greatest US poet of the 20th century?

Pedro from NC wrote:

I think greatness usually would refer to the total body of work.

I like Edwin Arlington Robinson too. Around about this time of year I start thinking about "Luke Havergal."

"Hughes" probably refers to the African American poet Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), often associated with the "Harlem Renaissance."

I think that Dr. Seuss is not really a candidate because he is children's literature.

I agree with you about Sylvia Plath.

On a related note, what do you people think of Billy Collins? (I am not nominating him for the title, just curious.)

I love Billy Collins and I considered mentioning him myself, but I decided that he's a 21st century poet more than 20th century. It's hard to decide where to place him, though. He wrote great stuff before 2000 and is writing great stuff now.

It's Wallace Stevens by a country mile for any non-dilettante. His verse presaged the destruction of the transcendental signified and is most indicative of the rupture of modernity from Romantic and older movements. Frost and Eliot were too afflicted by the anxiety of influence, and Pound attempted to be a strong poet but ultimately failed. Stevens is our Yeats as far as I'm concerned.

the emperor of ice cream wrote:

It's Wallace Stevens by a country mile for any non-dilettante. His verse presaged the destruction of the transcendental signified and is most indicative of the rupture of modernity from Romantic and older movements. Frost and Eliot were too afflicted by the anxiety of influence, and Pound attempted to be a strong poet but ultimately failed. Stevens is our Yeats as far as I'm concerned.

Wow, I had no idea that non-dilettantes had such uniformly strong views on this subject. In fact, I would have thought that most non-dilettantes would consider the question itself to be rather silly, leaving it to dilettantes like us to share our views with one another.

By the way, regarding this passage:

"His verse presaged the destruction of the transcendental signified and is most indicative of the rupture of modernity from Romantic and older movements. Frost and Eliot were too afflicted by the anxiety of influence, and Pound attempted to be a strong poet but ultimately failed."

I realize that comments like that can be useful for getting an "A" in an English literature class, but have you found a job that pays you to write stuff like that outside of an English lit department?

not geddy lee wrote:

I really wanted to include A.E. Housman (not just for "To An Athlete Dying Young" either) and Neil Peart, but they're British and Canadian respectively, and Housman's best work was also done in the 19th century. So consider these honorable mentions of some sort.

It's good to see Housman mentioned. When I was a young man, I identified with his rather bleak and cynical view of humanity, and I enjoyed reciting his poems (not so much "To an Athlete Dying Young," which seems to be his most popular poem, especially among runners). I can't say that I really consider him to be a great poet, but perhaps that's just because his poems were not "difficult" -- the meaning of his words generally seemed clear, and the meter and rhyme scheme never seemed particularly subtle. In any event, what he did, he did well, and I still enjoy his work.

another musician wrote:

bob dylan

You are the third poster to mention Robert Zimmerman.

Beyond finding a job, have you found any person who respects that kind of comment? Most college professors at good schools will consider you a piece of shit if you try to pull that. Besides, you don't even make a point. The destruction of the signified IS the difference between Romantic and Modernist. And what the hell is a strong poet? Pound tried to be a poet? What? F***ing idiot. I would say go back to school, but I think I should just tell you to get a day job.

^^^A response to ice cream, not avocado.

Langston Hughes

One of the greatest lines of poetry by Richard Brautigan come from his poem, "The Pill Versus the Spring filed Mine Disaster":

"When you take your pill / it's like a mine disaster. / I think of all the people / lost inside of you."

I know Brautigan is not considered worthy of a mention with many of the great ones people have listed here, but I still love his stuff.

I had no idea that Harold Bloom posted on LRC! Perhaps we can look forward to a book on how David Rudisha is a strong misreading of Wilson Kipketer!

Also, just wanted to say I'm a huge Housman fan too!

Am I the first to admit that poetry does virtually nothing for me? I just don't "get it."

Pedro from NC wrote:

[quote]Avocados Number wrote:

I had no idea that Harold Bloom posted on LRC! Perhaps we can look forward to a book on how David Rudisha is a strong misreading of Wilson Kipketer!

Also, just wanted to say I'm a huge Housman fan too!

lol re bloom

:) re housman

(just realized that ee cummings would have been a great texter)

Pete wrote:

Am I the first to admit that poetry does virtually nothing for me? I just don't "get it."

You might like Robinson Jeffers (no claim here is made that he is the greatest of the 20th century):

Richard Wilbur ("Death of a Toad")? Carl Sandburg?

I don't know that anyone stands out. I'm not a huge Frost fan, nor Ginsberg, although "A Supermarket in California" is pretty cool.

FWIW, I'd prefer to read Keats or Dylan Thomas.

Theodore Geisel.

the emperor of ice cream wrote:

It's Wallace Stevens by a country mile for any non-dilettante. His verse presaged the destruction of the transcendental signified and is most indicative of the rupture of modernity from Romantic and older movements. Frost and Eliot were too afflicted by the anxiety of influence, and Pound attempted to be a strong poet but ultimately failed. Stevens is our Yeats as far as I'm concerned.

This reminds me of the scene in Good Will Hunting when that Harvard guy is essentially spouting passages of various textbooks he has read, and Will has read them all, and more.

deleuze wrote:You might like Robinson Jeffers (no claim here is made that he is the greatest of the 20th century):

http://books.google.com/books?id=kSaJPxRAXI0C&lpg=PR3&ots=C-sePPkRwJ&dq=robinson%20jeffers&pg=PA198#v=onepage&q&f=false

Why did you inflict that on me? What did I do to you? Why, why WHY???!?

:-) Not sure if you were joking, but I still don't "get it" after having read that dreck.

Some people I know cannot make any connection with music. For some others, food is a simple necessity and they take no joy from it. I take great joy from music and food. But poetry? Nope, can't even pretend to like it. :-(

Hoser, eh wrote:

Could someone explain Plath being mentioned on a list that contains people like, say, Elizabeth Bishop? Are people just remembering reading "Daddy" for the first time and being shocked by a poem so they think she should be on the list? She really was a narcissistic, solipsistic, whiny poet whose best work gets anthologized because of her mythology, not the quality of her writing.

mmm let me guess you must have a cock

I really cannot understand why there hasn't been more love for Ginsberg. Just a few lines that I really think are pure poetry:

"...who sat in boxes breathing in the darkness under the bridge & rose up to build harpsichords in their lofts..."

"...who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, and alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade..."--Love that one...

"America I've given you all and now I'm nothing..."

"Everybody's serious but me.

It occurs to me that I am America.

I am talking to myself again."

Just these few excerpts I think show the greatness of Ginsberg. That being said, I do respectfully consider the opinion of all others.