1966 in poetry

Events

• Raymond Souster founds the League of Canadian Poets
• Philip Hobsbaum, who had founded The Belfast Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1963, departs for Glasgow, and the Belfast Group meetings lapsed for a while, but then was reconstituted in 1968 by Michael Allen, Arthur Terry, and Seamus Heaney. At one time or another, the grouping also includes Michael Longley, James Simmons, Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson, Stewart Parker, Bernard MacLaverty and the critic Edna Longley. Meetings will be held at Seamus and Marie Heaney's house on Ashley Avenue. The Belfast Group will last until 1972.
• Russian poet Joseph Brodsky returns to Leningrad from the exile near the Arctic Circle where he had been sent when a Soviet court in 1964 convicted him of "parasitism".
• Starting this year and continuing for a decade, Bulgarian censors prevent publication of works by Konstantin Pavlov, poet and screenwriter who was defiant against his country's communist regime; his popularity didn't wane, as Bulgarians clandestinely copied and read his poems.
• Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort found Modern Poetry in Translation, a British journal focusing on the art of translating poetry. Later defunct, the magazine was relaunched in 2004 under editors David and Helen Constantine.
• The journal L'éphémère founded in France; poets associated with it include Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin and André du Bouchet; it ceased publication in 1973

  Works published in English

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

• Margaret Avison, The Dumbfounding
• Earle Birney, Selected Poems
• Arthur Bourinot, Watcher of Men: selected poems
• George Bowering, The Silver Wire
• Leonard Cohen, The Parasites of Heaven
• John Robert Colombo, Miraculous Montages
• Robert Finch, Silverthorn Bush and Other Poems.
• Lakshni Gill, During Rain I Plant Chrysanthemums
• Ralph Gustafson, Sift in an Hourglass
• George Johnston, Home Free
• Gwendolyn MacEwen, A Breakfast for Barbarians
• Richard Outram, Exultante Jubilee
• Joe Rosenblatt, The LSD Leacock. Toronto: Coach House Press.
• F. R. Scott, Selected Poems. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
• A. J. M. Smith, and F. R. Scott, editors, The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse, second edition
• Raymond Souster, ed. New Wave Canada, anthology of seven young writers
• Miriam Waddington, The Glass Trumpet

  India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English

• Nissim Ezekiel, Collected Poems,
• Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Bharatmata: A Prayer, an experimental work published by the author's own publishing house; Bombay: Ezra-Fakir Press
• Dom Moraes, Beldam & Others
• Gieve Patel, Poems, Mumbai: Nissim Ezekiel.
• G. S. Sharat Chandra, Bharata Natyam Dancer and Other Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India.
• Leela Dharmaraj, Slum Silhouette and Other Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India.
• R. P. N. Sinha, editor, A Book of English Verse on Indian Soil, New Delhi: Orient Longmans

  Ireland">Irish poetry">Ireland

• Austin Clarke, Mnemosyne Lay in Dust, Dublin: Dolmen Press
• Seamus Heaney, Death of a Naturalist, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
• Thomas Kinsella, Wormwood, Dublin: Dolmen Press; book widely available in the United Kingdom
• Louis MacNeice, The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice, edited by E. R. Dodds, including "Mayfly", "Snow", "Autumn Journal XVI", "Meeting Point", "Autobiography", "the Libertine", "Western Landscape", "Autumn Sequel XX", "The Once-in-Passing", "House on a Cliff", "Soap Suds", "The Suicide" and "Star-gazer", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom,
• John Montague, All Legendary Obstacles, Dublin: Dolmen Press

  United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

• W. H. Auden, English poet published in the United States:
• * About the House, first published in the United States, 1965
• * Collected Shorter Poems 1927–57
• Karen Gershon, Selected Poems
• Gavin Bantock, Christ
• George Barker, Dreams of a Summer Night
• John Betjeman, High and Low
• Basil Bunting, Briggflatts
• Angela Carter, Unicorn
• Lawrence Durrell, The Ikons, and Other Poems
• Tom Earley, A Welshman in Bloomsbury
• Gavin Ewart, Pleasures of the Flesh
• Elaine Feinstein, In a Green Eye, Goliard Press
• Robert Graves, Collected Poems
• J. C. Hall, The Burning Hare
• Seamus Heaney, Death of a Naturalist, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
• Philip Hobsbaum, In Retreat
• Christopher Isherwood, Exhumations, stories, articles and poetry; an English writer living in and published in the United States
• Elizabeth Jennings, The Mind Has Mountains
• Thomas Kinsella, Wormwood, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
• Philip Larkin, The North Ship
• Richard Logue, Logue's ABC
• Norman MacCaig, Surroundings
• Louis MacNeice, The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice, edited by E. R. Dodds, including "Mayfly", "Snow", "Autumn Journal XVI", "Meeting Point", "Autobiography", "the Libertine", "Western Landscape", "Autumn Sequel XX", "The Once-in-Passing", "House on a Cliff", "Soap Suds", "The Suicide" and "Star-gazer", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom,
• Ruth Pitter, Still by Choice
• Sir Herbert Read, Collected Poems, Horizon Press
• Peter Redgrove, The Force and Other Poems, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
• Jon Silkin, New and Selected Poems
• Stevie Smith, The Frog Prince, and Other Poems
• Gillian Smyth, The Nitrogen Dreams of a Wide Girl
• Gary Snyder, A Range of Poems, London: Fulcrum Press, American
• R.S. Thomas, Pietà, Welsh
• Anthony Thwaite and John Hollander publish the first anthology of double dactyls, Jiggery Pokery
• Charles Tomlinson, American Scenes, and Other Poems, London: Macmillan
• David Wevill, A Christ of the Ice Floes

