1991 in poetry explained

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

Events

Forward Poetry Prize created
Dana Gioia, writing in The Atlantic Monthly suggests (in an article titled "Can Poetry Matter?") that poets recite the works of other poets at public readings.^[1]
Joseph Brodsky, the United States poet laureate, suggests in The New Republic that an anthology of American poetry be put beside the Bible and telephone directory in every hotel room in the country.^[1]

Works published in English

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

Australia

Les Murray, The Rabbiter's Bounty

Anthologies in Australia

Philip Mead and John Tranter, The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry a major anthology of Twentieth century poetry from that nation
Les Murray, editor, The New Oxford Book of Australian Verse (editor), Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1986 and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1991, 1999

Canada

Margaret Avison, Selected Poems Canada
Earle Birney, Last Makings: Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.^[2]
Don Domanski, Wolf-Ladder (nominated for a Governor General's Award)
Jeffery Donaldson, Once out of Nature,^[3] McClelland & Stewart.
Louis Dudek, Europe. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1991.^[4]
Louis Dudek, Small Perfect Things. Montreal: DC Books.^[4]
Robert Finch, Miracle at the Jetty. Port Rowan, ON: Leeboard Press.^[5]
Dorothy Livesay, The Woman I Am. Montreal: Guernica.^[6]
Laura Lush, Hometown, Montreal: Vehicle Press.
Anne Marriott, Aqua, Toronto: Wolsak & Wynn.^[7]
Don McKay, Night Field (Canada)^[8]
Roy Miki, In Saving Face: Poems Selected, 1976-1988, Canada
P. K. Page, The Glass Air: Selected Poems (an expanded edition; original edition published in 1985)^[3]
John Pass, The Hour's Acropolis, shortlisted for the 1993 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize,
Raymond Souster, Running Out the Clock. Ottawa: Oberon Press.^[9]
George Woodcock, Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana & other Poems, Kingston: Quarry Press, Canada^[10]

India, in English

Gieve Patel, Mirrored, Mirroring (Poetry in English), Oxford University Press, New Delhi^[11]
Sujata Bhatt, Monkey Shadows (Poetry in English), received a Poetry Book Society Recommendation; Carcanet Press^[12]
Ranjit Hoskote, Zones of Assault (Poetry in English), New Delhi: Rupa & Co., ^[13]
Sudeep Sen:
- Kali in Ottava Rima, Paramount, London, 1992; Rupa, New Delhi, 1991, ^[14]
- New York Times, New Delhi: Rupa, (reprinted in 1993, London: The Many Press,)^[14]
Dilip Chitre, Travelling in a Cage^[15]

Ireland

Brian Coffey, Poems and Versions 1929 - 1990, including "Death of Hektor" and "For What for Whom Unwanted"^[16]
Gerald Dawe, Sunday School, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press,
Paul Durcan, Crazy About Women, including "The Levite and His Concubine at Gibeah"^[16]
Eamon Grennan, As If It Matters, including "Breaking Points", Oldcastle: The Gallery Press^[16]
John Hewitt, Collected Poems, Belfast: The Blackstaff Press^[16]
Michael Longley:
- Gorse Fires, including "Between Hovers", "Laertes", "Argos" and "The Butchers"^[16]
- Poems 1963 - 1983, including "In memoriam", "Caravan", "Wounds", "Ghost Town", "Man Lying on a Wall", "Wreaths", "Mayo Monologues" and "The Linen Industry"^[16]
Thomas McGreevy, Collected Poems, including "Homage to Hieronymous Bosch" and "Recessional"^[16]
Medbh McGuckian, Marconi's Cottage, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press^[16]
Paula Meehan, The Man Who Was Marked by Winter, "The Pattern" and "Child Burial", Oldcastle: The Gallery Press^[16]
Bernard O'Donoghue, The Weakness, including "A Nun Takes the Veil" and "The Weakness", Chatto and Windus^[16]
Peter Sirr, Ways of Falling, including "A Few Helpful Hints", Oldcastle: The Gallery Press^[16]

New Zealand

Fleur Adcock (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963):
- Time-zones, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press^[17]
- Selected Poems, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press^[17]
Jenny Bornholdt, Waiting Shelter, New Zealand
Alan Brunton, Slow Passes 1978–1988^[18]
Lauris Edmond, New and Selected Poems, Auckland: Oxford University Press^[19]
Michele Leggott, Swimmers, Dancers, Auckland : Auckland University Press
Bill Manhire, Milky Way Bar, New Zealand
Bob Orr, Breeze^[20]

United Kingdom

Dannie Abse, There Was a Young Man From Cardiff, autobiography^[21]
Fleur Adcock (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963):
- Time-zones, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press^[17]
- Selected Poems, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press^[17]
W. H. Auden, Collected Poems
George Mackay Brown, Selected Poems 1954 - 1983^[21]
Wendy Cope, Serious Concerns
Paul Durcan, Crazy About Women^[21]
Gavin Ewart, Collected Poems 1980 - 1991^[21]
John Fuller, The Mechanical Body^[21]
Lavinia Greenlaw, The Cost of Getting Lost in Space^[21]
Philip Gross, The Son of the Duke of Nowhere^[21]
Michael Hamburger, Roots in the Air^[21]
Tony Harrison, A Cold Coming^[21]
Seamus Heaney:
- Seeing Things, Faber & Faber
- Squarings, Hieroglyph Editions
Paul Henry, Time Pieces, Seren
Linton Kwesi Johnson, Tings an' Times^[21]
P. J. Kavanagh, An Enchantment^[21]
Jackie Kay, The Adoption Papers^[21]
Thomas Kinsella, Madonna, and Other Poems^[21]
Kenneth Koch, Selected Poems, Manchester: Carcanet, American poet's book published in the United Kingdom^[22]
Liz Lochhead, Bagpipe Muzak^[21]
Michael Longley, Gorse Fires^[21]
George MacBeth, Trespassing^[21]
Medbh McGukian, Marconi's Cottage^[21]
Jamie McKendrick, The Sirocco Room^[21]
Derek Mahon, Selected Poems. Viking
Edwin Morgan, Hold Hands Among the Atoms^[21]
Andrew Motion, Love in a Life^[21]
Sean O'Brien, HMS Glasshouse,^[21] Oxford University Press
Christopher Reid, In the Echoey Tunnel^[21]
C. H. Sisson, Antidotes^[21]
Gerard Woodward, Householder

