In the introduction, we are afforded to opportunity to witness the various reasons Rita Dove chose specific artists as well as the way she lists their work in her book. She opens the introduction with a letter that seems to be written to a close friend and or colleague. In this letter, she outlines five reasons why she has chosen to produce this book. Among these reasons was the influx of creative writing programs which gives young writers a place to exist as they develop the necessary skills to advance in the area of creative writing. This is extremely important, especially to young black writers who may often find themselves in a space where they are not treated equally or have access to the same resources as their white counterparts while striving to advance their writing ability. Given the history of non-white and female writers whose voices were not heard as much; the reshaping of African American poetry is highly regarded as a tool to further those who fall into spaces of not being treated fairly. Dove also includes poetry that over time has made a major influence on American history. Some of the works follow major occurrences that impact people of different races and cultural still today. This is important because as time goes on many people began to forget major things that have happen in the past. Especially during the new millennium age where the past has truly become the past. By forgetting the past we may find ourselves forgetting those who came before us and opened many doors for us to be able to live the lives we are living. People may also find themselves taking things for granted that were fought for many years ago. This is quite dangerous to black people especially. These are the cases when we run into things like political issues because people take voting too lightly. Dove states “We begin to wrap up things before the end arrives.” These reminded me of how often times white people would quickly try to silence black people when talking about slavery. Too many times white people try to sweep slavery under the rug as though it was not a big thing and in a way suggest black people should get over it since it has been over for years. Funny how fast they forget that black people still suffer from the awful days of slavery. America has been shaped based on the white hierarchy of white supremacy. Unfortunately, the world’s views of black people have not totally changed since and even some black people fall victim to the harsh reality of their ancestors once being enslaved. The structure of the world has been systematically set up to keep black people feeling inferior to white people and for generations, this has influenced the way many black people feel towards themselves and even other black people. Poetry has become a great avenue for blacks to freely express and share many of the hardships once forced upon them. As Dove mentions, some people either experienced slavery first-hand or from a relative and it impacts them tremendously. However, as the new century dawned, some people who could afford wiggle room were able and motivated to start fresh, do things differently, and embrace the new which helped them in overcoming some of the trauma many still dealt with.

In Rita Dove’s, The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry, she introduces her readers to the most noteworthy and captivating poems of the past hundred years. In the introduction, Dove enlightens her readers with the history of the authors that are featured. After reading the introduction, I was excited to learn that I would be reading and interpreting poems by arguably the greatest poets of the time period. The introduction is important because it provides readers with not only insight into the history of the literary movement but also why Dove decided to include works that she did. 

Within the pages that my group and I were assigned, first introduced Robert Frost. Despite the constant neglect and criticism Frost received, he reputation remains as being one of the most celebrated poets of his time. Specifically, many saw Frost as being different from other writers and also questioned his writing style. As Dove states in the introduction, “One could explain away the phenomenon of Robert Frost with the adage “He who dies with the most toys wins”, but that would be unfair and, in fact, optimize the dismissive attitude characterizing the Frost-bashing of the 1970s and 1980s.”, I didn’t know what exactly “Frost-bashing “was and wondered about the extent of the adversity he faced during the time. Despite the misfortune, Frost is known as being of the most respected poets of the twentieth century. 

Moreover, the next featured poet is Wallace Stevens who essentially was one of the writers to develop modernism during the literary movement. As I was reading the introduction, I noted the part where Dove emphasize that readers must first understand the Victorian Era in order to even begin to why modernism was so important. I then did research about it and found that modernism developed due to writers wanted to differentiate themselves from Victorian Era which primarily focused on political reform and religion. Wallace became known as “the poet of the mind” because of the way in which his poems sought to be cerebral or analytical. As I continued to read I learned that during the end of the nineteenth century, the Victorian Era began to be questioned by theorist or as Dove states “begun to show cracks”. This is when the revelations of Darwinism, as known as the theory of evolution derived. From my understanding or interpretation, I began to develop that modernism essentially influenced the idea that the truth can be anything and that nothing necessarily has one meaning. This realization is of course what ignited the new literary movement. I began to think the theoretical approaches such as New Criticism coined by John Crowe Ransom which actually focuses on the importance of close reading and also discourages the use of outside sources or evidence in order to interpret the work. I was thrilled to have made a connection of this prior knowledge I had prior to reading the introduction. The fact that this same literary device was developed during the early twentieth century is what led me to make the connection. Other poets that were mentioned such as Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, and E.E. Cummings also add to the discussion of the literary movement and how it progressed during the time period. 

