1946 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Events
- May 20 – W. H. Auden becomes a United States citizen.
- Ezra Pound brought back to the United States on treason charges, but found unfit to face trial because of insanity and sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he remains for 12 years.
- Upon learning about Isaiah Berlin's visit to Russian poet Anna Akhmatova this year, Joseph Stalin's associate Andrei Zhdanov, with the approval of the Soviet Central Committee, issues the "Zhdanov decree" denouncing her as a "half harlot, half nun", and has her poems banned from publication. The 1946 resolution of the Central Committee is directed against two literary magazines, Zvezda and Leningrad, which have published supposedly apolitical, "bourgeois", individualistic works of Akhmatova and the satirist Mikhail Zoshchenko. In time Akhmatova's son will spend his youth in Stalinist gulags and she will resort to publishing several poems in praise of Stalin to secure his release.
- Takashi Matsumoto founds a literary magazine, Fue in Japan.
- Martin Starkie founds Oxford University Poetry Society in Oxford, England.
MacSpaunday
- Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco, first published this year, invents the name "MacSpaunday" to designate a composite figure made up of the poets
- * Louis MacNeice
- * Stephen Spender
- * W. H. Auden
- * Cecil Day-Lewis
Works published in English
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada
- Louis Dudek. East of the City. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1946.
- Robert Finch, Poems.
- Wilson MacDonald, Armand Dussault. Toronto: Macmillan.
- P. K. Page, As Ten As Twenty.
- A. J. M. Smith, ed. Seven Centuries of Verse.
India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English
- Anilbaran, Songs from the Soul, Calcutta: Amiya Library
- Harindranath Chattopadhyaya:
- * Edgeways and the Saint a farce; Bombay: Nalanda Publications
- * The Son of Adam, Bombay: Padma Publications
- Nolini Kanta Gupta, East Beams,
- P. R. Kaikini, Selected Poems, Bombay
- H. G. Rawlinson, editor, Garland of Indian Poetry, London: Royal India Society; anthology; Indian poetry published in the United Kingdom
- S. H. Vatsyayana, Prison Days and Other Poems, Benares: Indian Publishers
New Zealand">New Zealand poetry">New Zealand
- Allen Curnow, Jack Without Magic, New Zealand
- Kendrick Smithyman, Seven Sonnets, Auckland: Pelorus Press
- J. C. Reid, Creative Writing in New Zealand, with two chapters on poetry, scholarship, New Zealand
United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom
- Lilian Bowes Lyon, A Rough Walk Home
- Rupert Brooke, The Poetical Works of Rupert Brooke, comprising the contents of Collected Poems of 1928 and 26 additional poems; published posthumously
- Roy Campbell, Talking Bronco, South African native living in and published in the United Kingdom
- Walter De la Mare, The Traveller
- Lawrence Durrell, Cities, Plains and People
- Robert Graves, Poems 1938-1945
- Fredoon Kabraji, editor, This Strange Adventure: An Anthology of Poems in English by Indians 1828-1946, London: New India Pub. Co., 140 pages; Indian poetry published in the United Kingdom
- Maurice Lindsay, editor, Modern Scottish Poetry: An Anthology of the Scottish Renaissance 1920-1945
- Norman MacCaig, The Inward Eye
- Hugh MacDiarmid, pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve, Poems of the East-West Synthesis
- John Clark Milne, The Orra Loon and Other Poems.
- Kathleen Raine, Living in Time
- Herbert Read, Collected Poems
- Henry Reed, A Map of Verona, including "Naming of Parts"
- Vita Sackville-West, The Garden
- Sydney Goodsir Smith, The Devil's Waltz
- Bernard Spencer, Aegean Islands and Other Poems
- Dylan Thomas, Deaths and Entrances, including "Fern Hill" and "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London"
- R. S. Thomas, The Stones of the Fields
United States">American poetry">United States
- Stephen Vincent Benet, The Last Circle
- Elizabeth Bishop, North & South
- Cleanth Brooks, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry, criticism
- Owen Dodson, Powerful Long Ladder
- H.D., "The Flowering of the Rod", the final part of Trilogy, a three-part poem on the experience of the blitz in wartime London
- John Gould Fletcher, The Burning Mountain
- Denise Levertov, The Double Image
- Robert Lowell, Lord Weary's Castle, New York: Harcourt, Brace
- Phyllis McGinley, Stones from a Glass House
- James Merrill, The Black Swan
- Josephine Miles, Local Measures
- Howard Moss, The Wound and the Weather
- Lorine Niedecker, New Goose, her first poetry collection
- Kenneth Patchen, Sleepers Awake
- Edouard Roditi, translator, Young Cherry Trees Secured Against Hares, translated from the original French of André Breton; publisher: View
- Mark Van Doren, The Country New Year
- William Carlos Williams, Paterson, Book I
- Reed Whittemore, Heroes & Heroines
Other in English
- Roy Campbell, Talking Bronco, South African native published in the United Kingdom
- Denis Devlin, Lough Derg and Other Poems, Irish poet published in the United States
- James McAuley, Under Aldebaran, Australia
Works published in other languages
France">French poetry">France
- Yves Bonnefoy, Traité du pianiste
- Jean Cayrol, Poems de la nuit et du brouillard
- Aimé Césaire, Les armes miraculeuses, Martinique poet published in France; Paris: Gallimard
- René Char, Feuillets d'Hypnos
- Paul Éluard, Le dur désir de durer
- Léon-Paul Fargue, Méandres
- Jean Hervé, Jour, winner of the Prix Apollinaire
- Francis Jammes, La Grâce
- Pierre Jean Jouve, La Vierge de Paris poems from The Resistance
- Alphonse Métérié, Vétiver
- Jacques Prévert, Paroles
- Saint-John Perse:
- * Exil, suivi de Poème à l'etrangère, Pluies, Neiges
- * Vents, Paris: Gallimard
- Philippe Soupault, L'Arme secrète
- Jules Supervielle, 1939-1945
- Tristan Tzara, pen name of Sami Rosenstock, Terre sur Terre
Indian">Indian poetry">Indian subcontinent
Hindi">Hindi poetry">Hindi
- Girija Kumar Mathur, Nas aur Nirman, poems of the Pragativadi school
- Ramadhari Singh Dinkar, Kuruksetra, narrative poem based on the Santi Parva of the Mahabharata
- Rangeya Raghava, Pighlate Patthar, poems with a strong Marxist influence
Kannada">Kannada poetry">Kannada
- G. B. Joshi, Dattavani, critical appraisal of the poems of Kannada poet D. R. Bendre
- K. V. Puttappa, Prema Kasmira, 56 love poems
- V. K. Gokak, Indina Kannada Kavyada Gottugurialu, critical survey of modern poetry in Kannada
Kashmiri">Kashmiri poetry">Kashmiri
- Mirza Arif, Laila Wa Mustafa, a masnavi
- Shamas-ud Din Kafoor, Nendre Lotuyae Yoot Koetah, a vatsun poem on the poverty of Kashmiri peasants; the work first appeared in Hamdard, a weekly periodical, and was later included in Payame Kafoor
- Abdul Ahad Azad, Shikwa-e-Iblis, a complaint about unquestioning social conformity
Tamil">Tamil poetry">Tamil
- P. S. Subrahmaniya Shastri, Vatamoli Nul Varalaru, literary history of Sanskrit literature, written in Tamil
- R. P. Sethu Pillai, Kiristuvat Tamilttontar, Tamil-language literary history on the contributions of Christian scholars, including Beschi, Pope, Caldwell and Vitanayakam Pillai to that language's literature and culture
- V. R. M. Chettiyar, Nanku Kavimanikal, Tamil biographical and critical study of Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Rabindranath Tagore and the Tamil poet Kambar, also known as "Kampan"
Other Indian languages
- Akhtarul Imam, Tarik Sayyara; Urdu-language
