''The New American Poetry 1945–1960'' is a

poetry anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

edited by Donald Allen and published in 1960. It aimed to pick out the "third generation" of American modernist poets, and included quite a number of poems fresh from the little magazines of the late 1950s. In the longer term it attained a classic status, with critical approval and continuing sales. It was reprinted in 1999. As of 2022, Edward Field and

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of ...

are the only contributors still living.

Overview

In 1958, Allen began work on ''The New American Poetry'' anthology. Following the Pound/ Williams tradition, Allen hoped to present the range of experimental writing produced in the United States since the Second World War. The project took two years to complete and required extensive correspondence with poets, editors, and literary agents. The book was finally published in 1960, and, in addition to the poems, included a brief ''Preface'' by Allen, position-statements by some of the contributors, biographical notes, and an ''Index''. Other considerations were taken into account in the organization of this anthology, as the following quotation illustrates: At the time of its publication, it increased the recognition for such poets as Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, Paul Blackburn, and Charles Olson, now recognized figures in what was then an emerging ''countertradition''. Allen originally planned to publish revised anthologies every two or three years. However, he produced only two such books over the next twenty years: ''New American Writing'' (Penguin, 1965), and ''The Postmoderns'' (Grove, 1965). The anthology was also influential in Canada. "It affected the writing of at least one generation of Canadian poets", according to ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. The anthology influenced many Canadian poets to turn away from British influences and toward American models.Barbour, Douglas, and D.M.R. Bentley, W. J. Keith, Michael Gnarowsk
"The New Generation: After 1960"
article in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', retrieved February 8, 2009

Notes

External links

''Great Anthology: The New American Poetry: 1945–1960''
article at "The Academy of American Poets" website

article by Marjorie Perloff
to Donald M. Allen''
at Empty Mirror Books website

from ''Silliman's Blog: June 11, 2007''. Writes Silliman: "unquestionably the most influential single anthology of the last century. It’s a great book, an epoch-making one in many ways." {{DEFAULTSORT:New American Poetry 1945-1960 1960 poetry books American poetry anthologies American poetry 20th-century American literature

Overview

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External links