The Oxford Book of American Poetry

出版者:Oxford University Press

作者:David Lehman

页数:1200

出版时间:2006-4-3

价格:USD 35.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780195162516

具体描述

Here is the eagerly awaited new edition of The Oxford Book of American Poetry brought completely up to date and dramatically expanded by poet David Lehman. It is a rich, capacious volume, featuring the work of more than 200 poets-almost three times as many as the 1976 edition. With a succinct and often witty head note introducing each author, it is certain to become the definitive anthology of American poetry for our time. Lehman has gathered together all the works one would expect to find in a landmark collection of American poetry, from Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to Stevens's The Idea of Order at Key West, and from Eliot's The Waste Land to Ashbery's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But equally important, the editor has significantly expanded the range of the anthology. The book includes not only writers born since the previous edition, but also many fine poets overlooked in earlier editions or little known in the past but highly deserving of attention. The anthology confers legitimacy on the Objectivist poets; the so-called Proletariat poets of the 1930s; famous poets who fell into neglect or were the victims of critical backlash (Edna St. Vincent Millay); poets whose true worth has only become clear with the passing of time (Weldon Kees). Among poets missing from Richard Ellmann's 1976 volume but published here are W. H. Auden, Charles Bukowski, Donald Justice, Carolyn Kizer, Kenneth Koch, Stanley Kunitz, Emma Lazarus, Mina Loy, Howard Moss, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, James Schuyler, Elinor Wylie, and Louis Zukosky. Many more women are represented: outstanding poets such as Josephine Jacobsen, Josephine Miles, May Swenson. Numerous African-American poets receive their due, and unexpected figures such as the musicians Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Robert Johnson have a place in this important work. This stunning collection redefines the great canon of American poetry from its origins in the 17th century right up to the present. It is a must-have anthology for anyone interested in American literature and a book that is sure to be consulted, debated, and treasured for years to come. Web Site A companion web site is now available at www.oxfordpoetry.com

用户评价

我向来对那些将“美国精神”这一宏大叙事进行解构和重塑的作品情有独钟，而这本诗集无疑提供了一个绝佳的视角。它不像教科书那样给你一个标准答案，而是呈现了一系列相互冲突、相互补充的碎片化景象。在阅读过程中，我常常会停下来，查阅一些背景资料，去理解特定历史时期下，诗人是如何用隐喻和象征来规避审查或表达地下情绪的。例如，某些关于边疆开拓时期的诗歌，表面上歌颂着征服，但字里行间流露出的那种对未知的恐惧和对逝去家园的怀恋，是极其细腻且令人动容的。这本书的伟大之处在于，它敢于呈现这个国家在不同阶段的矛盾性——那种理想主义的光芒与现实的粗粝感并存的状态。这使得我对“美国文学”的理解不再是扁平的，而是立体且充满张力的。

如果用一个词来形容阅读这本诗集的体验，那一定是“回响”。我发现自己读完一段文字后，那个意象或那句绝妙的措辞会在脑海中停留很久，时不时地跳出来，与我正在经历的日常琐事产生奇妙的连接。这可能就是真正优秀的诗歌的魔力。我尤其喜欢其中几位女性诗人的作品，她们的笔触细腻入微，擅长捕捉那些被主流叙事忽略的、关于家庭内部、关于情感私密的巨大世界。她们的语言往往带着一种锋利的温柔，既不谄媚也不过度夸张，只是精准地击中人心最柔软的部分。我甚至会把一些特别触动我的诗句抄写下来，贴在工作台附近，每天早上看一眼，仿佛得到了一种无形的精神滋养。这种持续的影响力，远超了一次性的阅读快感，它成为了我精神世界中的一个参照点。

说实话，我一开始对这样一本“大部头”有些望而却步，总觉得内容会过于晦涩难懂，充满了学院派的腔调。但实际阅读下来，我发现它远比我想象的要平易近人，当然，这并非意味着它缺乏深度。它就像一个精心策划的音乐会曲目单，从轻快的民谣风格过渡到宏大的交响乐章，毫无违和感。最让我惊喜的是它对不同地域和时代声音的捕捉能力，那些来自南方的、带着强烈地方色彩的俚语和节奏感，被巧妙地融入了诗歌的结构中，读起来有一种强烈的现场感。我甚至尝试着大声朗读其中几段节奏感极强的作品，那份铿锵有力，与我平日里阅读的那些轻描淡写的作品形成了鲜明的对比。这本诗集的编辑者显然花费了极大的心力去平衡“历史文献性”和“可读性”之间的关系，成功地让那些跨越世纪的作品，依然能与当代读者的情感产生共鸣，而不是变成冰冷的博物馆展品。

对于一个中文读者来说，翻译质量是决定我是否能真正“爱上”一本外文诗集的关键因素。令人欣慰的是，这本诗集所收录的译本，普遍保持了相当高的水准。译者们显然理解诗歌的“形”与“神”不可兼得的困境，他们在保持原诗韵律结构的同时，极力还原了作者的语境和情感张力，而不是生硬地逐字直译。当然，任何翻译都存在取舍，但我能感受到译者团队的诚意，他们试图在异质文化之间架起一座坚固的桥梁。每一次跨越语言的障碍，成功地捕捉到那种只有在特定语言环境中才能产生的微妙幽默或悲怆时，都会带来巨大的阅读成就感。这本诗集不仅是了解美国文学的工具书，更是一本展示翻译艺术如何实现“二次创作”的典范之作。

这本厚重的精装本，拿到手里就沉甸甸的，光是翻开它，就仿佛开启了一段漫长而深邃的旅程。我最欣赏的是它排版上的那种克制与优雅，字体选择古朴又不失清晰度，行距的处理恰到好处，使得即使是面对长篇的叙事诗，眼睛也不会感到过分疲劳。装帧设计上，那种略带纹理感的封面，配上烫金的书名，散发着一种经得起时间考验的质感。我喜欢在周末的午后，泡上一杯浓郁的红茶，翻到随机的一页，让那些遥远的意象和音韵自然地渗透进来。它不像某些诗集那样急于表达某种激烈的观点，反而更像一位睿智的长者，娓娓道来，让你在安静中体会语言的魔力。特别是那些早期的篇章，那种质朴和对新大陆自然景观的敬畏感，读起来让人心神为之一振，仿佛能闻到泥土和海风的味道。这套书的价值，不仅仅在于收录的作品本身，更在于它构建了一种沉浸式的阅读体验，让人愿意放慢脚步，细细品味每一个词语的重量与韵味。