March 25 – Copies of Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems (first published 1 November 1956) printed in England are seized by United States Customs Service officials in San Francisco on the grounds of obscenity. On October 3, in People v. Ferlinghetti, a subsequent prosecution of publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti in the city, the work is ruled not to be obscene. The trial brings significant attention to the participants and other poets of the Beat Generation.Ginsberg surprises the literary world by abandoning San Francisco. After a spell in Morocco, he and Peter Orlovsky move to Paris, France, at the suggestion of Gregory Corso, who introduces them to a shabby lodging house above a bar at 9 rue Gît-le-Coeur kept by Mme Rachou, where they are soon joined by William S. Burroughs and others, including young painters, writers and black jazz musicians. The building becomes known as the "Beat Hotel". The writers' time here is a productive, creative period for many of them. Here, Ginsberg finishes his poem "Kaddish", Corso composes "Bomb" and "Marriage", and Burroughs (with Ginsberg and Corso's help) puts together the novel Naked Lunch from previous writings. Corso returns to New York in 1958; the "hotel" closes in 1963; and Ginsberg and Orlovsky leave for travels to India in 1967.Autumn – Black Mountain Review literary magazine folds.Shi'r ("Poetry") magazine is founded in Beirut by Syrian-born poets Yusuf al-Khal and 'Adunis'. The journal is a showcase for experimental Arabic poetry as well as translations of poetry from European languages.Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Harry Ammos, Churchill and Other PoemsDick Diespecker, Windows WestJoan Finnegan, through The Glass, DarklyNorthrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays, literary theory (Princeton University Press)Eldon Grier, The Ring of IceDaryl Hine, The Carnal and the CraneD. G. Jones, Frost on the SunGordon Leclaire, Carpenter's ApprenticeDorothy Livesay, Selected Poems, 1926-1956Goodridge Macdonald, Recent PoemsJay Macpherson, The BoatmanMarjorie Pickthall, The Selected Poems of Marjorie Pickthall, Lorne Pierce ed. (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart)James Reaney, A Suit of NettlesF. R. Scott, Events and Signals. Toronto: Ryerson Press.A. J. M. Smith ed.:The Book of Canadian Poetry, third revised edition (anthology)The Blasted PineSri Aurobindo, posthumously published (died 1950):Ilion ( Poetry in English ), Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo AshramMore Poems ( Poetry in English ), Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo AshramNissim Ezekiel, A Time to Change and Other Poems ( Poetry in English )Dom Moraes, A Beginning ( Poetry in English )Manjeri Sundaraman, The Neem is a Lady and Other Poems ( Poetry in English ), Madras: Dhanus Pub.New Zealand
James K. Baxter:The Iron Breadboard: Studies in New Zealand Writing , a parody, imitating 17 New Zealand poets, which was greeted with acrimony by some fellow poetsJames K. Baxter, Charles Doyle, Louis Johnson and Kendrick Smithyman, The Night Shift: Poems on Aspects of Love, Wellington: Capricorn PressCharles Brasch: The Estate, and Other Poems, Christchurch: Caxton PressAllen Curnow, Poems 1949–57 Louis Johnson, New Worlds for OldW. H. Oliver, Fire Without Phoenix: Poems 1946–1954, Christchurch: Caxton PressDannie Abse, Tenants of the House, London: HutchinsonW. H. Auden, The Old Man's Road, English native in the United StatesGeorge Barker, Collected Poems 1930–1955Edmund Blunden, Poems of Many YearsNorman Cameron, collected works (posthumous)Charles Causley, Union StreetAustin Clarke, Too Great a Vine (see also Ancient Lights 1955 in poetry, The Horse-Eaters 1960)Donald Davie, A Winter Talent, and Other Poems, London: Routledge and Kegan PaulC. Day-Lewis, Pegasus, and Other PoemsKenneth Fearing, New and Selected PoemsRoy Fuller, Brutus's OrchardThom Gunn, The Sense of Movement, London: Faber and Faber; University of Chicago PressDonald Hall, Robert Pack and Louis Simpson, New Poets of England and America, anthology (Meridian Books)Ted Hughes, The Hawk in the Rain, including "The Thought Fox", London: Faber and Faber; New York: HarperJames Kirkup:The Descent into the Cave, and Other PoemsThe Prodigal SonLouis MacNeice, VisitationsNorman MacCaig, The Sinai Sort, London: Hogarth PressEdith Sitwell, collected worksAnthony Thwaite, Home TruthsTerence Tiller, Reading a MedalC. A. Trypanis, The Stones of TroyCriticism, scholarship and biography in the United Kingdom
