1937 in poetry explained

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

Events

February 1 – First broadcast on Sveriges Radio (Sweden) of the continuing programme Dagens dikt ("Poem of the day").^[1]
Summer – In Nazi Germany, Wolfgang Willrich, a member of the SS, lampoons German expressionist poet Gottfried Benn in his book Säuberung des Kunsttempels; Heinrich Himmler, however, steps in to reprimand Willrich and defends Benn on the grounds of his pro-Nazi record since 1933 (his earlier artistic output being dismissed as irrelevant).
Iowa Writers' Workshop is founded by Paul Engle at the University of Iowa
George Hill Dillon becomes editor of Poetry Magazine, remaining in that post until 1949.
Poems of colonial American pastor Edward Taylor (d. 1729) are first discovered and published.^[2]
W. B. Yeats concludes his recordings of his own verse and his broadcast lectures on the BBC (begun in 1936).^[3]

Works published in English

Canada

Wilson MacDonald, Comber Cove. Toronto: S.J.R. Saunders.^[4]
E. J. Pratt, The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems, Toronto: Macmillan.^[5] Governor General's Award 1937.

India, in English

Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Strange Journey (Poetry in English), Madras: Shakti Karyalayam^[6]
P. R. Kaikini, This Civilization (Poetry in English), Bombay: New Book Co.^[7]
Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature (Poetry in English), London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry published in the United Kingdom^[8]

United Kingdom

W. H. Auden, Spain^[9]
W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland, partly poetry^[9]
George Barker, Calamiterror^[9]
John Betjeman, Continual Dew: A little book of bourgeois verse,^[9] including "The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel"
Edmund Blunden, A Ballad of Titles, An elegy, and other poems and Uneasy Quiet
Walter de la Mare, This Year, Next Year, illustrations by Harold Jones, Faber
David Jones, In Parenthesis, frontispiece by author, Faber
Charles Madge, The Disappearing Castle^[9]
Edwin Muir, Journeys and Places^[9]
Enoch Powell, First Poems, Oxford: Blackwell^[10]
Isaac Rosenberg, Collected Works, foreword by Siegfried Sassoon; posthumously published^[9]
Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry in English, published in the United Kingdom^[8]
Stevie Smith, A Good Time Was Had By All^[9]

United States

W. H. Auden, with Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland^[11]
R. P. Blackmur, From Jordan's Delight^[11]
Louise Bogan, the Sleeping Fury^[11]
Richard Eberhart, Reading the Spirit^[11]
Robert Hillyer, A Letter to Robert Frost and Others^[11]
Robinson Jeffers, Such Counsels You Gave to Me^[11]
Josephine Johnson, Year's End^[11]
Edna St. Vincent Millay, Conversation at Midnight^[11]
Ezra Pound, The Fifth Decad of Cantos^[11]

May Sarton, Encounter in April^[11]
Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the author's first book; for children
Wallace Stevens, The Man with the Blue Guitar, and Other Poems, includes "The Man With the Blue Guitar," "A Thought Revolved," and "The Men That Are Falling", Knopf^[12]
Allen Tate, Selected Poems^[11]

Other in English

Allen Curnow, Enemies: Poems 1934–36 (Caxton), New Zealand
Robin Hyde, Wednesday's Children, New Zealand
Seaforth Mackenzie, Our Earth, Sydney: Angus and Robertson; Australia

Works published in French

Canada

Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, Regards et jeux dans l'espace ^[13]

France

Jacques Audiberti, Race des hommes^[14]
Rene-Guy Cadou, Les Brancardiers de l'aube, the author's first book of poems, published when he was 17 years old^[14]
Pierre Jean Jouve, Matière celeste^[15]
Max Jacob, Morceaux choisis^[15]
Oscar Vladislas de Lubicz-Milosz, also known as O. V. de L. Milosz, Dix-sept Poèmes de Milosz^[15]
Henri Michaux, Plume, précédé de Lointain intérieur^[15]
Pierre Reverdy, Ferraille^[15]
Philippe Soupault, Poésies Complètes 1917 - 1973^[15]

Works published in other languages

Indian subcontinent

Including all of the British colonies that later became India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Listed alphabetically by first name, regardless of surname:

Bengali

Mallavarapu Visveswara Rao, Madukila, notable for its style, sentiments and various metrics
Rabindranath Tagore:
- Khapchada, short, humorous and frivolous poems in the style of nursery rhymes
- Chadar Chabi
Samar Sen, Kayekti Kabita, Indian, Bengali-language
Sudhindranath Dutta, Krandasi