As I read the I noticed how a timeline was somewhat formed, I was not certain but personally, as I read, I saw as things feel into place as the literary movement progressed. Ultimately, the introduction made me excited to continue to read the remainder of the book and learning about the history or the time period in which the featured writer wrote allowed me to obtain a greater understanding of what’s to come and prepare myself for it.   

Introduction Blog Post

After reading the introduction I began to understand more about what Rita was going to be talking about. In class during our group discussion, I was now able to comprehend her reasoning as to why she chooses the poets/poems in the book. Based off the sentence “To which I inwardly cringed, for your email arrived just as I find myself so deep inside this enterprise as to be hopelessly blinded by the trees in the forest, the forest, the forest,” you can conclude that her introduction is a reply (to someone named “T”) to this mystery person. As you dig deeper you notice she begins using alterations when referring to the forest. It was discussed that this can be compared to “a family tree” and I agree. It is describing the forest to be the realm of literature and/or poetry and the poets seem to be the trees or foundation that sets it up. This also happens to be her using metaphors in this same sentence to illustrate the dynamic she upholds this anthology to. Rita pretty much remains stern in her literary references and what they provide to the art world today. “…after we have reconciled ourselves to owning this scary new millennium by looking forward before we have begun to forget,” is Rita implying that moving forward and progressing is as equally important to knowing and understanding your history, in order to prevail. “The king of is dead; long love the king,” is an example of accepting the present but still remembering the legacy left behind. In these artistic ways, Rita is telling us that it is crucial to understand our past and history to understand the times we live in today and even more years from now. It is understood through her rhetorical questions that sometimes artists are marginalized, non-represented, or even falsely represented. This includes minorities, women, as well as the LGBTQ community because the times weren’t as accepting as today (which hints to the depression and heavy burden of sorrow within poetry). Slavery (including systematic oppression), The Great Depression, World War I and II are some examples that can be explained for these troubling poetry times. This further emphasizes her other commitment to shedding light on these issues and poets who actually went through these similar experiences. They will come into fruition once reading their actual poetry and using similar references and literary elements alike Rita’s in her own introduction. Rita seems as if she’ll touch on controversial forms of morality when referring to the “dreaded monster of morality with an exalted sense of purpose and doom.” Sounds to me like saying things that are undeniably going against the grain can end up being a blessing (the poetry) and a curse (the mental struggles like depression and suicide which ended up being common in these times). She refers to northerners as the “involuntary population of freedmen struggling to create an identity for themselves in hostile environments.” To me this sounds like slavery to freedom trauma meaning it was hard to adjust to the “free” life after being shackled and controlled for so long. This is a part of the same trauma I touched on earlier. It left some of these poets in troubled times of not knowing who they are or what place they have in the world. Reasons like this make me look forward to reading more of Rita’s anthology because I feel like people in my generation often do not consider how certain trauma shapes and affects our culture, not just then, but even the times of today. There is a saying that “history repeats itself,” but if you are informed of that history that your ancestors hold, you can at least look out for the mistakes and find ways to solve issues and be better than what was.

 In the final pages of the introduction including the epilogue, Rita touches on black poets and female poets who didn’t receive as much publicity as white male writers received. With the civil rights movement at it’s peak, the pain and long for justice embedded in these young black poets’ souls was revealed. Feminists poets began to embrace their differences and discover their similarities. They had cracked the code to receive the recognition they deserved, essentially changing the game. Analyzing the excerpts from poems in this section will reveal such a subtle nod to the discrimination not only from the literary world but from reality as well. For the first time so far in the anthology, Dove gives some insight about how she felt while writing and choosing the outline this project and the difficult decisions that barred her from allowing every poet she longed for into this book.

            The civil rights movement and the Vietnam war were the two historical effects associated with the uprising of black, hippy, female, and gay poets. The feminists and the blacks had much in common in terms of disobedience. Black people were marching on Washington and infiltrating places where they were not wanted all in the name of equal rights. Feminists on the other hand, were doing that on their pages. They wrote unapologetically areas they strayed away from in the past. The Black Arts movement empowered anybody who had a soul during the 1970’s. Mainstream approval was no longer necessary. It wasn’t unusual to see white students wearing dashiki’s and blacks were claiming their uniqueness by proclaiming the mantra “Black is beautiful”.

