Awesome Poetry Anthologies
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Anthologies Make Great Gifts!
Welcome,
Give the gift of poetry to yourself or someone you care about.
A poem can change a life; they inspire, educate, enrich, and bring pleasure. What cannot be put into words is sometimes found in the essence of a poem.
Melting apparent
surfaces away
and displaying
the infinite
which was hid.
from THE POET by David Whyte
Taste of Chicago
Main Contents
- Anthology of the Week
- Poem of the Week
- Illustrated Anthologies
- Poetry by African Americans
- Anthologies for Young Children
- Haiku Anthologies
- Healing Poetry Anthologies
- Sci-Fi Poetry
- A Few of My Favorite Anthologies
- Recently Released Anthologies
- Add Your Favorite Anthology!
- Contemporary Anthologies
- Out of the Ordinary Anthologies
- Latino Poetry
- Around the World with Poetry
- Music and Dance Poetry Anthologies
- War Poetry Anthologies
- Books about Poetry & Poetic Form
- Bookmark
- Its All About Words
Anthology of the Week
Every book deserves its 7 days of fame!
And then one of my classmates appeared,
My classmate said: `Good evening
How unlucky you've been. I'm very sorry.
I mean, being shot it's so inhumane.
I've always believed in soft measures.'
~ Irina Ratushinskaya ~ in "I Had a Strange Dream"
A Chorus for Peace: A Global Anthology of Poetry by Women
Amazon Price: $20.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
Used Price: $1.66
This editors of this anthology sought out poems by women who address the perverse, tragic habits of war and domestic violence with open eyes and valiant hearts. Their poems are astonishing in their poise, restraint, and dignity as the roil of emotions and politics is channeled into cauterizing irony and images of startling, hard-edged beauty.
Global in its gifted contributors (from Jerusalem to Rwanda to Hiroshima) and universal in its visions, this exceptional anthology of probity and hope is both timeless and timely. (booklist)
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Avg. Customer Rating: 
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Poem of the Week
COME INTO ANIMAL PRESENCECome into animal presence.
No man is so guileless as
the serpent. The lonely white
rabbit on the roof is a star
twitching its ears at the rain.
The llama intricately
folding its hind legs to be seated
not disdains but mildly
disregards human approval.
What joy when the insouciant
armadillo glances at us and doesn't
quicken his trotting
across the track into the palm brush.
What is this joy? That no animal
falters, but knows what it must do?
That the snake has no blemish,
that the rabbit inspects his strange surroundings
in white star-silence? The llama
rests in dignity, the armadillo
has some intention to pursue in the palm-forest.
Those who were sacred have remained so,
holiness does not dissolve, it is a presence
of bronze, only the sight that saw it
faltered and turned from it.
An old joy returns in holy presence.
~ Denise Levertov ~
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARTWORK BELOW: CLICK HERE
. . . the rabbit inspects his strange surroundings
in white star-silence
Illustrated Anthologies
One picture and a thousand words.
Art & Wonder
This book presents what it calls "visionary poetry" wonderfully illustrated with works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both well know and lesser known poets included.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
The Illustrated Rumi: A Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul
Rumi was a sufi poet living in the golden age of the Islamic civilization. To many, his poetry is a guide to spirituality and wisdom. This volume is a new translation and sensually illustrated .
Amazon Price: $29.35 (as of 07/10/2009)
Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection
An excellent choice for children from age 9 - up to 99. This anthology has 160 pages of diverse poems, illustrated by the artist Paul Howard. There is a portrait and short biography of each poet.
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Lover's Companion : Art and Poetry of Desire
Can a book be an aphrodisiac? The poems in this book were chosen to inspire "sexual reflection." Dr. Ruth Westheimer has some things to say in this book, if you get my drift. Most of the illustrations are of female nudes.
Amazon Price: $11.98 (as of 07/10/2009)
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States
This book has 50 poems arranged by United States geographical regions. The illustrations are amazing. There are also maps and significant facts about each state.
Amazon Price: $18.71 (as of 07/10/2009)
Poetry by African Americans
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep: An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945
Thirty-five African American poets, born between 1913 and 1962 and came of age after 1945, are represented in this anthology. The book opens with an introduction and there's a short bio for each poet.