Telugu

Gangula Sayi Reddi, Kapu bidda, poems on the condition of farmers; Telugu
Gurram Jashuva, editor, Khanda Kavyamu or Jashuva Khandakavyalu, in seven volumes, published from this year to 1949; anthology of Telagu poetry
Peer Aziz Ullah Haqqani, Qissa-e-Mumtaz E Benazir, a large masnavi of Romantic mysticism; Telugu; posthumous
Srirangam arayanababu, Rudhirajyoti, Telugu
Vedula Satyanarayan Shastri, Dipavali, romantic lyrics, Telugu

Urdu

Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi Noor-e-Mashriq (The Light of the East) - Collection of nazms, geets and sonnets published by Jyoti Prasad Gupta, Jyoti Printing Works, Esplanade, Delhi in 1937.

Other Indian languages

Anupa Sharma, Siddharth, a Hindi epic in 18 chapters on the story of Gautama Buddha
D. R. Bendre, also known as Ambikatanaya Datta, Sakhigita, the title poem is autobiographical; Kannada
Devandas Kishinani, Purab Sandes, Indian, Sindhi-language^[16]
Ghulam Mohammad Hanafi, Jang-e Amir Hamza, a Jangnama, based on an episode in the movement to spread Islam; Kashmiri^[16]
Hijam Anganhal Simha, Singel Indu, a long narrative Meitei poem^[16]
Manjewshwara Govinda Pai, Golgotha, long narrative poem on the final days of Jesus Christ, Kannada^[16]
Riddhinath Jha, Pravasi Mithiles, verses praising the Maharaja of Darbhanga; Maithili^[16]
Siyaramsharan Gupta, Bapu, on Gandhi and his ideology, Hindi^[16]

Spanish language

Peru

Xavier Abril, Descubrimiento del alba^[17]
José Santos Chocano, Poemas de amor doliente, Peru^[18]
Manuel Moreno Jimeno, Así bajaron los perros^[17]
Luis Fabio Xammar, Waino^[17]

Other in Spanish

Miguel Hernández, Viento del pueblo; Spain^[19]

Other

Amir Hamzah, Nyanyi Sunyi, Dutch East Indies

Awards and honors

Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: W. H. Auden
Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (the post which was later called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): Joseph Auslander appointed this year (he would serve until 1941)
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Edwin Markham
Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: The Fable of the Goats, E. J. Pratt^[20]

Births

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

January 1:
- John Fuller, English poet and author
- Dilwar Khan (died 2013), Bengali poet
January 14 - J. Bernlef, born Hendrik Jan Marsman (died 2012), Dutch poet, novelist and translator
February 21 - Mervyn Morris, Jamaican poet
February 27 - Peter Hamm (died 2019), German poet, author, journalist, editor and literary critic
April 10 - Bella Akhmadulina (died 2010), Russian poet
April 23 - Coleman Barks, American poet who, although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, is nonetheless renowned as a translator of Rumi and other mystic poets of Persia
April 30 - Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
May 11 - Michael Heller, American poet
May 21 - Glen Sorestad, Canadian poet
June 8 - Gillian Clarke, native Welsh, English-language poet, playwright, editor, broadcaster, lecturer and translator (from Welsh)
June 10 - Susan Howe, American poet and critic closely associated with the Language poets
July 3 - Milovan Danojlić, Serbian poet and essayist (died 2022)
July 10 - Kurt Bartsch, German poet^[21]
July 29 - Eleanor Wilner, American poet and editor
August 3
- Marvin Bell (died 2020), American poet
- Diane Wakoski, American poet associated with the "deep image" poets and the Beats
September 14 - Douglas Oliver (died 2000), British poet
October 11 - R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, critic and translator
November 4 - W. Dabney Stuart, American poet
November 9
- Roger McGough, English poet
- S. Abdul Rahman (died 2017), Tamil poet
November 11 - Alicia Ostriker, American poet and academic
November 19 - Meg Campbell (died 2007), New Zealand poet and wife of Alistair Campbell
December 1 - Eugene B. Redmond, African-American poet
December 31 - Nicolas Born (died 1979), German poet
Also:
- Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Lebanese-born French poet, novelist and beauty queen
- Parijat, पारिजात, Bishnu Kumari Waiba (died 1993), Nepalese novelist and poet
- John Riley (died 1978), English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival

Deaths