  United States">American poetry">United States

• A.R. Ammons, Northfield Poems
• John Ashbery, Rivers and Mountains
• Ted Berrigan, Some Things
• Paul Blackburn,
• * 16 Sloppy Haiku and a Lyric for Robert Reardon
• * Sing Song
• * translator, Poem of the Cid
• Gwendolyn Brooks, We Real Cool
• Robert Creeley, Poems 1950-1965
• Robert Duncan, The Years as Catches
• Randall Jarrell, The Lost World
• Josephine Jacobsen, The Animal Inside
• LeRoi Jones, Black Art
• Stanley Kunitz, The Testing Tree
• James Merrill, Nights and Days
• W. S. Merwin, Collected Poems, New York: Atheneum
• Sylvia Plath, Ariel, New York: Harper & Row American poet in the United Kingdom
• A. K. Ramanujan, The Striders
• Kenneth Rexroth, Collected Shorter Poems
• Adrienne Rich, Necessities of Life, W. W. Norton & Company
• Theodore Roethke, Roethke: Collected Poems
• Anne Sexton, Live or Die
• Louis Simpson, Selected Poems
• Gary Snyder, A Range of Poems, London: Fulcrum Press
• William Stafford, The Rescued Year
• Robert Penn Warren, Selected Poems, New and Old: 1923-1966
• Louis Zukofsky, All: the collected short poems 1956–1964'', W. W. Norton & Company

  Criticism, scholarship, biography

• Wallace Stevens, Letters of Wallace Stevens, edited by Holly Stevens

  Other in English

• James K. Baxter, Pig Island Letters
• Louise Bennett, Jamaica Labrish, Jamaica
• John Pepper Clark, A Reed in the Tide
• Keith Harrison, Points in a Journey

  Works published in other languages

Denmark">Danish literature">Denmark

• Benny Anderson, Portrætgalleri
• Thorkild Bjørnvig, Vibrationer
• Poul Borum, Dagslys
• Jørgen Gustava Brandt, Der er æg i mit skæg
• Knud Holst, Samexistens
• Henrik Nordbrandt, Digte
• Bundgård Povlsen, Døgndrift

  Finland">Finnish literature">Finland

• Paavo Haavikko, Puut, kaikki heidän vihreytensä,
• Eeva-Liisa Manner, Kirjoitettu kivi, poems and translations from contemporary Spanish poets
• Pentti Saarikoski, Ääneen

  French language

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada, in French

• Roger Brien:
• * Prométhée
• * Le Jour se lève
• Roland Giguère, L'Age de la parole
• Marie Laberge, D'un Cri à l'autre
• Rina Lasnier, L'Arbre blanc
• Suzanne Paradis, Le Visage offensé
• Jean Royer, À patience d'aimer, Québec: Éditions-de-l'Aile
• Gemma Tremblay, Cratères sous la niege

  France">French poetry">France

• Louis Aragon:
• * Elégie a Pablo Neruda
• * Les Poetes
• L. Brauquier, a book of poetry
• P. Chabaneix, a book of poetry
• René Char:
• * Recherche de la base et du sommet, Retour amont
• * Retour Amont
• Michel Déguy:
• * Actes
• * Ouï-dire
• Pierre Emmanuel, Ligne de faîte
• Andre Frenaud, Les Rois Mages, revised edition
• Pierre Emmanuel, pen name of Noël Mathieu, Ligne de faîte
• Gérard Genette, Figures I, one of three volumes of a work of critical scholarship in poetics – general theory of literary form and analysis of individual works — the Figures volumes are concerned with the problems of poetic discourse and narrative in Stendhal, Flaubert and Proust and in Baroque poetry
• Eugène Guillevic, Avec
• Robert Marteau, Travaux sur la terre
• A. Miatlev, Thanathème
• Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppia, Le ocassioni, and La bufera e altro, translated by Patrice Angelini into French from the original Italian; Paris: Gallimard
• Jean-Claude Renard, La Terre du sacré, received the 1966 Prix Sainte-Beuve
• A. Richaud, Je ne suis pas mort
• P. Seghers, Dialogue
• J. Tortel, Les Villes ouvertes
• Dominique Tron, Stéréophonies
• Boris Vian, a book of poetry

