Immortal Poems of the English Language
Oscar Williams(1900-1964), editor of this book, was himself a distinguished poet. The author of five books of poetry, includingThat's All That MattersandSelected Poems,he has been called "clever, disconcerting, rash" (Lionel Abel) and "a very real and important poet...(whose) powerful imagery and unique personal idiom will add a permanent page to American poetry" (Dylan Thomas).Mr. Williams achieved literary distinction not only as a highly original and vigorous American poet, but also as one of the great poetry anthologists of his time. His most outstanding anthologies are "The Little Treasury Series,"The War Poets, Immortal Poems of the English Language, The Pocket Book of Modern VerseandThe New Pocket Anthology of American Verse,the latter three published by Pocket Books. These are accepted as present-day classics in their fields and are in wide use in colleges and universities. Other anthologies include a revised edition of Palgrave'sThe Golden Treasury, The Major British Poets, The Major American Poets,andThe Silver Treasury of Light Verse.Mr. Williams' last and most ambitious anthology wasMaster Poems of the English Language,now also published by Pocket Books. A huge work of over 1100 pages, illustrated with portraits of the poets and combining a comprehensive anthology with a broad sampling of critical writing, it is a superb contribution by the man Robert Lowell called "probably the best anthologist in America."