Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).
August 12 — Night of the Murdered Poets, the execution of thirteen Soviet Jews in the Lubyanka Prison in Moscow, Soviet Union, including several poets.November — The Group British poetry movement of the 1950s and 1960s began at Downing College, Cambridge University, Philip Hobsbaum along with two friends — Tony Davis and Neil Morris — dissatisfied with the way poetry was read aloud in the university, decided to place a notice in the undergraduate newspaper Varsity for people interested in forming a poetry discussion group. Five others, including Peter Redgrove came along to the first meeting. This poetry discussion group met once a week during term. The group was later moved to London.E. E. Cummings is appointed to a Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard.Contact, a mimeographed poetry magazine, founded by Ramond Souster (ceases publication in 1954; Contact Press, an important publisher of Canadian poetry, also founded (closes in 1967).Lines Review, a Scottish poetry magazine, is founded by Callum Macdonald in Edinburgh.Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Alfred Bailey, Border RiverEarle Birney, Trial of a City and Other Verse. Toronto: Ryerson.Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster and Irving Layton. Cerberus. Toronto: Contact Press, 1952.Louis Dudek, The Searching Image. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1952.Louis Dudek, Twenty-Four Poems. Toronto: Contact Press, 1952.Wilson MacDonald, The Lyric Year. Toronto: Ryerson.Jay Macpherson, Nineteen PoemsE. J. Pratt, Towards the Last Spike, Toronto: Macmillan. Governor General's Award 1952.Sri Aurobindo, Last Poems ( Poetry in English ), mostly philosophical, mystical poetry; Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, posthumously published (died 1950), posthumously published (died 1950)Dilip Kumar Roy, Sri Aurobindo Came to Me, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo AshramThemis, Poems ( Poetry in English ), 74 mystical lyrics, from the Aurobindoean school; Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo AshramG. V. Subbaramayya, Songs and Sonnets ( Poetry in English ), Nellore: Viveka PublishersNissim Ezekiel, A Time to Change( Poetry in English ),New Zealand
James K. Baxter, Louis Johnson and Anton Vogt, Poems Unpleasant, Christchurch: Pegasus PressA. R. D. Fairburn:Three PoemsStrange RendezvousKeith Sinclair, Songs for a Summer and Other PoemsRobert Thompson, editor, 13 New Zealand PoetsA. Alvarez, PoemsW. H. Auden, Nones, published February 22 in the United Kingdom (first published in February 1951 in the United States)William Buchan, 3rd Baron Tweedsmuir, Personal PoemsC. Day-Lewis, translation, The Aenid of Virgil (see also The Georgics of Virgil 1940, The Eclogues of Virgil 1963)Patric Dickinson, The Sailing Race, and Other PoemsLawrence Durrell, A Key To Modern PoetryNissim Ezekiel, Time To Change, Indian living at this time in the United KingdomGabriel Fielding, The Frog Prince and Other PoemsMichael Hamburger, translator into English from the German original of Austrian Georg Trakl's Decline: 12 Poems, Guido Morris / Latin Press,David Jones, The AnathemataThomas Kinsella, The Starlit EyeLouis MacNeice, Ten Burnt OfferingsEdwin Muir, Collected Poems 1921-51James Reeves, The Password, and Other PoemsSir Osbert Sitwell, Wrack at Tidesend, published on May 16, a sequel to England Reclaimed of 1927 (see also On the Continent 1958)Dylan Thomas:Collected Poems 1934-1952In Country Sleep, including the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night"R.S. Thomas, An Acre of LandR. P. Blackmur, Language as Gesture, criticismRobert Creeley, Le Fou, American published in EuropeArchibald Macleish, Collected Poems, 1917–1952, winner of the Pulitzer PrizeW. S. Merwin, A Mask for Janus, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press; awarded the Yale Younger Poets Prize, 1952 (reprinted as part of The First Four Books of Poems, 1975)Frank O'Hara, A City in Winter and Other PoemsKenneth Rexroth, The Dragon and the Unicorn, a verse journal of his European travelsWallace Stevens, Selected Poems, Fortune PressJesse Stuart, Kentucky Is my LandNew World Writing the first of an annual paperback anthology of prose, drama and poetry; continues to 1959 in poetryPeter Viereck, The First MorningYvor Winter, Collected PoemsR. Berndt, editor, Djanggawul, anthology of Australian poetrySeaforth Mackenzie, editor Australian Poetry, 1951-2, Sydney: Angus and Robertson; AustraliaRene-Guy Cadou, Helene ou le regne vegetal, Volume 1, published posthumously (died 1951)Jean Cayrol, Les Mots sont aussi des demeures 1952Jean Cocteau, Le Chiffre septPierre Emmanuel, pen name of Noël Mathieu, BabelJean Grosjean, Le Livre du justeBenjamin Péret, Air mexicainRaymond Queneau, Si tu t'imaginesFrancis Ponge, La Rage de lexpressionGeorges Schéhadé, Les PoésiesIn each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Haradayalu Singh, Ravan, poem written in Braja Bhasa; with characters from classical epic poems and presenting Ravana in a sympathetic light; 17 chaptersNarmada Prasad Khare, Svar-PatheyRamadhari Singh Dinakar, Rasmi Rathi, epic poem about Karna, a character in the MahabharataD. V. Gundappa, translator, Umarana Osage, translated from the English of Edward Fitzgerald's translation of The Rubaiyatt of Omar KhayyamM. Gopalakrishna Adiga, Nadedu Banna Dari, poems showing the transition in Indian poetry from the more idealistic Navodaya tradition to Navya poetry which is more pessimistic and uses imagery to provide structure; KannadaPejavara Sadashiva Rao, Varuna, written before 1950, but differing distinctly