  Belgium">Belgian poetry">Belgium

• R. Goffin, a book of poetry in the publishing series "Poètes d'Aujourd'hui", French language, published in Belgium

  Germany">German literature">Germany

West Germany

• Günter Eich, Anlässe und Steingärten
• Beda Allemann, editor, Ars poetica: Texte von Dichtern des 20. Jahrhunderts zur Poetik, 51 essays, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
• Walter Naumann, Traum und Tradition in der deutschen Lyrik, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag

  Translations

• Oswald de Andrade, translations of his:
• * Livro de Ensaios
• * Gálaxias

  East Germany

• Wolf Biermann, Die Drahtharfe
• Volker Braun, Vorläufiges

  Hebrew">Hebrew literature">Hebrew

Israel">Israeli literature">Israel

• Reuven Ben-Yosef, Shehafim Mamtinim American-born poet
• David Fogel, collected poems, with an introduction by D. Pagis
• S. Halkin, Maavar Yabok
• C. Schirmann, a book of poetry: a compilation of new poems from the Genizah
• Shin Shalom, a book of his complete works
• N. Zach, Kol ha-Halav veha-Devash

  India">Indian poetry">India

• Geeta Parikh, Purvi; Gujarati-language
• Hari Daryani, Mauj Kai Mehran, Sindhi-language
• Udaya Narayana Singh, Kavayo Vadanti, Calcutta: Mithila Darshan; Maithili-language

  Italy">Italian literature">Italy

• Alfonso Gatto, La storia delle vittime
• Dacia Maraini, Crudeltà all'aria aperta
• Eugenio Montale, Xenia, poems in memory of Mosca, first published in a private edition of 50; Italy
• Antonio Porta, I rapporti
• Giovanni Raboni, Le case della Vetra
• Sergio Salvi, Le croci di Cartesio
• Roberto Sanesi, Rapporto informativo
• Maria Luisa Spaziani, Utilità della memoria

  Norway">Norwegian literature">Norway

• Georg Johannesen, Nye dikt
• Sigmund Skard, Haustraun
• Einar Skjæraasen, Bumerke
• Ragnvald Skrede, Grunnmalm
• Stein Mehren, Tids Alder
• Jan Erik Vold, Hekt

  Portuguese language">Portuguese literature">Portuguese language

Brazil">Brazilian literature">Brazil

• Oswald de Andrade, Complete Works, a new edition
• Manuel Bandiera, Estrêla da Vida Inteira, an anthology of his poems, commemorating his 80th birthday
• João Cabral de Melo Neto, A Educação pela Pedra
• Mário Faustino, Poesía
• Ferreira Gullar, Luta Corporal e Outros Poemas
• Mário da Silva Brito, Poemário da Silva Brito

  Portugal">Portuguese poetry">Portugal

• Ruy de Moura Belo, Boca bilíngüe

  Russia">Russian literature">Russia

• Pavel Antokolski, two volumes of poems to celebrate his 70th birthday
• David Kugoltinov, a book of poems translated from Kalmuk published in the "Soviet Poetry Library" series
• Robert Rozhdestvenski, The Radius of Action, including "Letter to the Thirtieth Century"

  Spanish language">Spanish literature">Spanish language

Mexico

• José López Bermùdez, Canto a Morelos
• Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Siete de espadas
• Octavio Paz, "Vrindaban" and "Madurai" two poems on a Hindu theme by the Mexican ambassador to India
• José Emilio Pacheco, El reposo del fuego
• Ramón López Velarde, Suave Patria

  Spain

• Jaime Gil de Biedma:
• * En favor de Venus, a collection
• * Moralidades, a larger collection published in Mexico
• Carlos Barral, Figuración y fuga
• Alfonso Canales, Aminadab
• Gloria Fuertes, Ni tiro, veneno, ni navaja
• Justo Jorge Padrón, Escrito en el agua
• Dionisio Ridruejo, Cuaderno Catalán
• Joaquín Caro Romero, El tiempo en el espejo

  Other in Spanish

• José Santos Chocano, Antología, pról. y notas de Julio Ortega, Lima: Editorial Universitaria, Peru

  Yiddish">Yiddish literature">Yiddish

• Israel Emiot, a collection of poems
• Yankev Glatshteyn, A Jew from Lublin
• Gabriel Preil, a collection of poems
• Khava Rosenfarb, a collection of poems
• Meyer Shtiker, a collection of poems
• Moisei Teif, a collection of poems
• Leyb Vaserman, a collection of poems

  Other languages

• Betti Alver, Tähetund, Estonia
• Nizar Qabbani, Drawing with Words, Syrian poet writing in Arabic
• Giorgos Seferis, Τρία Κρυφά Ποιήματα, Greece
• Wisława Szymborska, 101 wierszy, Poland

  Awards and honors

• Nobel Prize for Literature: Nelly Sachs, a German poet, writing in German but living in Sweden and a Swedish subject, shared the prize with novelist and short story writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon of Israel.