Amazon Price: $19.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry
An anthology that allows "black poets to create with their own words a portrait of the African-American people." Jayne Cortez, Audre Lorde, Carl Phillips, and Amiri Baraka are some of the many poets represented in the anthology.
Amazon Price: $32.85 (as of 07/10/2009)
LYRICAL MADNESS: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry By African American Poets
Contemporary African-American poetry is represented in this anthology edited by Carla Cooks.
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions)
This anthology paints a vivid cultural picture. Seventy-four poems from Phillis Wheatley Peters (ca. 1753-1784) to 20th-century work of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Other contributors include James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, many others.
Amazon Price: $2.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
Spirit & Flame: An Anthology of African American Poetry
With more than two hundred pieces, Spirit & Flame shares the poetry of new and established black voices around the United States. There are poems in the oral tradition, in tanka and sonnets, in lyrics that echo the sound of jazz, hip hop and rap.
Amazon Price: $13.28 (as of 07/10/2009)
Anthologies for Young Children
Haiku Anthologies
Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku
Eight hundred haiku, written in the English language, by 185 contemporary poets. There's a good introduction about North-American haiku poetry in relation to Japanese haiku.
Amazon Price: $17.05 (as of 07/10/2009)
Haiku: Poetry Ancient & Modern
This anthology presents both classic and contemporary poets writing about the elements: earth, air, fire, water, metal and wood.
Amazon Price: $12.44 (as of 07/10/2009)
Global Haiku: Twenty-Five Poets World-Wide
This collection starts with a good introduction to haiku, and features 25 haiku-ists from various countries. There is also biographical information on the poets.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
Classic Haiku: A Master's Selection (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)
Yuzuru Miura, an established Japanese haiku poet, translated classic and contemporary verse into English and present them in this anthology. The poems are printed in both English and Japanese.
Amazon Price: $11.66 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Haiku Year
Seven friends stay connected for one year by each of them writing one haiku per day. This book is a compilation of their verses. Though not written by regular practitioners of haiku, you'll fine interesting bite sized slices of contemporary life. A number of the haiku are stunning. A good gift for the haiku lover that has read "everything," or for introducing someone to haiku.
Everyone I love
loves someone else, thinking me
to far away to love
Amazon Price: $13.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
MORE HAIKU . . .
Haiku Cat
Film: Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society (Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/10/2009)
"Robin Williams stars as English professor John Keating, a passionate iconoclast who changes his students' lives forever when he challenges them to live life to the fullest and "Carpe Diem" -- seize the day! Keating's unconventional approach meets with irrepressible enthusiasm from his students, but the faculty at staid, exclusive Welton Academy prep school is, to put it mildly, not amused."
Healing Poetry Anthologies
Heartquake: Songs for Healing: Prose and Poetry Anthology
A collection of prose and poetry from across the globe reflecting the journey each makes, and the process of self-healing. Words of inspiration and hope. [Note: Just want to make sure you noticed. This anthology has prose writing, as well as poetry]
Amazon Price: $15.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Poetry Of Shell Shock: Wartime Trauma And Healing In Wilfred Owen, Ivor Gurney And Siegfried Sassoon
The poems in this book are both disturbing (how could war not be) and healing. This is not a traditional anthology. It is more a collection of poems by three WWI poets, but that's close enough to list it here.
Amazon Price: $39.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Quotes About Poetry
On the Light Side
You don't have to suffer to be a poet. Adolescence is enough suffering for anyone.
~ John Ciardi ~Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
~ G.K. Chesterton ~Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
~ Kahlil Gibran ~Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.
~ Carl Sandburg ~A poet can survive everything but a misprint.
~ Oscar Wilde ~I've written some poetry I don't understand myself.
~ Carl Sandburg ~If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.
~ Thomas Hardy ~Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes.
~ Joseph Roux ~My favorite poem is the one that starts 'Thirty days hath September" because
it actually tells you something.
~ Groucho Marx ~For poetry, he's past his prime,
He takes an hour to find a rhyme;
His fire is out, his wit decayed,
His fancy sunk, his muse a jade.
I'd have him throw away his pen,
But there's no talking to some men.
~ Jonathan Swift ~Ordering a man to write a poem is like commanding a pregnant woman to give birth
to a red-headed child.
