Poetry that Shaped America

As part of a multiyear “Celebration of the Book,” on Monday the Library of Congress launched the exhibit “Books That Shaped America.” The centerpiece of the exhibit is an initial display of 88 books deemed by the Library to be of cultural significance to America. You can view the list of books here.

The list is not meant to be definitive nor to represent the ‘best’ books published in America, but to serve as a starting point for discussing books that have played an important role in American history and culture. To foster this discussion, the Library of Congress has created an online survey through which you can comment on the initial list and nominate additional books for inclusion.

First editions of Leaves of Grass published during Walt Whitman's life. From left to right: Brooklyn: 1855; Brooklyn: 1856; Boston: 1860-1861; New York: 1869; Washington: 1871; Camden, New Jersey: 1876; Boston: 1881-1882; Philadelphia: 1888; Philadelphia: 1891-1892

Books from all genres were considered for the initial list, and I am pleased to see that seven poetry books made the cut: Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1855); Emily Dickinson’s Poems (1890); William Carlos Williams’ Spring and All (1923); Robert Frost’s New Hampshire (1923); Langston Hughes’ The Weary Blues (1925); Gwendolyn Brooks’ A Street in Bronzeville (1945); and Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems (1956).

As for myself, it wasn’t until college that I read a poetry book—as opposed to individual poems—that truly influenced me: Stanley Kunitz’s  Passing Through: The Later Poems, New and Selected (1995). With its many poems celebrating the richness of life while simultaneously confronting the inevitability of aging, loss, and death, Kunitz’s book was the first to truly awaken in me an appreciation for every lived moment. To this day, poems in Passing Through such as “The Wellfleet Whale,” “The Layers,” “The Long Boat,” “The Snakes of September,” and “Touch Me,” remain among those most important to me.

Which books of poetry have shaped your life? And which poetry books that didn’t make the initial list do you think should be included? Feel free to comment on the blog or by completing the survey.

‘Tis the End of Our Calendar

Last Wednesday, the Poetry and Literature Center hosted its final program of the 2011/2012 year: a reading with Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai. Like many of our readings this past year, this one was co-sponsored by another division in the Library and featured a moderated discussion run by an LC expert—in this case, our co-sponsor was …

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Welcoming Natasha

  Yesterday was a very important day for the Poetry and Literature Center—the Library announced the selection of a new Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, Natasha Trethewey. Our previous laureate, Philip Levine, served in the position magnanimously and with a great sense of openness. The power of his term will continue to resonate inside and …

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