September 16 – Chilean poet Víctor Jara, having been detained four days earlier as a political prisoner in Estadio Chile and tortured during the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, is shot and killed. His last poem Estadio Chile is preserved in memories and scraps of paper retained by fellow detainees.Canadian poet and author, Michael Ondaatje adapts his 1970 book of poetry, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, into a play which this year is first produced in Stratford, Ontario; it will appear in New York in 1974 and in London, England in 1984.White Pine Press founded in Buffalo, New York. The publisher is a nonprofit organization putting out poetry, fiction, essays, and literature in translation.The journal L'éphémère a French journal founded in 1966, ceased publication this year; poets associated with it include Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin and André du BouchetListed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
John Tranter:Red Movie and other poems, Angus & RobertsonThe Blast Area, Gargoyle Poets number 13, Makar PressChris Wallace-Crabbe:Selected Poems, Sydney: Angus & RobertsonVinyl record: Chris Wallace-Crabbe Reads From His Own Verse, St.LuciaAlfred Bailey, Thanks for a Drowned Island.Earle Birney:The Bear on the Delhi Road: selected poems. London: Chatto & Windus.what's so big about GREEN?. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.Shirley Gibson, I Am WatchingJohn Glassco, Montreal. Montreal: DC Books.Irving Layton, Lovers and lesser Men. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.Dorothy Livesay, Nine Poems of Farewell. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press.Eli Mandel, Crusoe: Poems Selected and NewMiriam Mandel, Lions at Her Face. Edmonton: White Pelican Publications.John Metcalf (ed.), The Speaking Earth, anthologyMichael Ondaatje, Rat Jelly, Toronto: Coach House PressAl Purdy, Sex and DeathF. R. Scott, The Dance Is One. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.Raymond Souster, The Colour of the Times. Ten Elephants on Yonge Street. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.Raymond Souster and Richard Woollatt, eds. Sights and Sounds. Toronto: Macmillan.Doris Huestis Speirs, Exercise for PsycheMervyn Morris, The Pond, JamaicaAndrew Salkey (ed.), Breaklight, Doubleday, anthologyDennis Scott, Uncle Time, JamaicaDerek Walcott, Another Life, St. LuciaKamala Das:The Old Playhouse and Other Poems, New Delhi: Orient LongmanAlphabet of Love, New Delhi: Orient Paper BacksRichard L. Bartholomew, Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .Brooks Frederick, Rocket to the Moon, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, IndiaAlokeranjan Das Gupta, Poems, Calcutta: Dialogue Pub.A. K. Ramanujan, Speaking of Siva, PenguinIreland
Patric Dickinson, A Wintering Tree, Irish poet published in the United KingdomSeamus Heaney, a book of poetry, Northern Ireland native published in the United KingdomThomas Kinsella:Selected Poems 1956–1968, including "Chrysalides"New Poems 1973, including "Notes from the Land of the Dead"Paul Muldoon, New Weather, Northern Irish native published in the United KingdomNew Zealand
James K. Baxter, Two Obscene Poems, posthumous,Alan Brunton, Messengers in Blackface, work by a New Zealand poet published in the United KingdomAllen Curnow, An Abominable Temper & Other PoemsWinston Curnow (ed.), Essays on New Zealand Literature, Auckland: Heinemann Educational Books (scholarship)Keith Sinclair, The Firewheel TreeDannie Abse, Funland, and Other PoemsPeter Ackroyd, London LickpennyMartin Booth, Coronis, including the long poem, "On the Death of Archdeacon BroixEdwin Brock, a book of poetryAlan Brunton, Messengers in Blackface, work by a New Zealand poet published in the United KingdomCal Clothier, Behind Heslington HallTony Curtis, Walk Down a Welsh Wind, WelshPatric Dickinson, A Wintering Tree, Irish poet published in the United KingdomCarol Ann Duffy, FleshweathercockLawrence Durrell, Vega, and Other PoemsD. J. Enright, The Terrible ShearsElaine Feinstein, The Celebrants and Other Poems, HutchinsonMichael Fried, PowersRoy Fuller, Tiny TearsGeoffrey Grigson, Sad Grave of an Imperial MongooseMichael Hamburger, Ownerless EarthSeamus Heaney, a book of poetry, Northern Irish native published in the United KingdomTed Hughes, Prometheus on his CragThomas Kinsella, a book of poetry Irish poet published in the United KingdomGeoffrey Holloway, To Have EyesMichael Longley, An Exploded ViewGeorge MacBeth, ShrapnelEdwin Morgan, From Glasgow to SaturnPete Morgan, The Grey Mare Being the Better SteedPaul Muldoon, New Weather, Northern Irish native published in the United KingdomBrian Patten, The