            Rainer Maria Rilke encouraged other poets to “go into yourself” and not to shy away from images that the rational mind may not be able to comprehend. Nikki Giovanni wrote a self-empowering poem called ‘Ego Trippin’, in which she compares herself to the seven wonders of the world and truly embodies the beauty and greatness that she possesses. It was not common for black women to be so openly confident about the things they have been ridiculed for in the past. I loved how she utilized the style that the white poets were being praised for and winning awards for and spun it in her favor. Adrienne Rich lead the growing women’s movement with the paper she delivered to the Modern Language Association Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession. She stated, “until we can understand the assumptions in which we are drenched we cannot know ourselves”. This was the beginning of the women getting their seat at the table, even if that meant they had to pull one up themselves.

            Toward the end of the century, is was encouraged that these writers explore universities, creative writing workshops, and technical training to enhance their writing styles and expose them to different forms of poetry and expression. This movement that was intended to educate and strengthen writers resulted in writers conforming to a standard way of poetry and made it hard for readers to decipher which poets were which. When all of them were taught the same, they lost their unique creativity and began to morph into one person.

Rita inserted an excerpt from a poem by Leslie Marmon Silko entitled Indian Song: Survival. “It is only a matter of time, Indian. You can’t sleep with the river forever.” This poem was at the header, yet the paragraph flowing it had nothing to do with Silko nor native Americans. I began to question why Dove would put an irrelevant poem in to the introduction that she wasn’t going to address. It dawned on me that she was indirectly exposing the prejudice we have against people of color and indigenous when it comes to telling their story. When educating those on the history of native Americans it is only in connection to white people’s history. Our stories are only mentioned, only considered, but they are not the main topic. Hence why the poetry is the header and there is no other acknowledgement of it after that.

I feel like Rita Dove’s introduction to The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry was incredibly detailed and helpful, useful background information to the book. I think it’s important for readers to read it before reading the book. And it’s also useful because while reading the book you can go back through and reference it for details. It’s amazing that she was able to summarize all that information into around twenty pages. I find it crazy that she was able to study and analyze all that took place in a hundred years because so much took place. Throughout the era that she studied and wrote about many things took place such as women fighting for equality, the civil rights era, world war one, world war two, and the cold war. Not only was there many social and economic reforms but there were also many creative revolutions and evolutions throughout the time such as the harlem Renaissance. And throughout all this time the art and styles of poetry changed tremendously. So Rita Dove had an abundance of things to learn, write about, and include in her book. She talks in the intro about her struggle with writing the introduction and says “I thought the forward would be the easy part… and I should have written right then, before rereading, discovering, misplacing notes; before tracking down copyright dates, crunching numbers-” So I completely realize how much of a struggle it must’ve been to write this introduction and I admire her work. 

In class when we split up into groups to analyze and do close readings of the different parts of the introduction, something that stood out to me in the section we read was the change in style of how poets were writing over the years. There was a big shift in style. Poets were switching it up because they were “no longer indebted to the old British” way of writing. Also African American influencers were become mainstream, blues and jazz turned into scat and howl became present changing poetry as well. Howl changed the presentation of poetry.

Another part that stood out to me in this introduction was the inclusion of Rita Dove mentioning the amount of poets committing suicide. And I don’t know if it was related to the things that the poets had  been through because like I mentioned earlier there was a lot that went on throughout that era but I just thought the similarities were interesting. Something else I found interesting was that Rita Dove could not include certain poets in her book because of copyright on their work and at the same time I wonder if that changed the message she’s giving in the book. But I like how she gave an explanation as to why she couldn’t include those people.

I liked how Rita Dove wrote the introduction by making every different section short and sweet but at the same time because she covered so much information it was also confusing and some parts. Something else that confused me is that it wasn’t in chronological order by the years because she was talking about the different moments in history one at a time. But I like how she included quotes to start off each section I feel like because every quote related to the text beneath it, it kind of gave you an insight of what the next section would be about. 

And in conclusion I liked how Rita Dove wrote the entire thing like she was talking to you and how the introduction started and finished like she was personally writing you a letter. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book.

Rita dove in the opening of her book The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry, discussed a bundle of information in regards to poetry and the ever changing society. The book scrutinizes how as new movements in the world arise, new writing styles emerge as well. Dove supplying a crucial background is important for the audience to comprehend the reason why she chose the poems she did and the significance of the writing style during this timne period

As continued today, most artists use poetry as an artistic outlet to express their own personal ideology on society. Rita Dove reviews how historical movements caused poets to shift gears in their writing. Second way feminisim, gay awarnwss, hippies, the student protests are all distinct crusades in which aided in progressive writing styes.

