB
Sir W.S. Gilbert - MB
Algernon Charles Swinburne - MB
Thomas Hardy - MB
Sidney Lanier - MA
Gerard Manley Hopkins - MB
Robert Bridges - MB
William Ernest Henley - MB
Francis Thompson - MB
John Davidson - MS
A.E. Housman - MB
George Santayana - MA (*born in Spain but considered himself American)
William Butler Yeats - MI
Rudyard Kipling - MB
Ernest Dowson - MB
Edgar Lee Masters - MA
Edwin Arlington Robinson - MA
W.H. Davies - MW (*lived extensively in US, UK)
Walter De La Mare - MB
Robert Frost - MA
John Masefield - MB
Sarah N. Cleghorn - FA
Carl Sandburg - MA
Harold Monro - MA (*born in Belgium)
Vachel Lindsay - MA
Wallace Stevens - MA
William Carlos Williams - MA
Elinor Wylie - FA
D.H. Lawrence - MB
Ezra Pound - MA
Rupert Brooke - MB
Robinson Jeffers - MA
Edwin Muir - MS
Marianne Moore - FA
Thomas Stearns Eliot - MB (*born in US)
John Crowe Ransom - MA
Conrad Aiken - MA
Edna St. Vincent Millay - FA
John Peale Bishop - MA
Archibald MacLeish - MA
Wilfred Owen - MB
E.E. Cummings - MA
Robert Graves - MB
F.R. Higgins - MI
Allen Tate - MA
Hart Crane - MA
Oscar Williams - MA (*born in Ukraine; yes this is also the editor)
Ogden Nash - MA
C. Day Lewis - MB (*born in Ireland)
Richard Eberhart - MA
Peter Quennell - MB
Esther Mathews - FA
William Empson - MB
Vernon Watkins - MW
W.H. Auden - MB (*spent much time in US)
Louis MacNeice - MI
Stephen Spender - MB
Alfred Hayes - MB
W.R. Rodgers - MI (*born in Northern Ireland)
Elizabeth Bishop - FA
Lawrence Durrell - MB
F.T. Prince - MB
Delmore Schwartz - MA (*born in South Africa)
Karl Shapiro - MA
George Barker - MB
Henry Reed - MB
John Manifold - M Australian
Robert Lowell - MA
Gene Derwood - FA
Dylan Thomas - MW