T. S. Eliot, On Poetry and PoetsW. H. Auden, The Old Man's Road, English native in the United StatesPhilip Booth, Letter from a Distant LandHilda Doolittle (H.D.), Selected Poems of H.D.Richard Eberhart, Great PraisesRobert Fitzgerald, In the Rose of TimeGeorge Garrett, The Reverend GhostDonald Hall, Robert Pack and Louis Simpson, New Poets of England and America, anthology (Meridian Books)Robert E. Howard, Always Comes EveningDaryl Hine, The Carnal and the CraneDenise Levertov, Here and Now, City Lights BooksWilliam Meredith, The Open Sea and Other PoemsW. S. Merwin, Green with BeastsMarianne Moore, Like a BulwarkHoward Moss, A Swimmer in the AirOgden Nash, You Can't Get There from HereFrank O'Hara, Meditations in an Emergency, Grove PressKenneth Patchen, Hurrah for AnythingMarie Ponsot, True MindsKenneth Rexroth, In Defense of the EarthKenneth Rexroth and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, LP record, Poetry Readings in the Cellar (with the Cellar Jazz Quintet): Kenneth Rexroth & Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fantasy #7002 LP (Spoken Word)Muriel Rukeyser, One LifeMay Sarton, In Time Like AirStevie Smith, Not Waving but DrowningWilliam Jay Smith, Poems 1947–1957Wallace Stevens, Opus Posthumous, edited by Samuel French Morse; includes Owl's Clover (poems first published in 1936) and essays, including "The Irrational Element in Poetry," "The Whole Man: Perspectives," "Horizons," "Preface to Time of Year," "John Crowe Ransom: Tennessean," and "Adagia", Knopf (posthumous)Robert Penn Warren, Promises: Poems 1954-1956Richard Wilbur, Poems 1943–1956James Wright, The Green WallCriticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
Annotated Index to the Cantos of Ezra Pound, the first guide to Pound's CantosWilliam Carlos Williams, The Selected Letters of William Carlos Williams, edited by John C. ThirwallWilliam Butler Yeats, Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats, edited by Peter Allt and Russell K. Alspach, New York: Macmillan (posthumous)D. Stewart and N. Keesing, editors, Old Bush Songs and Rhymes of Colonial Times, anthology (Australia)Listed by language and often by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Claude Fournier, Le Ciel ferméPierre Trotier, Poèmes de RussieReginald Boisvert, Le Temps de vivreMaurice Beaulieu, À glaise fendreJean-Guy Pilon, L'homme et le jour, Montréal: l'HexagoneRina Lasnier, Présence de l'absenceAlain Bosquet, Premier TestamentFrances de Dalmatie, AnamorphoseJean Follain, Tout instantFernand Gregh, Le mal du mondePhilippe Jaccottet, La Promenade sous les arbres* 1957 * Pierre Jean Jouve, MélodrameAlphonse Métérié, EphémèresHenri Michaux, Linfini turbulent, about his experiences taking mescalinePierre Oster, Solitude de la lumièreSaint-John Perse, pen name of Marie-René Alexis Saint-Léger, Amers ("Seamarks"), Paris: GallimardTristan Tzara, pen name of Sami Rosenstock, Frère boisTchicaya U Tam'si, Feu de broussePeter Gan, SchachbrettDoris Mühringer, Gedichte IMargot Scharpenberg, Gefährliche UebungBenno von Weise, editor, Die deutsche Lyrik: Form und Geschichte. Interpretationen ("German poetry: Form and history. Interpretations"), two volumes, Düsseldorf (criticism)N. Alterman, Ir ha-Yona ("City of the Dove")Moses ibn Ezra, Shirai ha-Kodesh le-Moshe Ibn Ezra ("The Sacred Poems of Moses Ibn Ezra"), edited by Simon Bernstein, the first comprehensive collectionEphraim Lisitzky, Negohot ma-Arafel ("Light through the Mist")Yaakov Schteinberg, Kol Kitvai Yaakov Schteinberg ("Complete Works")A. Zeitlin, Ben ha-Esh ve-Hayesha ("Between Fire and Redemption")Listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Felix Paul Noronha, Motyam Har written in the Konkani dialect of the Marathi languageSarachchandra Muktibodh, Yatrik, MarathiSubhas Mukhopadhyay, Phul Phutuk, BengaliMário Cesariny de Vasconcelos, Pena CapitalCarlos Drummond de Andrade, Fala,amendoeira and CicloGabriela Mistral, Recados: Contando a Chile, Santiago, Chile: Editorial del PacíficoPablo Neruda:ViajesNuevas odas elementalesNellie Campobello, Tres poemas, MexicoRosario Castellanos, Poemas (1953–1955)Jacinto Cordero Espinosa, DespojamientoAmado Nervo:complete poetic works, publisher: AguilarPensamientos, publisher: BarcelonaOctavio Paz, Piedra de sol, MexicoCésar Vallejo, collected poems, posthumously published; PeruV. Aleixandre, Mis poemas mejores (1956)Gabriel Celaya, De claro en claroR. Montesino, La soledad y los díasR. Pombo, Poesías completasMaría C. Lacaci, Humana voz (winner of the 1956 Adonaïs Prize)J. Guillén, "Lugar de Lázaro" (fragment of Clamor)J.R. Jiménez:Libros en poesíaTercera antología poéticaSpanish anthologies