- Amrita Pritan, Pathar Gite; Punjabi-language
- Bayabhav, also known as Kashinath Shridhar Naik, Sadeavelim Fulam, Konkani
- Buddhadeb Basu, Kaler Putul, an essay of literary criticism in Bengali of poets and their work after Rabindranath Tagore
- Chaganti Seshaiah, Andhra Kavi Tarangini, first volume in a 10-volume literary history written in the Telugu language
- Chandrasinha, Sip, nine works of poetic prose in Rajasthani
- Dinu Bhai Pant, Mangu Di Chabila, Dogri narrative poem on bonded laborers exploited by village money lenders
- E. M. S. Nampudirippadu, Purogamana Sahityam an essay in Malayalam by a leader of the Marxist Communist Party on the idea of progressive literature; influential with many young authors
- Ishar Singh Ishar, Rangila Bhaia, humorous, Punjabi-language poems featuring Bhaia, a humorous character created by the poet for this and other works
- Jandhyala Papayya Sastry, Vijaya Sri, popular kavya in classical meter about the victory of Arjuna; an allegory of the Indian independence movement; Telugu
- Laksmiprasad Devkota, Sulocana, Nepali-language epic using more than a dozen Sanskrit meters; the poem, written in response to a challenge to prove the author's credentials as an epic poet, does not defy the norms of epics in Sanskrit poetics; based on a social theme
- Mayadhar Mansinha, Sadhabajhia, Oriya-language, romantic poetry
- Sundaram, Arvacin Kavita, literary history in Gujarati of that language's poetry from 1845 to 1945
Other languages
- Josef Čapek, Básně z koncentračního tabora, Czech, published posthumously
- Odysseus Elytis, An Heroic And Funeral Chant For The Lieutenant Lost In Albania, Greek
- G. Groll, editor, De profundis, anthology of non-Nazi texts, Germany
- Ilmar Laaban, Ankruketi lõpp on laulu algus, Estonian poet published in Sweden
- Pier Paolo Pasolini, I Diarii, Italy
Awards and honors
Awards and honors in the United States
- Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress : Karl Shapiro appointed this year
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: No award given
- Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Edgar Lee Masters
Awards and honors elsewhere
- France: Académie française: Paul Claudel elected, April 4
- Canada: Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: Poems, Robert Finch
Births
- February 8 - Gert Jonke, Austrian novelist, playwright, screenwriter and poet
- April 26 - Marilyn Nelson, American
- May 8 - Ruth Padel, English poet and writer
- May 10 - Chandiroor Divakaran, Indian Malayalam language poet and folk-song writer
- June 28 - John Birtwhistle, English poet and librettist
- July 27 - Peter Reading, English poet
- August 5 - Ron Silliman, American
- August 9 - Juris Kronbergs, Latvian-Swedish poet and translator
- September 9 - Maura Stanton, American
- September 30 - Larry Levis, American
- October 14 - Alan Brunton, New Zealand poet and scriptwriter
- October 28 - Sharon Thesen, Canadian
- December 20 - Andrei Codrescu, a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for NPR
- December 30 - Patti Smith, American poet and musician
- Also:
- * Tom Pickard, English poet, radio broadcaster, film maker and an initiator of the British Poetry Revival movement
- * Joachim Sartorius, German
Deaths
- January 9 – Countee Cullen, 42, African American poet
- March 1 – Adriana Porter, 89, Wiccan poet
- March 26 – Amir Hamzah, 35, Indonesian poet styled a national hero
- May 25 – Ernest Rhys, 87, British poet, author, novelist, essayist best known for his role as founding editor of the Everyman's Library series of affordable classics
- July 8 – Orrick Glenday Johns, 59, American poet and playwright
- July 27 – Gertrude Stein, 73, American poet and dramatist, of cancer
- August 18
- * Marion Angus, 81, Scottish poet
- * Amulya Barua, 24, Assamese poet first published posthumously this year, killed in communal violence
- September 9 – Violet Jacob, 83, Scottish historical novelist and poet
- November 29 – Johannes Vares, 56, Estonian poet, doctor and radical politician, suicide