The Oxford companion to twentieth-century poetry in English

The most comprehensive guide to modern poetry in English, this is an essential work of reference for students and all lovers of poetry. A particular distinction is the inclusion as contributors of a number of celebrated poets, offering intriguing author/subject combinations, for example Tom Paulin on Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney on Robert Lowell, and Anne Stevenson on Sylvia Plath. * 1,500 poets from W. H. Auden to Benjamin Zephaniah * World-wide coverage including Britain, America, New Zealand, Trinidad, and Zimbabwe * Lively and opinionated assessments as well as biographical information * Entries on magazines, movements, and critical terms

Author Notes

The author of two books of verse, Ian Hamilton has written biographies of Robert Lowell and J. D. Salinger. His works of literary criticism include Keepers of the Flame (1992) and Walking Possession, a collection of essays and reviews (1994). From 1962 to 1979 he edited The Review and The New Review and for three years, from 1984, he presented BBC TV's Bookmark series.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

YAA standard reference work that will be useful for YAs who are interested in a brief biographical background and a broad-brush critical approach. Despite its title, this volume only covers English-language poets, but is extremely inclusive within those limits. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

The old business adage that no one ever got fired for buying an IBM could well be applied by reference librarians to the Oxford Companion series. The series' consistent high quality at reasonable prices makes the purchase of almost any title one of the safest selections in reference. This tradition continues with the latest entrant in the series, The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English (OCTCP). Described in the introduction "both as a reference work and as a history, a map of modern poetry in English," it covers some 1,500 poets. The majority come from the U.S. and England, although Australia, Canada, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean are represented as well. Editor Hamilton--himself a poet and a biographer of poets--gathered a formidable team of more than 225 contributors to write entries that range anywhere from about a column in length to more than three pages (T. S. Eliot, William Yeats). Many of the contributors are well-known poets in their own right, so contributors such as Seamus Heaney, Carol Rumens, Martin Seymour-Smith, and Anne Stevenson are themselves the subjects of entries. After Hamilton's introduction--a somewhat meditative piece on the changing currents of twentieth-century poetry--the volume opens with a list of anthologies of poetry and a key to the abbreviations used for contributors. The rest of the work is an A to Z listing of poets, famous poetry journals (Hudson Review, The), movements (Agrarianism), concepts (Native American Poetry, Translation), and critical terms (Feminist Criticism, New Criticism, The). Any bibliographies are integrated within the essays themselves and are typically listings of famous works by the poet as well as the occasional critical work. Since the poet need only "have lived in the twentieth century, if only for a month or so," entries include poets that one might not necessarily associate with this century, such as Stephen Crane, Thomas Hardy, and Rudyard Kipling. Entries always include birth and (when applicable) death dates of the poet, basic biographical information, and a general appraisal of the poet's output. Hamilton notes that he could think of no other volume covering 1900 to the present that includes not only poets, but also topical entries. His assertion is correct. The major competitor to this work so far as biographical information is concerned is the $125 Contemporary Poets (St. James, 1991), which features more extensive bibliographies and generally longer essays. A sampling revealed that only about 30 percent of the poets in the present volume have entries in Contemporary Poets, a volume that does not include deceased poets. About 75 percent of the poets in OCTCP have entries in Gale's Contemporary Authors. At $35, OCTCP is an exceptional purchase and is recommended for any size public or academic library. (Reviewed Apr 15, 1994)

Choice Review

Reference works with "Oxford Companion" in the title commonly become standards, and this magisterial work is certain to achieve that status among librarians. The criteria for inclusion are quite specific: the poet must have lived (however briefly) in this century, must have written in English, must be at least 30 years old, and must have published one "substantial" work of poetry. Hamilton, the author of the exceptional biography Robert Lowell (CH, Mar'83) and the subject of a lawsuit by J.D. Salinger, considers this work "a map of modern poetry in English" in 1994. That is entirely accurate. The poets, movements, magazines, and hoaxes are in alphabetical order with numerous cross-references. The text is on the whole decently written and browsable. Poets currently in favor tend to have longer entries, but there are also generous references to poets as disparate as Robinson Jeffers and Dylan Thomas. All libraries will find this worthy addition to the Oxford Companion line an invaluable source. All levels. R. S. Bravard; Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania

Library Journal Review

More accurately described as a companion to poets than a companion to poetry- though it does include such entries as ``deep image,'' ``Georgian poetry,'' and ``The Hudson Review''-this reference focuses on some 1500 20th-century poets from all around the world who write in English. Edited by poet/biographer Hamilton, the work offers signed entries by poet-critics, including brief biographical sketches, overviews of themes, commentaries on style, general critical evaluations, and brief primary and secondary bibliographies. The articles are objective yet sympathetic to each poet's intent, with no particular critical perspective obscuring the issue. This companion has twice the number of entries as Contemporary Poets (St. James, 1991. 5th ed.) but provides less information, far fewer quotations, and shorter bibliographies. Both works are excellent, and both belong in libraries with comprehensive poetry collections. Other libraries may have to decide whether scope or depth is more important.-Peter Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mich. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Introduction	p. v
Selection of Anthologies	p. xi
Key to Contributors	p. xiv
Alphabetical List of Contributors	p. xvii
A p. 1
B p. 28
C p. 80
D p. 113
E p. 143
F p. 156
G p. 179
H p. 206
I p. 247
J p. 251
K p. 266
L p. 284
M p. 318
N p. 375
O p. 393
P p. 407
Q p. 436
R p. 437
S p. 468
T p. 533
U p. 555
V p. 557
W p. 562
Y p. 593
Z p. 599

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