One specific coalition was the Black Arts Movement. An art campaign lead by African American to create new cultural institutions and illustrate a message of black pride. Dove quotes, “The nascent Black Arts movement entered a jew phase; unlike their counterparts of the Harlem Renaissance, African- American poets now were not only describing and reflecting upon the pecularities of their place at America’s table–they were upturning the benches and walking off to eat by themselves.” Artists apart of the Black Arts Movemen generated politically captivating work to explore the African American experience, both culturally and historically, in addition to changing the way African Americans were portrayed in literature and the arts. 

In 1965, after the assaination of Malcom X artisit were angery with the slow progession of the civil rights movement. As the Dove goes more in depth into the new phase that the New Black Asthetic had become, she mentions, “The old Euro-American literary standards were rejected, and African Culture…and its derivatives this side of the Middle Passage became the rallying cry of the New Black Asthetic.” Blacks were no longer accepting the portrayal and histroy of their culture their White American. Defining cultural experiences on their own terms. Poetry written during this time period focused solely on unity and pride within the Black community.

The Black Arts movement and the New Black Asthetic reclaimed the power that had been taken from the Black community. Giving blacks a sense of pride known to them in the 1920’s. Living by the “Black is beautiful” motto, which eventually became mainstream. White folks wearing dashikis and tuning in to black artists music such as Marvin Gaye gave the African American community a sense of hope. Not only was hope instilled in the Black Community, but also in other minority struggles. The Black Arts Movement became the blueprint for other communities and encouraged them to speak up. Neglected voices such as Feminists, Native Americans, Hispanics, gays, and Asian Americans spoke up and united due to the similarities and differences discovered. However,  self segregation also brought white washed poems to the table as well.

Poetry became an important part of cultural, especially when it came to political movements. As I mentioned before, poetry is an art that people still to this today feel comfortable voicing their experiences weather it be personal, cultural, or historical. Understanding the background of poetry and its connections to these is very pivotal when it comes to modern poetry. By recognizing the importance of the past of poetry, it brings you to the current and even the future of poetry. Rita Dove wrote this introduction to make sure the audience resonates with how particular styles of writing came to be, and also understanding why she chose the poets she did. By educating us on the history, it gives us room to interpret the works of arts in a new light.

The first few pages of the introduction already told my that this anthology is going to make me think critically. In the two pages the author uses a metaphor to compare trees and the authors; each being their own distinct species in their respective forest. Originally in my personal close reading pondered if the authors were grouped in a specific way; it wasn’t until we discussed it in our groups that I found out each forest represents a timeframe for which the aforementioned authors existed. Rita Dove knows that by writing this anthology that she was attempting aa task that was near impossible to complete, and it wasn’t because of just the work load. R. Dove also understands that some literary work has to be left out because of her lack of monetary capital.  Rita reinforces that the civil war is still affecting society because racism is being passed down from the survivors and individuals who were alive during that time. While reading I found it intriguing to see how the environment influenced each author differently and how it showed in their work.  The majority of the poets that laid the framework for modern poetry were born in different decades for the most part. Looking into that further it was mostly white men using white patriarchy to their advantage. I think we may have had a different foundation for American poetry if women, specifically black, were able to have just a little time in the spotlight in the earlier days of poetry.  Is it the individual that makes the style of the work, do authors follow a format and make it their own, or is everyone’s style unique because each individual is unique? Is Wallace Stevens saying that the poet speaks what’s on people mind, and that’s why people may relate but get different meanings? What is reality if it isn’t truth? Are we living a lie? It seems like Stevens lived in the moment instead of planning everything like society makes us do. The “image” is more complex than we make it seem; it doesn’t consist of one idea or concept. Ezra Pound also made me realize that our new era has changed the way we believe things. Mass communication really brought a new era of information in; its easier to fact check everyone. The only way we know what we want is if we say it aloud and write it down. What creates speech patterns and what does it say about that person’s character and background? Cummings seems to like the chaos that nature authentically gives off, including interactions in the moment. Are humans naturally self – centered? Is poetry and arts the key to dismantling white patriarchy? I hate that women always have to “ride in the back seat’ when it comes to anything involving power. Europeans have really infected the African American community with a toxic mindset that needs to be dismantled. Until there is equality in sex, we will never see equality in race. The “negro” isn’t operating at their best because we are using a European worldview to operate our lives. I wish the black community as a whole could look to our ancestors and be inspired. It’s sad that war and conflict creates the conditions to unify the African – American community. It seems that the second world war really messed with the collective consciousness of the poets in that era. The Black arts movement was began a progressive era for African Americans. Baraka seems to have been shining the bat symbol for blacks across the nation. This era seemed like the most progressive for African Americans. “African American poets now we’re not only describing and reflecting upon the peculiarities of their place at America’s table – they were upturning the benches and walking off to eat by themselves.” I like the metaphor used here; it shows African Americans’ rage and proactiveness in the era.The African American poets during this time seemed have been making poems for only other African Americans to read; they used slang only found in our neighborhoods. as blacks progressed white seemed to have tried to infiltrate the African American community. I believe sometimes we are too cautious and that we cannot let our white counterparts raise suspicion where it is not needed; it causes unnecessary division.

