2007-11-09 23:07:04 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Poetry
Tom C, many Americans look in on this site, as we do theirs and as far as I am concerned they are welcome! I feel they are very generous in welcoming us from Ireland and the UK!
Thank you for your answer.
Cassandra
2007-11-10 00:11:34 · update #1
Aggylu.
I'm not arguing, just stating all are welcome on my Q&A.
Thank you for your answer.
2007-11-10 00:41:52 · update #2
RD,
Milton was an English poet born in Cheapside London.
I know what you mean though, there are some poets we think of as shared by the world. His poem 'Paradise Lost' is universal.
Thank you for you answer and for reminding me of him.
2007-11-10 20:34:33 · update #3
Makadoo,
Coleridge was born in Deven and an English poet. I think he is another writer who we feel is owned by the world, because his works are so widely read.
Thank you for you answer and reminding me of him .
2007-11-10 20:43:32 · update #4
Haha, sorry DEVON
2007-11-10 20:44:31 · update #5
Gosh, there are so many poets listed I haven't heard of, I shall have to print them up.
Thank you everyone!
Cassandra
2007-11-10 20:48:55 · update #6
Well as an American and one that enjoys poetry among other pursuits, I'd list these as the greatest and most recognizable names:
Edgar Alan Poe
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Robert Frost (My personal favorite)
Emily Dickinson
Walt Whitman
e.e. Cummings
Ezra Pound
Langston Hughes
Maya Angelou
Sylvia Plath
I could go on and on but this is as good a primer list as any to the voices of American poetry.
As far as Samuel Langhorne Clemens is concerned (Mark Twain) how anyone can confuse a master fiction writer and humorist as a great American poet is beyond me.
It could certainly be argued that he was a social commentator and an accomplished journalist.
The man of 1000 quips and quotes would find much humor in being considered a great poet.... as I'm sure would Huckleberry Finn,.
I understand that 'ol Huck was quite an accomplished tree climber in his day..
Hard to climb trees in very high stiletto heel shoes though. You'll need a good pair of kicks I think Cassie :)
EDIT: Garwy: I think it's fairly reasonable to claim Ezra Pound was an American first. He was born, raised, educated, and lived the first 35 years of his life in the USA. Certainly, his Axis war sympathies and his accusal of his homeland as an "insane asylum" didn't win him fans at home, but American he was, born and raised, and even incarcerated for treason after WWII.. Political persuasion aside, he was a literary heavy weight.
Oh, and I did not give you a negative, I'm not sure who did. Interesting observation actually.
2007-11-10 17:40:36 · answer #1 · answered by JC 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a non-American I would say the following three are the greatest :
Edgar Allan Poe
Mark Twain
Henry Longfellow
My favourite would be Longfellow, as he was best known as a poet, whereas the other two were better known for their prose. I have no doubt, however, that I will be out-voted in that view.
2007-11-09 23:14:36 · answer #2 · answered by the_lipsiot 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well, to tell the truth, i don't really know any Canadian poets.
But as far as British and American
Percy Shelley
Edgar Allan Poe
Edna St Vincent Millay
Robert Frost
Willaim Blake
Emily Dickenson
Oscar Wilde
2007-11-13 16:47:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Tom C, seems a bit of a twit, hehe!
I only know of one American poet. Mark Twain. The Yanks seem to go on about him so much that they forget to mention anybody else.
Oh and they do mention Walt Whitman quite a lot, too!
Yes, I forgot about Sylvia Plath, good call!
2007-11-10 15:09:29 · answer #4 · answered by The Oak 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Currently living:
I think Annie Finch, Louise Gluck, Donald Hall, Billy Collins and Fred Chappell are great.
Of all time: There are so many, but I think Whitman, Longfellow, E E Cummings and James Merrill are ones to look at.
Never have been one to believe in narrowing down to just one. There are so many great things out there, why limit ourselves?
2007-11-10 00:45:32 · answer #5 · answered by joannaserah 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Emily Dickinson
2007-11-10 00:44:14 · answer #6 · answered by oldbob 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How are you guys arguing about the nationality of this site? The web address I see is .com, not .uk or.us. Maybe several sites redirect here?
Choosing a "greatest" is beyond me. I enjoy Anne Sexton, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams.
Coleridge isn't even American, I don't think.
2007-11-10 00:25:14 · answer #7 · answered by aggylu 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Milton
2007-11-10 02:43:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Poe and Longfellow. Langston Hughes.
The first three I thought of turned out to be British.
We have a little over 200 years of history, you have over 1000.
Go figure.
2007-11-09 23:36:53 · answer #9 · answered by Colt 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Edgar Allan Poe.
2007-11-09 23:10:07 · answer #10 · answered by Runa 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