Reviews for Eight American Poets: An Anthology

The average rating for Eight American Poets: An Anthology based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-12-08 00:00:00 Buddy Love I'm not highly read in poetry, but this was an especially wonderful collection for those who are new to reading it and want to get a sense of how great some of the most renowned American poets are. I do like some of the poets more so than others. I'm impressed by Robert Lowell the most, didn't really enjoy John Berryman; some of Sylvia's poems are a hit or miss for me, though I'm enchanted by her style; I think I found a new favorite in both Anne Sexton and James Merrill. I neither like nor dislike Roethke and Bishop, and as for Ginsberg, his poems are long but very ecstatic and spirited. I'm pretty certain that most of the poets here fall into the genre of "confessional poets/poetry," and I truly admire them for putting themselves out there with such raw and intense emotions. Far more than just myself, I'm sure, find this type of poetry easy to relate to or sympathize with. My two favorite poems from this collection have to be Plath's "Tulips" and Lowell's "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket."

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-23 00:00:00 Jenni Ferro I expected to like this more than Six American Poets, which I enjoyed overall, and I guess I did, but the only one of these eight that totally knocked me out was Elizabeth Bishop. I've read a few of her poems before, but boy, this selection is fantastic. I was looking forward to Ginsberg and Sexton, both of whom I generally like, but these selections were a bit of a letdown. (Although I did really like "Kaddish" this time around, and I hadn't before, so that's something for which to be grateful.) I liked Berryman a little less than I expected, Plath much less, Lowell more, and Roethke and Merrill didn't leave much of an impression. But there was something to appreciate about each of them, and I'll definitely crack open Bishop's Complete Poems: 1927-1979 soon.