Saying Robert Frost “won” because he was the most acclaimed, to neglect the critiques and “bashing” he faced dismisses his influence while promoting the “Frost bashing”. M Wallace Stevens, another poetry monolith alongside Robert Frost, passed away before Frost with a ruined reputation.  The last 27 years of his life were garnished with incarceration, critique of his pro-Fascist behaviour and exile. 

                Many view Frost as a foolish or eccentric old man that provided tedious moralizing lectures.  His witty remarks can cause readers to miss his “complex emotional topographies”.  Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man” uses the closeness and essence if Shakespearean poetry, such as lengthy dialogue, nineteenth century lyricism and descriptive passages.  The New England dialect used is unorthodox to his typical readers but the dialogue eventually transforms into a “magical layering of rhythm…[that]..sings”

                Robert Frost worked diligently to become a skilled and respected leader in the realm of poetry but eventually began to wear under the expectations of such a title.  Before wearing or “chafing” though, Robert Frost produced a body of works that dispensed wisdom. 

 

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E.E. Cummings uniquely created language that blended words with sensory impressions to define the moments he created. Cummings made his readers navigate, on his terms, through his intricate writing styles. His poem R-P-O-P-H-E-S-S-A-G-R emphasizes his style of short hand writing by dismantling words, stripping them to barely speak able pieces. Through Cumming’s lens, the cast supplied over poetry through Langston Hughes alongside the adjustments by John Berryman become visible along the spectrum of dismantled language of poetry

Within my groups pages I dug a little deeper into them and found myself intrigued in the different poets mentioned in the introduction. First I was introduced to Robert Frost who was mainly influenced by British poets, his life story differed by the narrator. While reading I understood that him and his work was loved and hated because of the fatherly words his work gave. He was most known for his infamous quote “ He who dies with the most toys win” had some backlash towards it. For me, I believe that quote holds a metaphoric torch because it isn’t about the material accolades that are the toys but rather the impacting of the world that are the toys. I know everyone will receive this quote in so many different ways but for me its deeper than what meets the eye. “ The poet is the priest of the invisible” what Wallace Stevens was attempting to say is that poetry is the way to the soul and what lies within the soul which is truth. Your soul holds the truth and what’s realistic about it is truth is invisible to the outside world until you let it be heard. Through the language it’s as if a sermon is being given. Wallace Stevens began the era of creativity. Being a late starter, it concludes why he was so vigorous when it came to his art. His ability to create modernism in his own language was due to his years of learning his craft. His life story parades this sense of willpower and it helps us better fathom why he was so challenging. From arguing with Robert Frost and challenging his ways. It’s to be said that Stevens was described as a poet of the mind. he believed that there was no objective reality, we make our reality through our consciousness. Our minds perceive, interprets, and impresses upon our awareness at that given moment and after reading that particular line it made me sit and think about it as a whole. I never thought about it in that way but it’s true considering the fact that I was consistently taught to “manifest positive thoughts” you influence your reality but your mind. Modernism is defined as modern character, tendencies, or values that has some adherence to or sympathy with what is modern. It’s no secret of the tremendous significance Modernism holds on the artist in the literary world, but it indeed goes farther than that culturally. Modernism introduced the unsettling reality of truth and all its findings with being only imaginary.  Stevens began studying the Victorian era of poetry language which focused on morals and religion. This began to show though the works, and with this the sophisticated people became less intrigued on the realness being brought by the words. Ezra Pound was a breath of fresh air. His principals to the language carried a sense of beauty about it. His three tenets all made for sure the art was present, direct, and never repetitive because that took away from the musical phrase sequence it portrayed. Pound created the formula “ A poem should not mean/ but be” which goes back to his second tenet which states “ To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.”. Pound later went on to try and create his own fringe entitled “ Vorticism” that failed. It enforced that an image is not reproduced as reality but as a construct, charged with visions of history, cultural allusions, the collective unconscious, and inscribe with the existing study of his language. His quote “ The image is more than an idea. It is a vortex or cluster of fused ideas and is encowled with energy” 