from navodaya poetry; using original rhythm and with subject matter from the experiences of an alienated individual; including "Natyotsava", considered by some critics as the earliest navya poem in the Kannada language; published posthumously (the author died at age 26 in Italy)Amrita Pritam, Sarghi Vela, romantic and progressive poems; PunjabiBahinabai, Bahinabaici Kavita, MarathiBirendra Chattopadhyay, Ranur Janya, BengaliChandranath Mishra, Yugacakra, humorous and satirical poems by "a major poet of Maithili", according to Indian academic Sisir Kumar Das (see also Unata pal 1972, a revised and expanded edition)Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Dast-e-Saba, UrduMehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi, Nai Subah (The New Morn), collection of poems published by Adaaraa Seemab,Daryaganj, Delhi in 1952. UrduGangaprasad Upadhyay, Arodaya mahakavya, epic poem on Swami Dayananda; SanskritJnanindra Barma Eka Ratri, Uttara Kranti, Ratnarakha, OriyaMir Shaban Dar, Qissa-e-Bahram Shah, popular romantic poem in masnavi form, modeled on a Persian poem; KashmiriParsram Rohra, Sitar, SindhiPinakin Thakore, Alap, GujaratiPir Atiquallah, Pirnama, comic narrative poem in masnavi form on the "Ways of the Pir"; shows the influence of Maqbool; KashmiriRayaprolu Subba Rao, Rupanavanitamu, poems honoring womanhood and spiritual love; TeluguSreedhara Menon, Onappattukar, MalayalamPaul Celan, Poppy and Memory (German: Mohn und Gedächtnis), Romanian-born poet writing in GermanGabriela Mistral, Los sonetos de la muerte y otros poemas elegíacos, Santiago, Chile: PhilobiblionSean O Riordain, Eireaball Spideoige, including "Adhlacadh Mo Mhathar", "Malairt", "Cnoc Melleri" and "Siollabadh", Gaelic-language, IrelandWisława Szymborska: Dlatego żyjemy ("That's Why We Are Alive"), PolandAwards and honors
Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (later the post would be called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): William Carlos Williams appointed this year (but did not serve).Bollingen Prize: Marianne MooreFrost Medal: Carl SandburgNational Book Award for Poetry: Marianne Moore, Collected PoemsPulitzer Prize for Poetry: Marianne Moore, Collected PoemsKing's Gold Medal for Poetry: Andrew YoungFellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Padraic ColumCanada: Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: Towards the Last Spike, E. J. Pratt Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 2 – Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and writerJanuary 10 – Dorianne Laux, American poetJanuary 11 – Carla Harryman, American poet and playwrightJanuary 17 – Barry Dempster, Canadian poet and novelistJanuary 20 – Roo Borson, pen name of Ruth Elizabeth Borson, American native living in CanadaJanuary 24 – Alice Fulton, American poet, author and MacArthur Foundation fellowFebruary 24Maxine Chernoff, American novelist, poet and editorJudith Ortiz Cofer, Puerto Rican American author of poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays and young adult novelsMarch 12 – Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet and songwriter born to a Palestinian father and American motherApril 12 – Gary Soto, Mexican-American poet and authorJune 20 – Vikram Seth, Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoiristJune 5 – Mark Jarman, American poet and critic often identified with the "New Narrative" branch of the New FormalismAugust 5 – D. C. Reid, Canadian poet, novelist and short story writerAugust 24 – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican-born musician and poetAugust 28 – Rita Dove, African American poet and author and Poet Laureate of the United StatesSeptember 18 – Alberto Ríos, American poet and writerSeptember 21 – Jock Scot, born John Leslie (died 2016), Scottish performance poetOctober 26 – Andrew Motion, English poet, novelist, biographer and Poet Laureate of the United KingdomNovember 7 – Malca Litovitz, Canadian poet, author and educatorDecember 19 – Sean O'Brien, English poetDecember 20 – Sky Gilbert, Canadian poet, writer, actor, academic and drag performerAlso:Harry Clifton, IrishMenna Elfyn, WelshJan Horner, CanadianCarole Langille, CanadianMyron Lysenko, AustralianRobert Minhinnick, Welsh poet and writerMaurice Scully, Irish poet and editor.Carolyn Smart, English–Canadian poet and educatorElizabeth Spires, American poet and academicSusan Stewart, American poet, academic and literary criticthalia, Greek-born AustralianBirth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 22 – Roger Vitrac, 52 (born 1899), French Surrealist poet and dramatistFebruary 3 – Kambara Ariake 蒲原有明, pen name of Kambara Hayao (born 1876), Taishō and Showa period Japanese poet and novelistMarch 1 – Masao Kume 久米正雄, writing under the pen name "Santei" (born 1891), late Taishō period and early Showa period Japanese playwright, novelist and haiku poetJuly 8 – August Alle (born 1890), Estonian writer and poetAugust 1 – Arthur Shearly Cripps (born 1869), English Anglican missionary, short story writer and poetAugust 22 – E. J. Brady (born 1869), AustralianSeptember 26 – George Santayana (born 1863), Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelistNovember 16 – Charles Maurras, 84 (born 1868), French author, poet and criticNovember 18 – Paul Éluard, 56 (born 1895), French poet; broke with Surrealism on becoming a Stalinist (heart attack)November 21 – Henriette Roland Holst (born 1869), Dutch poet and socialistNovember 23 – Aaro Hellaakoski (born 1893), Finnish poetDecember 27 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, writing under the pen name "Joseph O'Brien" (born 1878), AustralianAlso:Wendy Jenkins, Australian 
