American Women Poets (Modern Critical Views)

A tradition of poets that includes Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, and Elizabeth Bishop has a palpable distinction, but it may be too soon to speak or write of a canon of “American women poets.” The poets studied in this volume are not chosen arbitrarily, yet consideration of the book’s length as well as the poets’ canonical probability have entered into my selection. But the poets studied here do seem a central grouping, and the canonical process is always an ongoing one anyway. Future editions of this volume may be relied on to correct emphases and clarify choices.