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| (1868-1950) |
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| (1868-1950) |
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| In 1915, Edgar Lee Masters published The Spoon River Anthology, a book of 244 poems spoken by the deceased residents of Spoon River (a rural area in Illinois) from their graves on "the hill". The book created a stir because many of the supposedly fictional speakers were recognizable as real people. The poems are remarkable for the breadth of personalities and the honesty with which they speak. All the poems were written in free verse, which puts them outside the scope of this "formalist" anthology. Nonetheless, I include some here because they are moving and haunting. These poems are food for my spirit like no other. I recommend this book more strongly than any other book of poetry. – Editor |