R. Menendez Pidal, editor, Espana y su historiaJ.M. Blecua, Floresta lírica espanolaYankev Glatshteyn, Fun mayn gantser mi ("Of All My Labor, Selected Poems, 1919-1956")A. Leyeles, Baym fus fun barg ("At the Foot of the Mountain")Khos Kliger, Peyzazhn fun Yisroel ("Israel Landscapes")Eugenio Montale, La bufera e altro ("The Storm and Other Things"), a second, larger edition (original edition of 1,000 copies published in 1956), Milan: Arnaldo Mondadore Editore; ItalyMáirtín Ó Direáin, Ó Mórna agus Dánta Eile, IrishPier Paolo Pasolini, Le ceneri di Gramsci, ItalyWisława Szymborska, Wołanie do Yeti ("Calling Out to Yeti"), PolandGovernor General's Awards: Robert A.D. Ford, A Window on the NorthPresident's Medal for a single poem: Jay Macpherson, The Fisherman — A Book of RiddlesQueen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Siegfried SassoonGuinness Poetry Awards: Vernon Watkins, The Tributary Seasons; Cecil Day-Lewis, Moods of Love; Roy Fuller, Seven Mythological SonnetsNational Book Award for Poetry: Richard Wilbur, Things of this WorldPulitzer Prize for Poetry: Things of This World by Richard WilburBollingen Prize: Allen TateFellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Conrad AikenRobert Frost Fellowship in Poetry: May SwensonYale Series of Younger Poets Award: James Wright for The Green WallLevinson Prize: Thom GunnOscar Blumenthal Prize: William Carlos WilliamsEunice Tietjens Prize: James WrightBess Hokin Prize: Philip BoothUnion League Civic and Arts Foundation prize: Ann RidlerVachel Lindsay Prize: V.R. LangHarriet Monroe Memorial Prize: John CiardiAlexander Droutzkoy Memorial award: Mark Van DorenWalt Whitman Award: Fredson BowersReynolds Lyric Award: Frances Minturn Howard and David RossEdna St. Vincent Millay Memorial Award: Richard WilburWilliam Rose Benet Memorial Award]]: Babette DeutschRidgely Torrence Memorial Award: John Hall WheelockPoetry Chap-Book Award: Grover Smith, Jr.Emily S. Hamblen Memorial Award: Trianon Press of Paris for a work on William BlakeArthur Davison Ficke Memorial Award: Margaret Haley Carpenter, Leah Bodine Drake, Frances Minturn Howard, Ulrich TroubetzkoyLeonora Speyer Memorial Award: Lois Smith HiersAnnual Award: Joyce HornerBorestone Mountain Poetry Award: Eric BarkerFastenrath Prize (Spain) for the best poetry published in the past four years: J. García Nieto, La redDeath years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 13 – Claudia Emerson (died 2014), American winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for PoetryMarch 23 – Ananda Devi, Mauritian francophone fiction writer and poetApril 16 – Essex Hemphill (died 1995), gay African-American poet and activistApril 23 – Bruce Meyer, Canadian poet and educatorAugust – Martín Espada, American poet and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and Latino poetry.August 19 – Li-Young Lee, American poet born in Jakarta, Indonesia to Chinese parentsOctober 17 – Uwe Kolbe, GermanOctober 21 – Attila the Stockbroker (John Baine), English punk and performance poetNovember 8 – Afua Cooper, Jamaican-born Canadian dub poet, sociologist and historian (migrates to Canada in 1980)November 12 – Malcolm Guite, Nigerian-born English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest and academicDecember 12 – Brenda Marie Osbey, AmericanAlso:Cyrus Cassells, AmericanMichael Hofmann, German-English poet and translator from GermanValerio Magrelli, ItalianAnthony Molino, American poet, translator, anthropologist and psychoanalystSayed Hasmat Jalal, Bengali poet, short-story writer and journalistAlan Riach, Scottish poet and academicHaris Vlavianos, GreekBirth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 10 – Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga), 67 (born 1889), Chilean poet, diplomat, educator and feminist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945)January 13A. E. Coppard (born 1878), English short story writer and poetSaishū Onoe 尾上柴舟 (born 1876), Japanese tanka poet and calligrapherFebruary 13 – F. W. Harvey, 68 (born 1888), English rural poet and soldierApril 22 – Roy Campbell, 56 (born 1901), South African poet and satiristMarch 11 – Jinzai Kiyoshi 神西清 (born 1903), Japanese, Showa period novelist, translator, literary critic, poet and playwrightMarch 25 – A. R. D. Fairburn (born 1904), New Zealand poetMarch 28 – Christopher Morley, 66 (born 1890), American journalist, novelist and poetJune 15 – Skipwith Cannell (born 1887), American poet associated with the Imagist group (pronounce his last name with the stress on the second syllable)August 13 – Joseph Warren Beach (born 1880), American author, book critic and educatorSeptember 20 – Merrill Moore, 54 (born 1903), American psychiatrist and poetSeptember 22 – Oliver St. John Gogarty, 79 (born 1878), Irish poet, writer, physician and ear surgeon, one of the most prominent Dublin wits, political figure of the Irish Free State, best known as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, of a heart attackSeptember 26 – Charles Badger Clark (born 1883), American poetOctober 23 – Mihai Codreanu (born 1876), RomanianOctober 26 – Nikos Kazantzakis (born 1883), GreekDecember 25 – Stanley Vestal (born 1877), American writer, poet and historian 