Poets and Poems: May Swenson and "Collected Poems"

“A characteristic of all poetry,” poet May Swenson once wrote, “that more is hidden it in than in prose. A poem, read for the first time, can offer the same pleasure as opening a wrapped box.” The pleasure, I suspect, was both in the anticipation and the discovery. 

Swenson (1913-1989) is considered a major poet of the 20^th century. She published nine collections during her lifetime; three additional collections were published posthumously. Her poems were widely published in literary journals and magazines. She received a bevy of awards, ranging from the American Introductions Prize in1955 to Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships. For the last nine years of her life, she served as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She also translated and published a volume of poems by Tomas Tranströmer.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Tuesday Readings

 

Dust to Dust: W.H. Auden writes poetry for a world marked by death – Helen Rouner at Commonweal. 

 

Good Intentions – poem by Warren Bonham at Society of Classical Poets.

 

The English Epigram: Two poems from Walter Savage Landor – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.