The Selected Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Book Overview

An indispensable collection of the groundbreaking poet's most masterful and innovative work, celebrating a bold early voice of female liberation, independence, and queer sexuality--featuring a new introduction by poet Olivia Gatwood, author of Life of the Party

Edna St. Vincent Millay defined a generation as one of the most critically acclaimed poets of the Modernist era. Her work pushed boundaries within the literary canon for its lyrical expression of female embodiment and progressive feminist politics, and she was honored as only the third woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

The Selected Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay demonstrates Millay's legacy and influence on contemporary poetry. Sometimes satirical, often sharp, and always striking, the poems in this collection span Millay's remarkable career, from the success of Renascence and Other Poems to the sting of A Few Figs from Thistles, and Second April, as well as "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver" and eight sonnets from the early twenties. Millay's incandescent poetry continues to inspire today as broadly and deeply as during her lifetime.

The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.

AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES - THE AWAKENING - THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY - THE HEADS OF CERBERUS - LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET - LOVE, ANGER, MADNESS - PASSING - THE TRANSFORMATION OF PHILIP JETTAN - VILLETTE - THERE IS CONFUSION - THE SELECTED POEMS OF EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375761233
• ISBN13: 9780375761232
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Modern Library
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

My favorite book of poems from my favorite poet

Reminds me of the bell jar for some reason, but it very much has a more deep and poetic feel to it. Love it.

Worth it for the sonnets alone

Her shorter pieces are much better than her longer ones. Many of the sonnets are quite good. She may be unlucky or unhappy in love, but she is wry about it and not the least bit maudlin or self-indulgent. The poems about the unbearable beauties of nature strike me as overwrought and do not work at all. Her shortest bits sting the page. As an example, this two lines, the "Second Fig" from her collection A Few Figs From Thistles, describes quite neatly those whose ability to see facts are limited by their wishing them not so. She writes: Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand: Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!

Millay--genius, Milford--idiot

Millay is one of those poets who can convey her passions succinctly. with detail, but a passionate brevity. a woman's perspective on love, friends, eternity, and humanity that can be read by any gender. The editor, however, mistakenly describes Millay's wellknown poem "Renescence" as a poem "about being buried alive". ridicuously misinterpreting Millay's theme of rebirth and reincarnation. I own this book and am happy to have the comfort of Millay's poetry.

that i love easily and pass the time

i will review this as a subset of her collected poems. millay was extremely talented, and had a resurgence in 2001 , she has a memorial stamp from 1981. she is one of the best poets of american literature, this will be an excellent addition to your library, and an exciting opportunity to rediscover a very talented lady often neglected , i am comparing her sonnets to shakespeares, since they are so well done

she understands me

Edna St.Vincent Millay writes poetry of passion and power. If you don't buy the book at least check it out from the library and experience her poems. The way she talks about travel and love and nature is the way that my subconscious thinks of these subjects. She's great and this book is a good sampling of her poems.