PSYCHE: The Feminine Poetic Consciousness of Modern American Women Poets

by Barbara & Carol Rainey -- Eds. Segnitz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 23, 1973

An anthology of highly visible American women -- poets from Emily Dickinson on up: Elinor Wylie, Marianne Moore, May Swenson, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich -- plus the necessary black (Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Mari Evans, whoever the latter is) and youthful ones (Marge Piercy, Erica Jong, Rochelle Owens, Diane Wakoski), plus a couple of people from left field. The poems go from Plath's hot to Owen's cool rage (""she calls me the divinity/ of mountains & streams &/ I think of how it would be/ to piss on her!"" to Moore's intellectualism to Swenson's verbal theatrics to Levertov's ""organic form"": black rage, Vietnam rage. A fine introduction relates these poets to each other and their predecessors; good, if somewhat obvious, choices are made; all in all this is a solid traditional anthology for those who enjoy the middle of the road.

Pub Date: Nov. 23, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION