The Rattle Bag : An Anthology of Poetry

Rating:
Summary: amazing!
Review: ...Want a break from poetry that is "sophisticated," "domestic" or "Lacanian"? This is it! It's been a favorite of mine for ten years, restorative on every read. It bears the stamp of green, love, a garden of great poems (Keats, Neruda, "Anonymous" etc.) fresh as the day they were written. This vivid new cover sort of sums up the feeling.

Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: A fascinating collection, more useful for insights into the favorites of two of the more important poets of the late 20th century than for anything else. While bowing down to no old chestnuts out of misplaced respect, the collection also suffers from a preferance for poets from Ireland and the United Kingdom and some choices seemingly inspired by multi-culturalism and little else. Nonetheless, the collection does have some wonderful pieces that would be hard to find on one's own, as well as a fantastic tribute to Shakespeare by including several passages from his plays and none of the sonnets.