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 (to 1958).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 ("Flute") in Japan.Martin Starkie founds Oxford University Poetry Society in Oxford, England.Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco, first published this year, invents the name "MacSpaunday" to designate a composite figure made up of the poetsLouis MacNeice ("Mac")Stephen Spender ("sp")W. H. Auden ("au-n")Cecil Day-Lewis ("day")Campbell, in common with much literary journalism of the period, imagines the four as a group of like-minded poets, although they share little but very broadly left-wing views.
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
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.Anilbaran, Songs from the Soul ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Amiya LibraryHarindranath Chattopadhyaya:Edgeways and the Saint ( Poetry in English ) a farce; Bombay: Nalanda PublicationsThe Son of Adam ( Poetry in English ), Bombay: Padma PublicationsNolini Kanta Gupta, East Beams ( Poetry in English ),P. R. Kaikini, Selected Poems ( Poetry in English ), BombayH.G. Rawlinson, editor, Garland of Indian Poetry ( Poetry in English ), London: Royal India Society; anthology; Indian poetry published in the United KingdomS. H. Vatsyayana, Prison Days and Other Poems ( Poetry in English ), Benares: Indian PublishersNew Zealand
Allen Curnow, Jack Without Magic (Caxton), New ZealandKendrick Smithyman, Seven Sonnets, Auckland: Pelorus PressJ. C. Reid, Creative Writing in New Zealand, with two chapters on poetry, scholarship, New ZealandLilian Bowes Lyon, A Rough Walk HomeRupert Brooke, The Poetical Works of Rupert Brooke, comprising the contents of Collected Poems of 1928 and 26 additional poems; published posthumouslyRoy Campbell, Talking Bronco, South African native living in and published in the United KingdomWalter De la Mare, The TravellerLawrence Durrell, Cities, Plains and PeopleRobert Graves, Poems 1938–1945Fredoon 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 KingdomMaurice Lindsay, editor, Modern Scottish Poetry: An Anthology of the Scottish Renaissance 1920-1945 (Faber and Faber)Norman MacCaig, The Inward EyeHugh MacDiarmid, pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve, Poems of the East-West SynthesisJohn Clark Milne, The Orra Loon and Other Poems.Kathleen Raine, Living in TimeHerbert Read, Collected PoemsHenry Reed, A Map of Verona, including "Naming of Parts"Vita Sackville-West, The GardenSydney Goodsir Smith, The Devil's WaltzBernard Spencer, Aegean Islands and Other PoemsDylan 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 FieldsStephen Vincent Benet, The Last Circle (Houghton Mifflin)Elizabeth Bishop, North & South (Houghton Mifflin)Cleanth Brooks, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry, criticismOwen Dodson, Powerful Long LadderH.D., "The Flowering of the Rod", the final part of Trilogy, a three-part poem on the experience of the blitz in wartime LondonJohn Gould Fletcher, The Burning MountainDenise Levertov, The Double ImageRobert Lowell, Lord Weary's Castle, New York: Harcourt, BracePhyllis McGinley, Stones from a Glass HouseJames Merrill, The Black Swan (won Glascock Prize)Josephine Miles, Local MeasuresHoward Moss, The Wound and the WeatherLorine Niedecker, New Goose, her first poetry collectionKenneth Patchen, Sleepers AwakeEdouard Roditi, translator, Young Cherry Trees Secured Against Hares, translated from the original French of André Breton; publisher: ViewMark Van Doren, The Country New YearWilliam Carlos Williams, Paterson, Book IReed Whittemore, Heroes & HeroinesRoy Campbell (poet), Talking Bronco, South African native published in the United KingdomDenis Devlin, Lough Derg and Other Poems, Irish poet published in the United StatesListed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Yves Bonnefoy, Traité du pianisteJean Cayrol, Poems de la nuit et du brouillardAimé Césaire, Les armes miraculeuses, Martinique poet published in France; Paris: GallimardRené Char, Feuillets d'HypnosPaul Éluard, Le dur désir de durerLéon-Paul Fargue, MéandresJean Hervé, Jour, winner of the Prix ApollinaireFrancis Jammes, La GrâcePierre Jean Jouve, La Vierge de Paris poems from The ResistanceAlphonse Métérié, VétiverJacques Prévert, ParolesSaint-John Perse:Exil, suivi de Poème à l'etrangère, Pluies, NeigesVents, Paris: GallimardPhilippe Soupault, L'Arme secrèteJules Supervielle, 1939–1945Tristan Tzara, pen name of Sami Rosenstock, Terre sur TerreIncluding all of the British colonies that later became India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. And also from the country Nepal. Listed alphabetically by first name, regardless of surname:
