1920 in poetry

— Opening and closing lines of The Second Coming by W. B. Yeats, first published this year

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

Events

Photograph of William Butler Yeats taken this year

• Ezra Pound moves from London to Paris where he moved among a circle of artists, musicians and writers who were revolutionising modern art
• The Dial, a longstanding American literary magazine, is re-established by Scofield Thayer; the publication becomes an important outlet for Modernist poets and writers (until 1929), with contributors this year including Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, Kenneth Burke, Hart Crane, E. E. Cummings, Charles Demuth, Kahlil Gibran, Gaston Lachaise, Amy Lowell, Marianne Moore, Ezra Pound, Odilon Redon, Bertrand Russell, Carl Sandburg, Van Wyck Brooks, and W. B. Yeats
• Russian poet Nikolay Gumilyov co-founds the "All-Russia Union of Writers" in the Soviet Union, where he makes no secret of his anti-Communist views, crosses himself in public, and doesn't care to hide his contempt for half-literate Bolsheviks. His fate changes in 1921.
• May — William Butler Yeats concludes a lecture tour (begun in the fall of 1919) in the United States and crosses the Atlantic to settle in Oxford.^[1]

Works published in English

United Kingdom

• Maurice Baring, Poems 1914–1919^[2]
• Edmund Blunden, The Waggoner and Other Poems^[2]
• Robert Bridges, October, and Other Poems^[2]
• W. H. Davies, The Sog of Life, and Other Poems^[2]
• Walter de la Mare, Poems 1901 to 1918^[2]
• T. S. Eliot:
  • Poems, including Gerontion (text) and Sweeney Among the Nightingales
  • The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism
• Robert Graves, Country Sentiment^[2]
• Aldous Huxley, Leda^[2]
• India in Song: Eastern Themes in English Verse by British and Indian Poets, an anthology of Indian poetry in English published in the UK (London: Oxford)^[3]
• John Masefield, Enslaved, and Other Poems^[2]
• Wilfred Owen, Poems, introduction by Sigfried Sassoon (posthumous)^[2]
• Ruth Pitter, First Poems^[2]
• Ezra Pound, American poet published in the United Kingdom:
  • Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, London^[4]
  • Umbra, London^[4]
• Siegfried Sassoon, Picture Show
• Edward Thomas, Collected Poems, forward by Walter de la Mare^[2]
• Valour and Vision: Poems of the War, 1914-1918, anthology edited by Jacqueline T. Trotter
• Charles Williams, Divorce^[2]
• Humbert Wolfe:
  • London Sonnets^[2]
  • Shylock Reasons with Mr. Chesterton, and Other Poems^[2]
• W.B. Yeats, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom, The Second Coming first published in The Dial magazine (published again in 1921 in Yeats' Michael Robartes and the Dancer)

United States

E.E. Cummings' unusual style can be seen in his poem "Buffalo Bill's/ defunct" from the January 1920 issue of The Dial.

• Conrad Aiken, The House of Dust^[5]
• Stephen Vincent Benet, Heavens and Earth^[5]
• Witter Bynner, A Canticle of Pan^[5]
• Hart Crane publishes his poem "My Grandmother's Love Letters" in The Dial. This is his first real step towards recognition as a poet.
• W.E.B. DuBois, Darkwater^[5]
• Robert Frost, Miscellaneous Poems
• William Ellery Leonard, The Lynching Bee^[5]
• Edgar Lee Masters, Domesday Book^[5]
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, A Few Figs From Thistles^[5]
• Ezra Pound, American poet published in the United Kingdom:
  • Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, London^[4]
  • Umbra, London^[4]
• Lizette Woodworth Reese, Spicewood^[5]
• Charles Reznikoff, Poems published by the New York Poetry Book Shop; the book features poems from Reznikoff's Rhythms and Rhythms II

• Lola Ridge, Sun-Up,^[5] including "Betty"
• Edward Arlington Robinson:
  • Lancelot^[5]
  • The Three Taverns^[5]
• Carl Sandburg, Smoke and Steel^[5]
• Sara Teasdale, Flame and Shadow,^[5] including" There Will Come Soft Rains"
• Galway Wescott, The Bitterns^[5]
• William Carlos Williams, Kora in Hell. Improvisations

Other in English

• India in Song: Eastern Themes in English Verse by British and Indian Poets, London: Oxford; anthology; Indian poetry in English, published in the United Kingdom^[3]
• Yone Noguchi, Japanese Hokkus, Japanese poet writing in English
• Maneck B. Pithawalla, Sacred Sparks, Karachi: M. B. Pithawalla^[6]
• Tom Redcam, San Gloria, verse play, Jamaica^[7]
• W.B. Yeats, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom, The Second Coming first published in the November issue of The Dial magazine (see quotation, above; published again in Michael Robartes and the Dancer 1921^[7])