United States

Arnold Adoff - In for Winter, Out for Spring
John Ashbery, Flow Chart
Gwendolyn Brooks, Children Coming Home
Robert Creeley, Selected Poems 1945-90^[23]
Billy Collins, Questions About Angels, the winner of the National Poetry Series competition in 1993
Paul Hoover, The Novel: A Poem (New Directions)
Howard Nemerov, Trying Conclusions: New and Selected Poems, 1961-1991 (University of Chicago Press)
Grace Paley, Long Walks and Intimate Talks (stories and poems)
Kenneth Rexroth, Flower Wreath Hill: Later Poems
Eleanor Ross Taylor, Days Going/Days Coming Back^[24]

Poets represented in The Best American Poetry 1991 anthology

These 75 poets were represented in The Best American Poetry 1991 edited by David Lehman, with guest editor Mark Strand:

Susan Mitchell
Gary Mitchner
A. F. Moritz
Thylias Moss
Joyce Carol Oates
Bob Perelman
Robert Polito
Katha Pollitt
Susan Prospere
Jack Roberts
Sherod Santos
Lloyd Schwartz
Robyn Selman
David Shapiro
Laurie Sheck

Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United States

William Meredith, Poems Are Hard to Read, criticism
Jacqueline Vaught Brogan, Part of the Climate: American Cubist Poetry, University of California Press, scholarship^[25]
M.L. Rosenthal, Our Life in Poetry, collection of literary criticism, including the influential "Poetry as Confession", an article appearing in 1959 in which Rosenthall coined the term "confessional" as used in Confessional poetry^[26]

Works published in other languages

Denmark

Naja Marie Aidt. Så længe jeg er ung ("As Long as I’m Young"),^[27] first volume of a poetic trilogy which includes Et Vanskeligt mode ("A Difficult Encounter") 1992, and Det tredje landskap ("The Third Landscape") 1994
Inger Christensen, (Sommerfugledalen), poems (later translated into English by Susanna Nied)^[28]
Klaus Høeck, Salme, publisher: Brøndum^[29]
Søren Ulrik Thomsen, Hjemfalden

France

Yves Bonnefoy:
- Début et fin de neige
- Là où retombe la flèche
Claude Esteban, Soleil dans une pièce vide, Flammarion

India

Listed in alphabetical order by first name:

K. Siva Reddy, Sivareddy Kavita, Hyderabad: Jhari Poetry Circle, Telugu-language^[30]
Mallika Sengupta, Haghare O Debdasi, Kolkata: Prativas Publication; Bengali-language^[31]
Nirendranath Chakravarti, Aay Rongo, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; Bengali-language^[32]
Prathibha Nandakumar, Rasteyanchina gaadi ("Cart at the Edge of the Road"), Bangalore: Kannada Sangha, Christ College; Kannada-language^[33]
Rajendra Kishore Panda, Bahubreehi, Jharsuguda: Soubhagya Manjari, Jharsuguda, Oraya-language^[34]

Poland

Stanisław Barańczak, Biografioly: poczet 56 jednostek slawnych, slawetnych i oslawionych ("Biographies of 56 Celebrated, Famous or Notorious Individuals"), light verse; Poznan: a5^[35]
Stanisław Barańczak, Zwierzeca zajadlosc: z zapiskow zniecheconego zoologa ("Animal Ferocity: From the Notes of a Discouraged Zoologist"), light verse; Poznan: a5^[35]
Czesław Miłosz, Dalsze okolice ("Farther Surroundings"); Kraków: Znak^[36]
Tadeusz Różewicz, Płaskorzeźba ("Bas-Relief"), Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie^[37]
Jan Twardowski, Uśmiech Pana Boga. Wiersze dla dzieci ("The Smile of God: Poems for Children"), Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia^[38]

Spain

Matilde Camus, Tierra de mi Cantabria ("Cantabria, my land")

Other languages

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, Tomoshibi ("Light"), Japan, with English translations
Mario Benedetti, Las soledades de Babel ("The Loneliness of Babel"), Uruguay^[39]
Odysseus Elytis, The Elegies of Oxopetras (Τα Ελεγεία της Οξώπετρας)
Ndoc Gjetja, Kthimet ("Returns"); Albania^[40]
Alexander Mezhirov, Избранное ("Favorite"), Russia
Eugenio Montale, Tutte le poesie, edited by Giorgio Zampa. Jonathan Galassi in 1998 called this book the "most comprehensive edition of Montale's poems"; posthumously published; Italy^[41]
Nizar Qabbani, Syrian, Arabic-language poet:
- Do You Hear the Cry of My Sadness?
- Marginal Notes on the Book of Defeat
Rami Saari, Gvarim Ba-tzomet ("Men at the Crossroad"), Israeli writing in Hebrew^[42]

Awards and honors