100 Essential Modern Poems

Book Overview

Inspired and inspirational, worldly wise, deeply felt, and often delightfully funny-here in one compact volume are 100 of the greatest poems written in English over the last century, memorable masterpieces that everyone should know and enjoy. Selected and introduced by Joseph Parisi, former longtime editor of Poetry magazine, this brilliant collection brings together the greatest poems by all the classic authors, along with the choicest works by today's most accomplished artists in America and abroad. From W. H. Auden and T. S. Eliot to John Ashbery and A. R. Ammons; Elizabeth Bishop and Marianne Moore to Sylvia Plath and Mary Oliver; Robert Frost and W. B. Yeats to Allen Ginsberg and Thom Gunn, this comprehensive anthology features the poems that have best expressed the spirit of our times and helped create modern culture. In addition to such ground-breaking works as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "Howl," Mr. Parisi has included the incisive social satire and whimsical wordplay of such wits as Dorothy Parker, Ogden Nash, and Frank O'Hara. Among contemporary poets in the book are Seamus Heaney, Jane Kenyon, Rita Dove, Sharon Olds, Paul Muldoon, Adrienne Rich, and the redoubtable Billy Collins, all of whom have already achieved wide popular acclaim for poems that speak compellingly about modern life and the perennial concerns of the human heart. Mr. Parisi provides a general introduction to the book and introduces each poem with a brief biographical and critical note. For anyone who wishes to discover or to re-experience the most important and vital poems of our time, 100 Essential Modern Poems is, quite simply, indispensable.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566636124
• ISBN13: 9781566636124
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

excellent modern poetry primer

Joseph Parisi presents a terrific selection of poems from some of the best poets of the modern era. And, he offers well written biographies on each poet. To be able to read about the life of the poet followed by an example of their work is an exceptional pleasure! I found myself marking the poets I liked best and then searching out their works for futher reading. Thank you Mr. Parisi for your love of poets and poetry!

An Essential Poetry Book

This is an enjoyable and engaging poetry anthology containing the work of 80 poets. Joseph Parisi, former editor-in chief of Poetry magazine calls these 100 poems "essential in that they deal with the most fundamental issues everyone eventually faces. They express in unforgettable ways the deepest experiences that make us human: love, friendship, family bonds (and frictions), longing and loss, dreams and disappointments, anxiety, suffering, joy, faith, the search for meaning, and our relation to nature." The book includes poems written from the mid 1800's to the present. Poets include William Butler Yeats, Robert Frost, Marianne Moore, T.S. Eliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, Dylan Thomas, Allen Ginsberg, Linda Pastan, Mary Oliver, and Kay Ryan. Parisi provides 1-3 page introductions about the lives of each poet as well as 1-3 poems from each poet. His insightful writing makes the poems come alive for the reader and he well knows how to make poetry accessible to a wide audience. I am glad that I discovered this book and look forward to reading the passages and poems again and again.

A survey of the finest written in English over the past century

Joseph Parisi is former longtime editor of Poetry magazine, so is in a better position than most to select the most influential and memorable of modern poetry in 100 Essential Modern Poems, a survey of the finest written in English over the past century. Works by Philip Larkin, Frank O'Hara, W.D. Snodgrass and many others are personally selected by Parisi and provides particularly inspired works which are classics.