Kissing the Rod: An Anthology of 17th-Century Women's Verse

By Melinda Sansone (with an introduction by Germaine Greer) edited by Germaine Greer, Susan Hastings, J, Melinda Sansone (with an introduction by Germaine Greer) edited by Germaine Greer, Susan Hastings, J, Germaine Greer

Book Overview

This poetry anthology presents the work of some 45 poets. Many of their names have been forgotten over the centuries, others have become more familiar. The poems project an image of women's struggle... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374521646
• ISBN13: 9780374521646
• Release Date: April 1989
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.2" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

"Let's singe, but let's not bee too longe."

I don't know about you, but I actually have quite a difficult time reading poetry anthologies. I particularly have a hard time when I do not really know the work or period in question. For the last year or so, I had hauled this book out of boxes and had it sitting on my shelves. I did this under the assumption that I would eventually get around to reading the book, or at least parts of it. I figured that I would at least leaf through it, or something. Anyhow, I got sick of seeing it sitting there and mocking me for never having read any of its poets when I finally decided that a good use of a Sunday was just taking it off the shelf and reading the darn thing. Reading a poetry anthology is kind of a daunting task. However, Germaine Greer (introduction and editor) seems to have assembled this collection with a mind to the idea that it would be read. Each author is introduced with as much biographical detail as is available, and the text is clear and well-written, even to the casual reader. I found a lot to love about this anthology. I found it surprisingly moving, and nearly relentlessly interesting. Greer selects from both the famous (Anne Bradstreet, Aphra Behn) and the obscure. My particular favorite new finds included: Mary Carey, Ephelia, Lady Grizel Baillie, Sarah Fyge and Mary Pix. Not often that I expect to be so bored with a book, and am instead so pleasantly interested. Definitely recommended.

Five Stars

This book is worth five stars because of the extent to which the editor's sought to present the works of a great number of 17th century female poets. I enjoyed reading the poems presented, as well as the commentary and brief biographies. The poems presented in this book demonstrate that women in the 17th century were equally as passionate and brilliant as their male counterparts, which is another reason that I give this book five stars. This book is a must read to anyone who has read poetry of the 17th century and found that "only" men engaged in such a thing. I found the poetry collected in this volume to be inspiring for it's wit, charm, humor, grace, and beauty.