~ Carl Sandburg ~Poetry, like the moon, does not advertise anything.
~ William Blissett ~Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.
~ Novalis ~
Sci-Fi Poetry
The 2005 Rhysling Anthology: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry of 2004
Mythic, speculative, macabre, science fictional, weird, fantastic, dystopian, dark, cosmic, magical, surreal, astrological, elfin, supernatural, futurist, spiritual, horrific, mystical, astronomic, grotesque, ethereal, folkloric, utopian, scientific, terrifying, starry, and spectral poems . . .
Amazon Price: $27.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The 2006 Rhysling Anthology
More speculative, science fiction, fantasy, horror poetry. . .
Amazon Price: $12.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The 2007 Rhysling Anthology
The imaginative-ness and vitality of these poems, in craft and concept, suggests that the field of fantastic poetry is reaching new heights.
Amazon Price: $12.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The 2008 Rhysling Anthology
Poems that explore realms and ideas that hover outside the confines of our largely rational and empiric daily realities . . .
Amazon Price: $12.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase
For the first time the Rhysling Winners have been gathered under one cover. This collection presents more than twenty-five years of the best poetry in the field of speculative literature. (amazon product description)
"If you haven't read poetry like this before, I envy you . . . you're choosing from the gourmet menu for your first taste." (Robert Frazier)
Amazon Price: $15.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
Poetry's like fish: if it's fresh, it's good . . . if you're not certain, try it on the cat. ~ Sitwell ~
A Few of My Favorite Anthologies
Writing a poem is . . .
"Writing a poem is discovering."
~ Robert Frost ~
Recently Released Anthologies
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAdd Your Favorite Anthology!
Don't forget to vote . . .
A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry
Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz selects and introduc more...0 points
Art & Nature: An Illustrated Anthology of Nature Poetry
A companion volume to Art & Love presents poem more...0 points
World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time
This indispensable volume contains more than 1,600 more...0 points
The Haiku Anthology
Originally a Japanese form that flourished in the more...0 points
Attn: Teachers
TEACHING POETRY
For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry (Heinemann/Cassell Language & Literacy)
Amazon Price: $26.44 (as of 07/10/2009)
"A comprehensive overview of the art of teaching students how to enjoy and write poetry. Heard's calm and gentle approach is verified in the examples presented. Her method should take away some of the fears felt by teachers who lack confidence in their abilities to lead students in poetry-writing activities. The emphasis on reading poetry and enjoying it before attempting to write it is a basic tenet of this program. Also of importance is the environmental setting for writing poetry, the handling of plagiarism, and the publication of the poems, even if just in a classroom setting. The student poetry examples are excellent, especially when shown in the actual handwriting of the student. The bibliographies have brief annotations, and, while not extensive, are valuable."
~ A.R. Huggins and J. Thomson, Memphis State Univ.
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Contemporary Anthologies
Keep current
Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam
Most of the poems use urban imagery, tough talk and declaration. Many are identity-centered, anti-racist and pro-activist, and focused on current events.
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers
The thought-provoking poems in this anthology were written for adults, but are accessible to young adults. 7th grade and up is suggested.
Amazon Price: $16.29 (as of 07/10/2009)
Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times
Here's a compilation of contemporary poetry (from the early 20th century to present). Excellent way to introduce yourself, or someone else, to contemporary poetry.
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/10/2009)
From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas 1900-2002
A wonderful mish-mash of poets representing different aspects of American society. The poems stretch from pre-Columbian times to hip hop lyricists of today. Has valuable introduction and head-notes.
Amazon Price: $12.57 (as of 07/10/2009)
Out of the Ordinary Anthologies
Read Outside the Box
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Latino Poetry
Poetry in the Round
Around the World with Poetry
Perfect for the Traveler in All of Us
Masterpieces of Modern Urdu Poetry
95 poems from 33 Indian and Pakistani poets. The poems illuminate trends from the latter part of the 20th century: political, social, and poetical.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) (Lockert Library of Poetry in ... (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation)
Superb English translation of Hebrew Poetry that was written in Muslim and Christian Spain (950 to 1492). Beautiful verse.
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/10/2009)
The Drunken Universe
A collection of Persian Sufi poetry. Some poets are more familiar, others not so much (but just as wonderful). The book also has a short bio on each poet.
