Poetry Lists
Rob MacKenzie has posted a list of his favorite 25 poetry volumes and, in so doing, has triggered off my own compulsive listmaking urge. I'm going to do something a bit different from his list, though; I'm going to post 2 lists of 10 volumes each, one of living poets and one of (comparatively recently) dead poets. These lists identify books that I most frequently pick up to read when I want to just enjoy some well-written poetry; they also would likely be very different if compiled next month. Like Rob, I will include only 1 volume by any one individual, and the order is alphabetical by author.
I. Ten Top Living Poets' Volumes
1. Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides, Stephen Dobyns
2. Atlantis, Mark Doty
3. The Wild Iris, Louise Gluck
4. Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996, Seamus Heaney
5. Learning Human: Selected Poems, Les Murray
6. Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998, Linda Pastan
7. Colors Passing Through Us, Marge Piercy
8. Firekeeper: Selected Poems, Revised and Expanded, Pattiann Rogers
9. Supernatural Love: Poems 1976-1992, Gjertrud Schnackenberg
10. Without End: New and Selected Poems, Adam Zagajewski
II. Top Ten Dead Poets' Volumes
Collected Poems 1951-1971, A. R. Ammons
The Collected Poems of Amy Clampitt, Amy Clampitt
Collected Poems, Ted Hughes
Making Certain It Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo, Richard Hugo
Intensive Care: Selected and New Poems, Miroslav Holub
Collected Poems, Donald Justice
New and Collected Poems 1931-2001, Czeslaw Milosz
Collected Poems 1920-1954, Eugenio Montale
Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, Al Purdy
The Biggest Egg in the World, Marin Sorescu
I. Ten Top Living Poets' Volumes
1. Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides, Stephen Dobyns
2. Atlantis, Mark Doty
3. The Wild Iris, Louise Gluck
4. Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996, Seamus Heaney
5. Learning Human: Selected Poems, Les Murray
6. Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998, Linda Pastan
7. Colors Passing Through Us, Marge Piercy
8. Firekeeper: Selected Poems, Revised and Expanded, Pattiann Rogers
9. Supernatural Love: Poems 1976-1992, Gjertrud Schnackenberg
10. Without End: New and Selected Poems, Adam Zagajewski
II. Top Ten Dead Poets' Volumes
Collected Poems 1951-1971, A. R. Ammons
The Collected Poems of Amy Clampitt, Amy Clampitt
Collected Poems, Ted Hughes
Making Certain It Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo, Richard Hugo
Intensive Care: Selected and New Poems, Miroslav Holub
Collected Poems, Donald Justice
New and Collected Poems 1931-2001, Czeslaw Milosz
Collected Poems 1920-1954, Eugenio Montale
Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, Al Purdy
The Biggest Egg in the World, Marin Sorescu
posted by Hedgie at 2:58 PM
6 Comments:
Good list, Hedgie. I might do a dead poets one soon. I've never read some of the poets on your list - part of that UK/North America divide - but I'll check them out.
Stephen Dobyns...I like his poetry too!
no collins? kooser? did i miss them?
thanks for the list.
www.poetry-is.blogspot.com
Thanks for the visits and comments.
As for Collins and Kooser, Collins has never been on my list of favorite poets; Kooser is, but not (this week, at least) in the top 10, although he'd almost certainly make it into the top 20.
How did I miss this list before?
Among your living, I also like the Doty volume but find the Pastan book a bit of a yawn. Among the dead, I have and enjoy that Clampitt book (isn't it lovely) but it would make my top ten.
i must look into the Sorescu book. I love him... how come I never heard of that one?
thx
The Sorescu was originally published in '87, although it's still available; it's a collection of translations by a number of fine poets including Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Paul Muldoon, Michael Longley and several others, with multiple translations of some pieces which really provides a fascinating perspective both on Sorescu and the translators.
Pastan is not everyone's favorite, and she can be a little thin at times, but she has a fine way with metaphors that makes up for her less stirring moments, for me at least. And Clampitt is definitely an acquired taste.
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