Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology edited by Daniel Simon

Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology
edited by Daniel Simon [ 811.08 Sim ] 

In conjunction with the statewide celebrations of Nebraska’s 150th anniversary of Statehood in 2017 (a “sesquicentennial”), this marvelous hardback anthology, covering the history of poetry by poets from Nebraska, was released at a gala event at the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown on April 2nd, 2017. This book, featuring over 160 works by over 80 Nebraska poets, covers the entire 150-year history of Nebraska, from the very first poem published after our statehood was established, to selections by several of today’s most acclaimed and active poets in the state. Organized in chronological order, the first part of the book features selections from some of Nebraska’s most famed authors, including Willa Cather, Bess Streeter Aldrich, Loren Corey Eiseley and John G. Neihardt. The middle section of the book is dedicated to poets who made a strong impression in the early and middle parts of the 20th century, including long-time State Poet William Kloefkorn, two-time National Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, current State Poet Twyla Hansen and many more. The latter part of the book features selections from many of today’s up-and-coming Cornhusker wordslingers.

If you’re a fan of poetry from Nebraska, and have followed any of the 80+ poets represented within, I recommend this anthology to expand your reading. If you are dabbling in the literary world of Nebraska history as the state celebrates its 150th birthday, this is a great sampler, that may lead you to numerous poets whose more extensive works exist in the libraries’ collection. And even if you’re just a poetry fan who doesn’t care where the poets originated, this is a still a stellar collection, filled with excellent representative samplings from a variety of regional authors. And it seems especially fitting to be reviewing this volume in April, which is National Poetry Month!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try many of the volumes of poetry collections by Nebraska poets, found in the American Poetry section of the non-fiction collection — 811 (Poet’s name).]

[ official Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology web page] | [ Nebraska 150 Books challenge ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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