Amazon Price: $11.90 (as of 07/10/2009)
Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse (Mandarin_chinese Edition)
One hundred-plus poets are represented in this
anthology. It is a bilingual edition, with biographical information and relevant explanatory notes. Awesome poems. Example:
Somehow I ended up beneath pines
sleeping in comfort on boulders
there aren't any calendars in the mountains
winter ends but who counts the years
~The Ancient Recluse ~
Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 07/10/2009)
An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry in English
A rich and diverse collection of New Zealand verse. Established and contemporary poets are represented. Delightful anthology!
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
MORE WORLD POETRY
Hear Classic Poetry Read Aloud
Aren't podcasts great?
- Classic Poetry Aloud
- Hear classic poetry read aloud via podcast. The words are also available so you can follow along.
Music and Dance Poetry Anthologies
Lyricism, Rhythm and Motion
Music and Dance: poetry in motion
Poetry Readings on YouTube
War Poetry Anthologies
USA Involvement
Words for the Hour: A New Anthology of American Civil War Poetry
Poems written from 1834 - 1891 that illuminate the experience of living in the US as it was splitting, divided, and re-uniting.
Amazon Price: $27.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Rendezvous with Death: American Poems of the Great War (American Poetry Recovery Series)
Poems relating to WWI. I like this anthology because it features poems from well known poets, combatants and civilians (yes, even women).
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath
The poems in this rich anthology are written by both combatants and protesters, Americans and Vietnamese, who were involved in the war as adults, or children (now grown).
Amazon Price: $17.12 (as of 07/10/2009)
Brother Enemy: Poems of the Korean War (Korean Voices)
The poets are male and female, North Korean and South Korean, well-known and forgotten, writing about the reality of living in a country torn in half.
Amazon Price: $16.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
Poetry Thesaurus
In other words . . .
POEM [n]: expressive, rhythmical literary piece.ballad, beat, blank verse, composition, creation, epic, free verse, haiku, limerick, lines, lyric, ode, poesy, poetry, quatrain, rhyme,rime, rune, sestina, song, sonnet, verse, villanelle, words, writing
POET [n]: person writing expressive, rhythmic verse.
artist, author, balladist, bard, dilettante, dramatist, librettist, lyricist, lyrist, maker, metrist, odist, parodist, poetaster, rhapsodist, rhymer, rimer, sonnetist, versifier, writer
POETIC [adj]: with rhythm and beauty.
anapestic, dactylic, dramatic, elegiac, epic, epical, epodic, iambic, idyllic, imaginative, lyric, lyrical, melodious, metrical, odic, rhythmical, romantic, song-like, tuneful
POETRY [n]: expressive, rhythmic literary work.
balladry, doggerel, metrical composition, paean, poems, poesy, rhyme, rhyming, rime, rune, song, stanza, verse, versification
Other lenses you might enjoy . . .
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David Whyte: Poet
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I was introduced to DAVID WHYTE's poetry over a decade ago. Many of the poems touched me deeply and had an impact on my life. This lens is to share his life's work. DAVID WHYTE is also a lecturer, and corporate consultant. He's an adventurous poet...
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Sharon Olds: Poet
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Olds sees common things from odd corners of refraction, where fantasy takes off from the given . . . (from an essay by Kenneth Lincoln) This is a poetry which implicitly insists that all we know is the body, and our only reliable way of knowing is t...
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Marge Piercy: Poet
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Marge Piercy has authored 17 books of poetry,and just as many novels. She's won many honors, including the oldest poetry award in the USA: The Golden Rose. Piercy's poetry is usually written in free verse, with a very personal tone, often focusing o...
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Gifts That Feed the Soul
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What better gift to give than one that feeds the soul of an acquaintance, co-worker, family member or friend. The gifts below are food for the five senses, the heart and the mind. Shop for books and music, spa items, treats for the tummy items, gree...
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Coffee Table Book Ideas
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There are millions of coffee table books (or gift books) to choose from. This lens may not offer THE book to meet your need, but it may spark an idea. I've always loved beautiful books. They make great gifts to yourself or another. In many of them,...
Try saying this fast five times!
Be A Poet: The Basics
- Write A Poem!