Pounds quote stuck out most to be because I can understand his saying the most. Its entailing the image of life and all that comes with it. There are so many layers to life which makes it less of an idea and more of a complex figuration infused with those ideas and the energy or willpower to achieve those such things. William Carlos Williams used his life experiences to prepare him. “ Where else can what we are seeking arise from but speech” my translation is how could one seek a dream if they don’t believe it? The first is always self. Williams was a full-time physician with a private practice and a full-time writer. Creating a number of things like novels, short stories, plays, autobiography, and poetry he never stopped creating using every free moment to create. In Williams earlier days he let his friend Ezra Pound have some influence over his literary models. Becoming captivated with the romantic poets but he eventually steered away from it. Williams key factor to his poetry was the realism of America. Using ordinary people’s thoughts and patterns to create art he strived to paint the picture of the authentic American experience. Williams let his own personal beliefs hinder his deserved recognition, his success was delayed because of the non-supporters in power. He then received his flowers when he died. Eliot Prufrock set his own tone for poetry by disowning his American roots and embracing Anglicanism which is the church of England. E.E. Cummings was a new and fresh innovative being that showcased the realms of self-consciousness. He delighted and lived in the messiness of consciousness every day. Whereas before it was very strict and rigid, he treated language as a flexible body that he could use. 

Rita Dove supplied a plethora of interesting information in her introduction to The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry. Rita Dove not only supplied a history lesson that set the scene for the authors and poems the book would illuminate, but also supplied a very detailed explanation concerning the process she undertook to choose the poems that she did.

The most important point that a reader needs to note and remember, is the time period in which she is covering and the events that occurred during that time. During the early 1900s until the early 20000s, an abundance of social and economic reforms took place. Women were fighting for equality alongside African Americans, World War One and Two, and the Cold War, were just a few events that the American public faced during this time. Alongside all of the bloodshed, pain, and tears came the Harlem Renaissance which sparked many creative movements. One of creative movements was the evolution of the poetic voice. At first, many poets did not possess a “proper education”, meaning many of them did not reach higher education and were not taught how to properly write. This caused many different forms of poetry to be created along with poetry workshops. Rita Dove, quote, “Poets were being raised like broods of chicks”. This sentence alone seemed anti poetry workshop but in further reading, Rita Dove, quote, “…and a believer in-workshops.” This two sentences alone are vital and loosely hint at an explanation for Rita Dove’s choices.

Poetry became a business. No more was it just for fun or something to do. No more was just anyone able to be or become a poet, a poet that made money and was known throughout the country. No more was poetry simply and escape from reality. Poetry in all of its forms became a business. A very successful business. Authors began to copyright their work so not just anyone would be able to use it for just anything. And this is the problem that Rita Dove ran into. Many people are money hungry, they always seem to want something for little to nothing, hence the reason a lot of authors did not make it into the book. They were just too expensive and Rita Dove had a budget that she had to stick to. The importance of her including this explanation was profound. People love to argue and downplay someone’s work if it does not go with the mainstream of what they see fit. People like to “cancel” or turn against someone who does, as stated, go along with what’s popular which in reality, she did not do. She left out a few major poets that would have fit her criteria simply because she was unable to afford them and they were asking too much for so little. Rita Dove stopped the argument, the berating, before it could even be started. Which is tremendous because even I sat back and wondered why some authors did not make it into the book.

Rita Dove also hit on a major important point that does not further why she picked the authors and poems that she did but slightly explains the implications of the book. Rita Dove, quote, “…viewed not with a scholar’s dissecting eye but from the perspective of a contemporary poet who, although not exactly born into her country’s mainstream, nevertheless took possession of mainstream society’s intellectual shapes and artistic aesthetics to make them her own.” This the sentence that ended the introduction. This simple yet straightforward sentence that informed the reader on how the book is to be read and thought about. It seems as if she is impressing, as she did through her entire introduction, the importance of not only understanding the importance of the book being modern, but the events that took place during this modern time.