that
this anthology
is longer
than I had
intended
and which
you were probably
hoping you could read
over breakfast
Forgive me
my comments are endless
so long
and so serious
A big thank you to those who have followed this series of close readings of poems on the blog, as well as those who may have dipped in on occasion.
Naturally, there were many other poems I would have liked to have written about, but to take this further might try even a generous blog readers patience. It’s interesting to look back and see what poems I found myself looking at. Obviously, I decided to write about 20th century poetry and not the work of earlier poets or, indeed, my peers. I am quite surprised at the amount of mid-century American poems here. I also think that British poetry is quite under-represented in this list. (One of the first poetry anthologies I came across was Edward Lucie-Smith’s British Poetry Since 1945 which was also a very formative experience.) I'm also mindful that the list isn't entirely balanced in terms of either traditions and gender, though I hope this doesn't reflect anything ingrained. These are simply poems that made an impact on me along the way.
In any case, here are some of the poets and poems I would loved to have analysed and shared, but didn’t get around to or was too intimidated by. Here they are:
T.S. Eliot ‘Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’
e.e. cummings ‘my sweet old etcetera’
W.H Auden ‘On This Island’
Keith Douglas ‘Vergissmeinnicht’
Elizabeth Bishop ‘Crusoe in England’
W.D. Snodgrass ‘Heart’s Needle’
Lawrence Ferlinghetti ‘Constantly Risking Absurdity’
Edward Lucie-Smith ‘Lovers’
Philip Larkin ‘High Windows’
Gwyneth Lewis ‘Zero Gravity’
Brendan Kennelly ‘We Are Living’
Brendan Kennelly ‘We Are Living’
Thomas Kinsella ‘Phoenix Park’
Guillevic from ‘Carnac’
John Montague ‘Moortown Manor’
Patrick Galvin ‘The Kings Are Out’
Carol Ann Duffy ‘Telegrams’
Charles Simic ‘Euclid Avenue’
Tony Harrison ‘V’
Paula Meehan ‘Take a Breath. Hold It. Let it Go’
There are, of course, many more. I’m sure you could compile your own, and entirely different, list!