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The problem with calling this anthology "100 People, 1 Poem Each" is the obvious collision and confusion with another book I'm trying to sell. But that name would exactly describe what this is: a single poem each by a hundred different authors written in English between the late 15th century and 1922. The former boundary is soft, and merely reflects when Early Modern English became Modern enough to need minimal glossing.* The latter is as hard as legislation can make it, publication in '23 being the copyright horizon in the United States. If I lived in a country where copyright is life+70, I would have made different choices. But then, were I willing to put in the time and money to get permissions for copyrighted works, the choices would be even more different. It's not that people didn't keep writing good poems after that year, but this is a non-commercial collection.
It is also a personal selection -- the poem I see representing each person. Some are obvious choices, anthology staples for good reason. Some are less obvious. Some, I suspect, will be new discoveries for all but the very well-read. All are works I consider Good Stuff, poetry that proves itself upon my pulse, to use Keats's guideline. Poetry I want people to know and love, and that together make a good reading anthology -- one with enough variety of styles and subjects to entertain.
In general, each poem is a complete work -- the exceptions being I allowed myself one excerpt, on the grounds that we don't have the complete text of Jubulate Agno anyway, and one supposed fragment, because I don't believe in the person from Porlock. I followed the convention that a sonnet can be detached as a separate poem from a sequence, and likewise a song from a play, but otherwise multisection works are not partable, especially when there's a connected narrative. As for "people," I've slightly stretched the definition there as well: one is indefinite, while another is a two-person collaboration. The arrangement is loosely chronological by birthdate, with the exact sequence shifted slightly to bring out the conversation.
At the moment, I'm only linking to texts rather than compiling an ebook, for the same crass commercial reason cited above -- unless a title can be found that dodges around it. Suggestions welcome, as it would be an interesting project.
Version 0.9 of the TOC ( is under the fold, because a hundred people is a long post. )
Feedback, including complaints and ideas for improvements, is appreciated (though of course not required). Also, a title.
ETA: Oh hello -- possible alternatives for #32-33: Behn's The Disappointment and Wilmot's The Imperfect Enjoyment. Possibly even in the reverse order. ETA2: Actually, no -- that would replace two queer poems with straight, if satirically explicit, ones.
* If you ignore the mickle o' Scots behind that curtain.
---L.
It is also a personal selection -- the poem I see representing each person. Some are obvious choices, anthology staples for good reason. Some are less obvious. Some, I suspect, will be new discoveries for all but the very well-read. All are works I consider Good Stuff, poetry that proves itself upon my pulse, to use Keats's guideline. Poetry I want people to know and love, and that together make a good reading anthology -- one with enough variety of styles and subjects to entertain.
In general, each poem is a complete work -- the exceptions being I allowed myself one excerpt, on the grounds that we don't have the complete text of Jubulate Agno anyway, and one supposed fragment, because I don't believe in the person from Porlock. I followed the convention that a sonnet can be detached as a separate poem from a sequence, and likewise a song from a play, but otherwise multisection works are not partable, especially when there's a connected narrative. As for "people," I've slightly stretched the definition there as well: one is indefinite, while another is a two-person collaboration. The arrangement is loosely chronological by birthdate, with the exact sequence shifted slightly to bring out the conversation.
At the moment, I'm only linking to texts rather than compiling an ebook, for the same crass commercial reason cited above -- unless a title can be found that dodges around it. Suggestions welcome, as it would be an interesting project.
Version 0.9 of the TOC ( is under the fold, because a hundred people is a long post. )
Feedback, including complaints and ideas for improvements, is appreciated (though of course not required). Also, a title.
ETA: Oh hello -- possible alternatives for #32-33: Behn's The Disappointment and Wilmot's The Imperfect Enjoyment. Possibly even in the reverse order. ETA2: Actually, no -- that would replace two queer poems with straight, if satirically explicit, ones.
* If you ignore the mickle o' Scots behind that curtain.
---L.