The New American Poetry, 1945-1960

Donald Allen's New American Poetry served its purpose very well as a dignified, major anthology of poets whose reputations were then far from secured. It has two very serious flaws. It vastly under-represents women & poets of color. It also creates arbitrary "schools" of poetry that hardly existed then & exist not at all now. In the year 2000, the purpose of this book is perhaps not so clear. Except for Olson, these are all early poems from young poets, many of whom are quite dead now. This anthology is hardly a fair representation of, or introduction to, their art.But there are two strengths at work here. The New American Poetry is a marvelous historical document of a particular time, an exciting moment in American literature. Also, there are many poets here who subsequently had wonderful careers without attaining the celebrity of Allen Ginsberg, John Ashbury or Robert Creeley. Some of the finest poets in this book have pitifully few of their own best books in print .. the delights of their smaller collections. So the reader may be encountering Helen Adam, Larry Eigner, Ron Lowensohn, Ray Bremser & Joel Oppenheimer for the first time. Or become reacquainted with Paul Blackburn & Denise Levertov. Even when you keep in mind that the New American Poetry is neither an infallible literary bible of its time nor a substitute for broader anthologies like The Voice that is Great Within Us, the beautiful music it contains will still pack a wallop to your heart & mind. Bob Rixon

I find this book a great introduction to this type of poetry. You can find a lot of different authors, topics, type of poetry, and each piece you read has something good. I recommend it to everyone that loves contemporany poetry or wants to start reading some.

I would like to quote from the recent book "A Secret Location on the Lower East Side" by Steven Clay and Rodney Phillips. The New York Public Library/Granary Books. There was no more significant poetry anthology in the second half of the twentieth century than THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY, 1945-1960, edited by Donald M. Allen and published (orig) by Grove Press.

this book does need a review, it stands by itself as a compendium and illustrator of american poetry after 1945, an exceedingly fertile period. many people have spent many an hour with their nose in this book, getting introduced and reacquainted with our exceptional post-war poets. badder than charlie parker, it really swings its ass off.