RESEARCH General Arts

POETRY
Anthology highlights diversity of 20th century Illinois poets

Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
(217) 333-2177; a-lynn@uiuc.edu

8/1/2001

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new book of poetry hopes to put Illinois on the map of 20th century poetry.

So say G.E. Murray and Kevin Stein, the editors of "Illinois Voices: An Anthology of
Twentieth-Century Poetry" (University of Illinois Press; an Illinois poet is defined as one born in Illinois or who produced a considerable body of significant work while living in Illinois).

In the anthology, the giants of poetry – Carl Sandburg and Gwendolyn Brooks – stand next to the unexpected – Ernest Hemingway and Ray Bradbury – and the newer voices – Li-Young Lee and Lucia Perillo. At least five of the Illinois poets who are anthologized won Pulitzer prizes for their work: George Dillon (1932), Archibald MacLeish (1933), Brooks (1950), Sandburg (1951) and Lisel Mueller (1990). Four of the poets included in the book currently teach poetry at the UI: Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Laurence Lieberman, Michael David Madonick and Michael Van Walleghen.

According to Murray, himself a prize-winning poet and author of five poetry collections, the new anthology highlights one of the hallmarks of Illinois poetry – its "tremendous" diversity.
"In working on this anthology, Kevin and I came to realize how Illinois embraces an expansive range of poetic styles and aesthetics – from the formalist to the avant-garde, the jazz-inspired to the rural plain speaker, the African-American, Latino/Latina and Asian voices. We believe we have captured that diversity in this anthology, which literally spans the 20th century."

While Illinois may be better known for its agricultural production and its conservative Midwestern values, its poetic contribution has been both huge and progressive, Murray said.

"The state was enormously influential in the development of American poetry in the 20th century, including the literary rebellion that resulted in the modern poetry movement between 1910 and 1925."

Much of that revolt, he said, was fomented by writers of the so-called "Chicago Renaissance," most notably Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay and Edgar Lee Masters.

In addition, Chicago gave birth to Poetry magazine. Founded by Harriet Monroe in 1912, the magazine "to this day stands as one of the primary and most revered literary journals in the world. One may argue that modern American poetry's bell first rang in Poetry. The magazine published such modern masters as Crane, Eliot, Frost, Marianne Moore, Pound, Sandburg, Stevens and Yeats."

Even a few of Illinois' famous fiction writers – Nelson Algren, Sherwood Anderson and Hemingway – "stretched their literary wings" in Poetry, Murray said. Hemingway also managed to get into the new anthology; three of his poems in the book pithily attack literary critics. "Valentine" begins:

"Sing a song of critics
pockets full of lye
four and twenty critics
hope that you will die
hope that you will peter out
hope that you will fail."

It ends in inimitable Hemingway style:
"If you do not like them lads
One thing you can do
Stick them up your _____ lads
My Valentine to you."