It is difficult to draw a line between periods, especially when one is
called upon to define “modernity.” But in the case of the development of
American poetry, the task is made easier by Whitman. Whitman ended and
began an epoch. This collection therefore begins where he left off; it
might well be called, “American Poetry Since Whitman.”
It would have been pleasant to divide the poetry itself into groups and
distinct tendencies. Unfortunately such a scheme is impossible. In the
first place, one can scarcely get a proper perspective on contemporary
writers (on whom the chief emphasis has been placed), especially since
many of them are still developing. Secondly, one cannot give the picture
of a period in the state of flux except by showing its fluid character.
The prime object of this collection is to reflect this very flux and
diversity—particularly illustrated by those poets who, because of their
strong individualism, would not fit in any one grouping. Since the
chronological arrangement is, therefore, the most logical one, an
arbitrary boundary has been fixed. The year 1830 becomes the
dividing-line; any poet born earlier than that date is ruthlessly
excluded. This, fortunately, eliminates scarcely any poet of value; for
between Whitman (born 1819) and Emily Dickinson (that early imagist),
there were no singers more memorable than the Cary sisters, Bayard
Taylor and the painfully precise Richard Henry Stoddard.
It is a happy circumstance that this volume should begin with Emily
Dickinson, whose work, posthumously printed, was unknown as late as 1890
and scarcely noticed until several years later. For here is a forerunner
of the new spirit—free in expression, unhampered in choice of subject,
penetrative in psychology—to which a countryful of writers has
responded. No longer confined to one or two literary centers, the
impulse to create is everywhere. There is scarcely a state, barely a
township, that has not produced its laureate.
Most of the poets represented in these pages have found a fresh and
vigorous material in a world of honest and often harsh reality. They
respond to the spirit of their times; not only have their views changed,
their vision has been widened to include things unknown to the poet of
yesterday. They have learned to distinguish real beauty from mere
prettiness; to wring loveliness out of squalor; to find wonder in
neglected places; to search for hidden truths even in the dark caves of
the unconscious.
And with the use of the material of everyday life, there has come a
further simplification: the use of the language of everyday speech. The
stilted and mouth-filling phrases have been practically discarded in
favor of words that are part of our daily vocabulary. It would be hard
at present to find a representative poet employing such awkward and
outworn contractions as _’twixt_, _’mongst_, _ope’_; such evidences of
poor padding as _adown_, _did go_, _doth smile_; such dull rubber-stamps
(_clichés_ is the French term) as _heavenly blue_, _roseate glow_,
_golden hope_, _girlish grace_, _gentle breeze_, etc. The
_peradventures_, _forsooths_ and _mayhaps_ have disappeared.... And, as
the speech of the modern poet has grown less elaborate, so have the
patterns that embody it. Not necessarily discarding rhyme, regular
rhythm or any of the musical assets of the older poets, the forms have
grown simpler; the intricate versification has given way to lines that
reflect and suggest the tones of animated and even exalted speech. The
result of this has been a great gain both in sincerity and intensity; it
has enabled the poet of today to put greater emphasis on his emotion
rather than on the shell that covers it—he can dwell with richer detail
on the matter instead of the manner.
One could go into minute particulars concerning the growth of an
American spirit in our literature and point out how many of the
latter-day poets have responded to native forces larger than their
backgrounds. Such a course would be endless and unprofitable. It is
pertinent, however, to observe that, young as this nation is, it is
already being supplied with the stuff of legends, ballads and even
epics. The modern singer has turned to celebrate his own folk-tales. It
is particularly interesting to observe how the figure of Lincoln has
been treated by the best of our living poets. I have accordingly
included seven poems by seven writers, each differing in manner,
technique and point of view.
For the rest, I leave the casual reader, as well as the student, to
discover the awakened vigor and energy in this, one of the few great
poetic periods in native literature. With the realization that this
brief gathering is not so much a summary as an introduction, it is hoped
that, in spite of its limitations, this collection will draw the reader
on to a closer consideration of the poets here included—even to those
omitted. The purpose of such an anthology must always be to stimulate an
interest rather than to satisfy a curiosity. Such, at least, is the hope
and aim of one editor.