Girija Kumar Mathur, Nas aur Nirman, poems of the Pragativadi schoolRamadhari Singh Dinkar, Kuruksetra, narrative poem based on the Santi Parva of the MahabharataRangeya Raghava, Pighlate Patthar, poems with a strong Marxist influenceG. B. Joshi, Dattavani, critical appraisal of the poems of Kannada poet D. R. BendreK. V. Puttappa, Prema Kasmira, 56 love poemsV. K. Gokak, Indina Kannada Kavyada Gottugurialu, critical survey of modern poetry in KannadaMirza Arif, Laila Wa Mustafa, a masnaviShamas-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 KafoorAbdul Ahad Azad, Shikwa-e-Iblis, a complaint about unquestioning social conformityP. S. Subrahmaniya Shastri, Vatamoli Nul Varalaru, literary history of Sanskrit literature, written in TamilR. 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 cultureV. R. M. Chettiyar, Nanku Kavimanikal, Tamil biographical and critical study of Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Rabindranath Tagore and the Tamil poet Kambar (poet), also known as "Kampan" (1180–1250)Akhtarul Imam, Tarik Sayyara; Urdu-languageAmrita Pritan, Pathar Gite; Punjabi-languageBayabhav, also known as Kashinath Shridhar Naik, Sadeavelim Fulam, KonkaniBuddhadeb Basu, Kaler Putul, an essay of literary criticism in Bengali of poets and their work after Rabindranath TagoreChaganti Seshaiah, Andhra Kavi Tarangini, first volume in a 10-volume literary history written in the Telugu language (the last volume came out in 1953)Chandrasinha, Sip, nine works of poetic prose in RajasthaniDinu Bhai Pant, Mangu Di Chabila, Dogri narrative poem on bonded laborers exploited by village money lendersE. 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 authorsIshar Singh Ishar, Rangila Bhaia, humorous, Punjabi-language poems featuring Bhaia, a humorous character created by the poet for this and other worksJandhyala Papayya Sastry, Vijaya Sri, popular kavya in classical meter about the victory of Arjuna; an allegory of the Indian independence movement; TeluguLaksmiprasad 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 themeMayadhar Mansinha, Sadhabajhia, Oriya-language, romantic poetrySundaram, Arvacin Kavita, literary history in Gujarati of that language's poetry from 1845 to 1945Josef Čapek, Básně z koncentračního tabora ("Poems from a Concentration Camp"), Czech, published posthumouslyOdysseus Elytis, An Heroic And Funeral Chant For The Lieutenant Lost In Albania, GreekG. Groll, editor, De profundis, anthology of non-Nazi texts, GermanyIlmar Laaban, Ankruketi lõpp on laulu algus, Estonian poet published in SwedenPier Paolo Pasolini, I Diarii ("The Diaries"), ItalyAwards and honors in the United States
Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (later the post would be called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): Karl Shapiro appointed this yearPulitzer Prize for Poetry: No award givenFellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Edgar Lee MastersAwards and honors elsewhere
France: Académie française: Paul Claudel elected, April 4Canada: Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: Poems, Robert Finch Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
February 8 – Gert Jonke (died 2009), Austrian novelist, playwright, screenwriter and poetApril 26 – Marilyn Nelson, AmericanMay 8 – Ruth Padel, English poet and writerMay 10 – Chandiroor Divakaran, Indian Malayalam language poet and folk-song writerJuly 27 – Peter Reading, English poetAugust 5 – Ron Silliman, AmericanSeptember 9 – Maura Stanton, AmericanSeptember 30 – Larry Levis (died 1996), AmericanOctober 14 – Alan Brunton (died 2002), New Zealand poet and scriptwriterOctober 28 – Sharon Thesen, CanadianDecember 20 – Andrei Codrescu, a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for NPRDecember 30 – Patti Smith, American poet and musicianAlso:Tom Pickard, English poet, radio broadcaster, film maker and an initiator of the British Poetry Revival movementJoachim Sartorius, GermanBirth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 9 – Countee Cullen, 42 (born 1903), African American poetMarch 1 – Adriana Porter, 89 (born 1857), Wiccan poetMarch 26 – Amir Hamzah (born 1911), Indonesian poet styled a national heroMay 25 – Ernest Rhys, 87 (born 1859), British poet, author, novelist, essayist best known for his role as founding editor of the Everyman's Library series of affordable classicsJuly 8 – Orrick Glenday Johns, 59 (born 1887), American poet and playwrightJuly 27 – Gertrude Stein, 73 (born 1874), American poet and dramatist, of cancerAugust 18Marion Angus, 81 (born 1865), Scottish poetAmulya Barua, 24 (born 1922), Assamese poet first published posthumously this year, killed in communal violenceSeptember 9 – Violet Jacob, 83 (born 1863), Scottish historical novelist and poetNovember 29 – Johannes Vares (Barbarus), 56 (born 1890), Estonian poet, doctor and radical politician, suicide 