Works published in other languages

France

• Louis Aragon, Feu de joie^[8]
• Jean Cocteau, Poésies 1917–1920^[9]
• Philippe Soupault, Rose des vents^[8]
• Tristan Tzara, pen name of Sami Rosenstock, Cinéma calendrier coeur abstrait maisons^[8]
• Charles Vildrac, Chants du désespéré

Indian subcontinent

Including all of the British colonies that later became India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Listed alphabetically by first name, regardless of surname:

Telugu poetry

• Garimella Satyanarayana, Makoddi tella doratanamu, a Telugu-language song famously used by Indians marching for freedom; the very militant lyric was banned for a time by the colonial government, which arrested the poet^[10]
• Rami Reddi also known as "Duvvuri":
  • Jaladangana, celebrates farming season and the beauty of nature in the rural countryside, Indian, Telugu-language^[10]
  • Venakumari, Telugu-language pastoral poems depicting the struggles of peasants^[10]

Other Indian languages

• Ananda Chandra Agarwala, Jilikani, Assamese-language poem reflecting ancient Assamese ballads^[10]
• Bhaskar Ramchandra Tambe, Tambe Yanci Kavita, Marathi-language poems; edited by V. G. Mayadev^[10]
• Chanda Jha, Mahes Vani Sanghra, Maithili-language devotional songs addressed to Lord Siva^[10]
• Dharanidhar Sharma Koirala, Naibedya, Nepali-language poetry, didactic poems popular in Darjeeling^[10]
• Lala Kirpa Sagar, Laksmi Devi, Punjabi-language, long, narrative epic poem modeled on Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake; depicts Maharaja Ranjit Singh's battles with Jaimal Singh, a hill chieftain^[10]
• Pt. Ram Naresh Tripathi, Pathik, very popular Hindi-language Khanda Kavya which went into 30 editions; patriotic and expressing love of the rural countryside; strongly influenced by Gandhi's thought^[10]
• Surendra Jha, also known as "Suman", Candi Carya, adaptation of Durgasaptasati in verse, Maithili-language^[10]
• Vaijanath Kashinath Rajwade, Kesavasutanci Kavita, Marathi-language article offering the first thematic classification and detailed analysis of Keshavsut's poems, criticism published in the monthly Manoranjan in July, September, October and November

Spanish language

• Enrique Bustamante y Ballivián, Poemas autóctonos, Peru^[11]
• León Felipe, Veersos y oraciones del caminante ("Verses and Prayers of the Walker"), first volume (second volume, 1930), Spain^[12]
• Alfonsina Storni, Langour, Argentina^[7]
• Miguel de Unamuno, El Christo de Velázquez ("Christ by Velázquez"), Spain^[12]

Other languages

• Jacob Anker-Paulsen, Elskhugs-leik: Vanvitsvers og andre, Denmark
• Khalil Gibran, Spirits Rebellious^[7]
• Tom Kristensen, Pirate Dreams, Denmark^[7]
• Boleslaw Lesmian, The Meadow, Poland^[7]
• Jan Lechon, The Scarlet Poem, Poland^[7]
• Edith Sodergran, The Shadow of the Future, Sweden^[7]
• Georg Trakl, Der Herbst des Einsamen ("The Autumn of The Lonely"), Austrian native published in Germany

Awards and honors

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Births

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• January 24 – Keith Douglas (died 1944), English poet
• February 21 – Ishigaki Rin 石垣りん (died 2004), Japanese poet; she was an employee of the Industrial Bank of Japan, sometimes called "the bank teller poet"
• February 29 – Howard Nemerov American (died 1991), United States Poet Laureate from 1963 to 1964, and from 1988 to 1990
• March 11 – Dennis Joseph Enright (died 2002) English academic, poet, novelist and critic
• April 27 – Edwin Morgan Scotts poet and translator
• June 15 – Amy Clampitt (died 1994), American poet and author
• June 18 – Rosemary Dobson, Australian poet
• August 16 – Charles Bukowski (died 1994), American poet, novelist, and short-story writer
• August 18 – Harbhajan Singh (died 2002), Indian, Punjabi poet in the Sahajvadi tradition,^[10] also a critic, cultural commentator, and translator
• September 6 – Barbara Guest née Barbara Ann Pinson (died 2006), American poet and critic
• November 3 – Oodgeroo Noonuccal (died 1993), Australian poet, actress, writer, teacher, artist and campaigner for Aboriginal causes
• November 23 – Paul Celan (died 1970), German-language poet born to a German-speaking Jewish family in a place then part of Romania, now part of Ukraine
• date not known – Alexander Scott (Scotland)
  • V. A. Anandakkuttan (died 1969), Indian, Malayalam-language poet and author of humorous essays and farces^[10]
  • Balachandra Rajan (died 2009), Indian critic, novelist and writer of in Indian poetry in English^[10]
  • Bernardino Evaristo Mendes, also known as B. E. Mendes, Indian, Konkani-language poet known for philosophical and theosophical writing^[10]
  • Birendra Chattopadhyay (died 1985), Bengali-language poet and Marxist^[10]
  • Jayant Pathak, Indian, Gujarati-language poet and critic^[10]
  • K. B. Nikumb, Indian, Marathi-language poet^[10]
  • Kaifi Azmi (died 2002), Indian, Hindi- and Urdu-language poet^[10] lyricist and songwriter
  • Manmohan Misra, Indian poet and essayist in Orissa^[10]
  • Natvarlal Kuberdas Pandya (pen name, "Usanas"), Indian, Gujarati-language poet and critic^[10]
  • Okiyuma Gwaynn, Indian poet who wrote Indian poetry in English and then in Nepali; born in Hong Kong to a Japanese father and Tibetan mother, he settled in Darjeeling in 1946 ^[10]
  • Ram Lal Papiha, Indian, Dogri-language poet^[10]
  • Rentala Gopalakrishna, Indian, Telugu-language poet and playwright^[10]
  • Santokh Singh Dheer, Indian, Punjabi poet and fiction writer in the largely romantic and progressive-in-outlook Amrita-Mohan Singh tradition of Punjabi^[10]
  • Madhunapantula Satyanarayanashastri, Indian, Telugu-language poet (surname: Satyanarayanashastri)^[10]
  • Tulasibahadur Chetri, nicknamed "Apatan", Indian, Nepali-language poet and playwright^[10]

