Penguin proudly presents an unparalleled survey of the best poems of the past century. Selecting from the canon of American poetry throughout the 20th century, Dove has created an anthology that represents the full spectrum of aesthetic sensibilities--from styles and voices to themes and cultures--while balancing important poems with significant periods of each poet. 800 pp. 35,000 print.

Reviews

"At last, 20th century poetry itself! Rita Dove's [anthology] is intelligent, generous, surprising, and altogether thrilling to read- literally, a heart-thumping collection. In her editorial hands the 20th century is broad but sharply contoured. Most other poetry anthologies give us schools, corners, clubs, and identities, but this one gives us something beyond representative that gets at the extraordinary accomplishment and range of multi-vocal American poetry in the century. Dove's selection-and this book-will long stand as the definitive anthology of American poetry."---Elizabeth Alexander