- Even if you think you can't write poetry, this site may prove you wrong. Great place for young and/or beginning poets.
- Poetry Zone
- A good how-to-write poetry manual. This site was made for 8-12 year olds, and the child in all of us. Sections are brief with good examples.
- ABC Poetry
- If you're a complete "newbie" at writing poems, this site gives simple directions with minimal explanations.
- Online Writing Class
- I like this site a great deal because after you write a poem, you can share it online. Or not. This class was written by Jack Prelutsky, U.S. Children's Poet Laureate.
Books about Poetry & Poetic Form
Guest Book
I'd love to hear from you.
Share a blurb, or verse, some feedback . . . whatever.
confetta wrote...
FANTASTIC LENS!
I LOVE your SELECTIONS!
So many NEW Anthologies for me to discover too!
I wonder if you will add a plexo at the bottom maybe -- so visitors to this lens can add favorites too?
TERRIFIC!
Thanks for making this one!!
Posted August 23, 2008
Its All About Words
Presidents, and Poets, of the United States
Up to the year 1865.
[Note: I'm still searching, perhaps in vain, for an anthology of poetry written by U.S. presidents, or of world leaders. In the meantime . . . ]The following are three verses from Abraham Lincon's poem "My Childhood Home I See Again."
As leaving some grand waterfall,
We, lingering, list its roar--
So memory will hallow all
We've known, but know no more.
Near twenty years have passed away
Since here I bid farewell
To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
And playmates loved so well.
Where many were, but few remain
Of old familiar things;
But seeing them, to mind again
The lost and absent brings.
***
Thomas Jefferson probably wrote "To Ellen" to his granddaughter, (guess who) Ellen. Here are the first 3 verses.
Tis hope supports each noble flame,
'Tis hope inspires poetic lays,
Our heroes fight in hopes of fame,
And poets write in hopes of praise.
She sings sweet songs of future years,
And dries the tears of present sorrow,
Bids doubting mortals cease their fears,
And tells them of a bright to-morrow.
And when true love a visit pays,
The minstrel hope is allways there,
To soothe young Cupid with her lays,
And keep the lover from despair.
***
Here is the first half of James Madison's, "A Poem against the Tories."
Of late our muse keen satire drew
And humourous thoughts in vollies flew
Because we took our foes for men
Who might deserve a decent pen
A gross mistake with brutes we fight
And [goblins?] from the realms of night
Where Spring & Craig lay down their heads
Sometimes a goat steps on the pump
Which animates old Warford's trunk
Sometimes a poisonous toad appears
Which Eckley's yellows carcuss bears
And then to grace us with a bull
Forsooth they show McOrkles skull
And that the Ass may not escape
He take the poet Laureat's shape . . .
***
Who knew George Washington was such a romantic! Well, he was young once, too. This poem was written for Frances Alexander (note the first letter of each line).
From your bright sparkling Eyes, I was undone;2
Rays, you have, more transparent than the sun,
Amidst its glory in the rising Day,
None can you equal in your bright array;
Constant in your calm and unspotted Mind;
Equal to all, but will to none Prove kind,
So knowing, seldom one so Young, you'l Find
Ah! woe's me that I should Love and conceal,
Long have I wish'd, but never dare reveal,
Even though severely Loves Pains I feel;
Xerxes that great, was't free from Cupids Dart,
And all the greatest Heroes, felt the smart.
***
Here are lyrics for the hymn "O God, with Goodness All Thy Own" (first verse) written by John Quincy Adams
O GOD, with goodness all thy own,
In mercy cause thy face to shine;
So shall thy ways on earth be known,
Thy saving health and power divine:
O, let the gladdening nations sing,
And praise thy name with hallowed mirth,
For thou of righteousness art King,
And rulest all the subject earth.
***
This is the first verse of "Sweet Lady, Awake!" by John Tyler.
Sweet lady awake, from your slumbers awake,
Weird beings we come o'er hill and through brake
To sing you a song in the stillness of night
Oh, read you our riddle fair lady aright?
We are sent by the one whose found heart is your own,
Who mourns in thy absence and sighs all alone.
Alas, he is distant-but tho' far, far away,
He thinks of you, Lady, by night and by day.
Sweet lady awake, sweet lady awake!