Deaths

Grave of William Dean Howells, buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• May 11 – William Dean Howells, 83, American literary critic, author and poet
• June 5 – Julia A. Moore, 72, American poetaster, famed for her notoriously bad poetry
• December 21 – Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, 56, Somali poet, religious and nationalist leader who for 20 years led armed resistance to the British, Italian, and Ethiopian forces in Somalia and used his patriotic poetry to rally his supporters

• Also:
  • Charles Carryl
  • Ernest Hartley Coleridge (born 1846), English scholar and poet, grandson of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • Devendranath Sen (born 1855), Indian, Bengali-language poet^[10]
  • Divakarla Tirupti Shastri (born 1872), Indian, Telugu-language poet; one of the two poets in the due known in Telugu literature as "Triupati Vankata Kavulu"^[10]
  • Eknath Pandurang Randalkar (born 1887), Indian, Marathi-language poet and translator from Sanskrit, English, Bengali and Gujarati poetry^[10]
  • Louise Imogen Guiney (born 1861), American poet
  • Jammuneshwar Khataniyar (born 1899), Indian, Assamese-language poet; a woman^[10]
  • Mian Hidayatulla, birth year not known, Indian, Punjabi-language poet^[10]
  • Nagesh Vishwanath Pai, also spelled "Nagesh Vishvanath Pai" (born 1860), Indian poet and fiction writer^[10] Marathi-language poet
  • Dollie Radford (born 1858), English poet and writer
  • Vishvanatha Dev Varma, (born 1850), Indian, Sanskrit-language poet^[10]

Notes

1. ^ Mac Liammoir, Michael, and Eavan Boland, W. B. Yeats, Thames and Hudson (part of the "Thames and Hudson Literary Lives" series), London, 1971, "Chronology" chapter, p. 132
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Cox, Michael, editor, The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-19-860634-5
3. ^ ^{a b} Joshi, Irene, compiler, "Poetry Anthologies", "Poetry Anthologies" section, "University Libraries, University of Washington" website, "Last updated May 8, 1998", retrieved June 16, 2009. Archived 2009-06-19.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Ackroyd, Peter, Ezra Pound, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1980, "Bibliography" chapter, p 121
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Ludwig, Richard M., and Clifford A. Nault, Jr., Annals of American Literature: 1602–1983, 1986, New York: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Vinayak Krishna Gokak, The Golden Treasury Of Indo-Anglian Poetry (1828-1965), p 316, New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi (1970, first edition; 2006 reprint), ISBN 81-260-1196-3, retrieved August 6, 2010
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Kurian, George Thomas, Timetables of World Literature, New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2003
8. ^ ^{a b c} Auster, Paul, editor, The Random House Book of Twentieth-Century French Poetry: with Translations by American and British Poets, New York: Random House, 1982 ISBN 978-0-394-52197-8
9. ^ Bree, Germaine, Twentieth-Century French Literature, translated by Louise Guiney, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag} Das, Sisir Kumar, "A Chronology of Literary Events / 1911–1956", in Das, Sisir Kumar and various, History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956: struggle for freedom: triumph and tragedy, Volume 2, 1995, published by Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9, retrieved via Google Books on December 23, 2008
11. ^ Fitts, Dudley, editor, Anthology of Contemporary Latin-American Poetry/Antología de la Poesía Americana Contemporánea Norfolk, Conn., New Directions, (also London: The Falcoln Press, but this book was "Printed in U.S.A.), 1947, p 595
12. ^ ^{a b} Debicki, Andrew P., Spanish Poetry of the Twentieth Century: Modernity and Beyond, University Press of Kentucky, 1995, ISBN 978-0-8131-0835-3, retrieved via Google Books, November 21, 2009

See also

Poetry portal

• Poetry
• List of years in poetry

Notes