An excellent anthology of American poetry of the 20th century. Rita Dove has pulled together old and new and brought forth a diverse collection of American voices.

I'm comparing this to two other American collections that I read which were both released in the first half of the 20th century--A Comprehensive Anthology of American Poetry (1944) edited by Conrad Aiken and The New Pocket Anthology of Amerian Verse edited by Oscar Williams (1955). Those were books of their time. While both focused on all centuries of American poetry--many voices were missing and the voices that were left were white, mainly male, and frankly represented our pull from European and British shores. I still liked those books--and when you hit Whitman --wow, America starts to shine.

This book rectifies the missing by presenting the beauty of the true America which is made up of many voices with different experiences. This is a wonderfully done anthology. I could turn to random pages 1,000 times and still find beauty and something new. So many names in this anthology to read more of and learn about. All kinds of experiences contained-- African, Asian, Latino, and Indigenous voices, male, female, and LGBTQ. This is the America I love. ( )

The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry edited by Rita Dove (listen to her NPR interview, where she talks about the anthology and provides advice for young poets) collects a few poems from some of the great poets at the the height of their craft between 1900 and 2000, and while Dove notes that some of the poets who were starting to emerge in the latter portion of the century may not be included, it is merely because the anthology had to have a cutoff point and those poets may have reached the height of their craft after 2000.

Moreover, her introduction goes on to demonstrate the various turns in social movements throughout the United States and how poets and their poetry fit in with those historic changes, ranging — of course — from the backlash following the U.S. Civil War and the beginnings of WWI to the antiwar protests, the emergence of the feminist movement, and the struggle for civil rights. Each poet’s bio is included alongside samples of their work.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/04/the-penguin-anthology-of-20th-century-americ... ( )

If this was a perfect world, everyone would have this book on the bookshelf in one's family room. And an extra copy for every bedside table.

Alas, this is not a perfect world and even if I beg you, even if I plead with you to make this purchase for your home, some will scoff and snort. "Poetry! Bah. Humbug."

If you are not one of those people, the poetry nay-sayers, the people that make this a sadder world, trust me on this: This is the best poetry collection that exists on this planet. ( )

Penguin proudly presents an unparalleled survey of the best poems of the past century.
Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U .S. Poet Laureate, introduces readers to the most significant and compelling poems of the past hundred years. Selecting from the canon of American poetry throughout the twentieth century, Dove has created an anthology that represents the full spectrum of aesthetic sensibilities-from styles and voices to themes and cultures-while balancing important poems with significant periods of each poet. Featuring poems both classic and contemporary, this collection reflects both a dynamic and cohesive portrait of modern American poetry and outlines its trajectory over the past century.