  Awards in Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

• See 1966 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

  Awards in France">French poetry">France

• Prix des Critiques: René Char, for his work as a whole
• Grand Prix de Poésie de l'Académie Française: Pierre Jean Jouve

  Awards in the United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

• Cholmondeley Award: Ted Walker, Stevie Smith
• Eric Gregory Award: Robin Fulton, Seamus Heaney, Hugo Williams

  Awards in the United States">American poetry">United States

• Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress : James Dickey appointed this year.
• National Book Award for Poetry: James Dickey, Buckdancer's Choice
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Richard Eberhart, Selected Poems
• Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Archibald MacLeish and John Berryman

  Awards in Spain">Spanish literature">Spain

• Premio de la Crítica : Claudio Rodriguez, Alianza y condena
• Premio Adonais for verse: Vincente García Hernández, Los pájaros

  Other

• Nordic Council's literature prize: Gunnar Ekelöf, Diwan över fursten av Engion

  Births

• April 8 – Todd Swift, Canadian-born British poet
• April 26 – Natasha Trethewey, American Poet Laureate
• May 28 – Roddy Lumsden, Scottish poet
• June 12 – Michael Redhill, American-born Canadian poet
• August 10 – Christian Bök, Canadian experimental poet
• October 7 – Sherman Alexie, Native American poet and author
• October 19 – Dimitris Lyacos, Greek poet and playwright
• November 17 – Jane Holland, English poet and novelist
• December 20 – Joseph Woods, Irish poet
• December 27 – Chris Abani, Nigerian poet
• Also:
• * Maurice Manning, American poet
• * Constance Merritt, American poet
• * Daljit Nagra, English poet
• * Alice Oswald, English poet
• * Richard Price, British poet, curator and editor
• * :de:Volker Sielaff|Volker Sielaff, German poet
• * Christian Wiman, American poet
• * Woeser, Tibetan poet and essayist
• * Yi Sha, Chinese poet

  Deaths

• January 22 – Jun Kawada 川田 順, 84, Japanese, Shōwa period tanka poet and entrepreneur
• January 23 – Berton Braley, 83, American poet
• March 5 — Anna Akhmatova, 76, Russian poet
• March 17 – Einar Skjæraasen, 66, Norwegian author and poet
• March 29 – Arnold Wall, 97, New Zealand professor, philologist, poet, mountaineer and botanist
• April 5 – :lb:Marcel Noppeney|Marcel Noppeney, Luxembourg French-language poet
• May 14 – Georgia Douglas Johnson, 86, African American poet and playwright, of a stroke
• June 1 – Inge Müller, 85, East German poet
• June 7 – Jean Arp, 79, French Alsatian sculptor, painter and poet, leader in Dadaism
• June 10 – Henry Treece, 54, English children's historical novelist and poet
• June 27 – Arthur Waley, 76, English translator of Chinese poetry, Orientalist and Sinologist
• July 11 – Delmore Schwartz, 52, American poet and short story writer, of a heart attack
• July 25 – Frank O'Hara, 40, American art curator and poet, key member of the New York School, of ruptured liver following automobile accident
• August 2 or 3 – Tristan Klingsor, pseudonym of Léon Leclère, 91, French poet, painter and musician, part of the fantaisiste school of French poets
• August 10 – J. C. Bloem, 79, Dutch poet
• August 12 – Artur Alliksaar, 43, Estonian poet, of cancer
• August 14
• *Raymond Duncan, 91, American-born dancer, artist, poet, craftsman and philosopher
• *Alfred Kreymborg, 82, American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist
• August 26 – W. W. E. Ross, 72, Canadian poet
• August 27 – John Cournos, 85, Russian-American Imagist poet, better known for his novels, short stories, essays, criticism and translations of Russian literature; wrote under the pen name "John Courtney"
• August 29 – Melvin B. Tolson, 68, African American Modernist poet, educator, columnist and politician
• September 25 – Mina Loy, 73, English-born American artist, poet, Futurist and actress
• September 28 – André Breton, 70, French poet, essayist and theorist, the leading exponent of Surrealism in literature
• December 9 – Lazarus Aaronson, 71, English poet and academic economist
• Also – Jun Tanaka 田中純, Japanese, Shōwa period poet