Unreliable NightingalePeter Redgrove, a book of poetryAlan Ross, The Taj ExpressAnne Ridler, a book of poetryCarol Rumens, A Strange Girl in Bright ColoursVernon Scannell, The Winter ManMichael Schmidt, It Was My TreeSydney Tremayne, Selected and New PoemsDerek Walcott, Another LifePhilip Larkin, The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse anthology of poets from the British Isles or who spent time there, ISBN 0-19-812137-7Jon Silkin (ed.), Poetry of the Committeed IndividualJohn Bishop and Virginia Broadbent (eds), London Between the LinesHoward Sergeant (ed.), African VoicesFrank Bidart, Golden StateRobert Bly, Sleepers Joining HandsJoseph Payne Brennan, A Sheaf of Snow PoemsJoseph Brodsky: Poems, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ardis Russian-AmericanVictor Hernandez Cruz, MainlandIrving Feldman, Lost OriginalsLawrence Ferlinghetti, Open Eye, Open HeartAllen Ginsberg, The Fall of AmericaJohn Logan, The Anonymous Lover, including "New Poem" and "Heart to Heart Talk with My Liver"Robert Lowell:The Dolphin, containing 103 new poemsHistory, containing 360 poems, including more than 80 new ones and many revisedFor Lizzie and Harriet, 67 old poems, all revisedW. S. Merwin, Writings to an Unfinished Accompaniment, New York: AtheneumJoyce Carol Oates, Angel FireGeorge Quasha, SomapoeticsAdrienne Rich, "Rape"Muriel Rukeyser, Breaking OpenPatti Smith, WittMark Strand, The Story of Our Lives, Canadian native living in and published in the United StatesAlice Walker, Revolutionary Petunias and Other PoemsGeorge Quasha & Jerome Rothenberg, (eds.) America a Prophecy: A New Reading of American Poetry from Pre-Columbian Times to the Present (Random House/Viking)Ronald Gross & George Quasha, (eds.) Open Poetry: Four Anthologies of Expanded Poems (Simon & Schuster)Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Michel Bealieu:VariablesPulsionsYves-Gabriel Brunet, Poésies I, collected poems from 1958 to 1962Gilles Constantineau, Nouveaux PoèmesRoland Giguère, La Main au feu, collected poems from 1949 to 1968Gilbert Langevin:Les Ecrits de Zéro LegelNovembreRaymond LeBlanc, Cri de terreLuc Racine, Le Pays saintConseil international des femmes, Anthologie de la poésie féminine mondiale, Saint-Germain-des-PrésJean Daive, Fut bâti, about the author's friendship with Paul Celan; part memoir, part prose-poem; GallimardMichel Deguy, Tombeau de du BellayGeorges-Emmanuel Clancier, Peut-Être une demeureJean Loisy, Le Double JeuKatia Granoff MéditerranéeEugene Guilleveic, InclusEdmond Jabès, (El, ou le drier livre)Michel Leiris, Haut-malFrançois Pradelle, Les Naïves AmoursDenis Roche, Le MécritPierrette Sartin, Le Destin acceptéPhilippe Soupault, Poèmes et Poésies: 1917–1973, publisher: GrassetWolf Biermann, a communist living in East Germany, he could only publish these works in the West:Für meine GenossenDeutschland: ein Wintermärchen, long satirical poem on the division of GermanyWest Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Peter Huchel, Gezähte TageMarie Luise Kaschnitz, Kein ZauberspruchEric Fried, Die Freiheit den Mund aufzumachenGünter Herburger, OperetteJ. P. Stössel, FriedenserklärungIn each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Maheswar Neog, Pracya SasanavaliNabakanta Barua, Mor Aru Prithivir ("Of Mine and the Earth")Narayan Bezbarua, PunaruthanNilmani Phookan, Phuli Thaka Suryamukhi Phultor Phale, Guwahati, Assam: Guwahati Book StallAmrita Pritan, Kagaz te Kanvas, PunjabiK. Siva Reddy, Raktam Suryudu, Hyderabad: Jhari Poetry Circle, Telugu-languageYumlembam Ibomcha Singh, Sandrembi Thoraklo Nahum Ponjel Sabige, Imphal: V.I. Publications; Meitei languageEugenio Montale, Diario del '71 e del '72 (poetry) Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore (a private edition of 100 copies was published in 1971)Almanacco dello Specchio for 1973, an anthology of poetry, including translated poetryFranco Fortini, Questo muro, collected poems from 1962 to 1972Pier Paolo Pasolini, Trasumanar e organizzarLibero De Libero, Scempio e lusinga, collected poems written from 1930 to 1956Marino Moretti, Le poverazzeM. Bazhan, The Spark from Uman Recollections (translated into Russian from Ukrainian), 1973P. Brovka, We Are Children of One Mother (translated into Russian from Belarusian)B. Istru, Pain of a Shadow (translated into Russian from Moldavian)R. Margiani, From the Book of Brotherhood (translated into Russian from Georgian)S. Orlov, LoyaltyJosé Carlos Becerra, El otoño recorre las islas, collected poetry from 1960 to 1970, edited by José Emilio Pacheco and Gabriel ZaidAlfonso Calderón, Isla de los Bienaventurados ("Island of the Blessed"), ChileMatilde Camus, Bestiario poético ("Poetic Book of Aaimals")Ernesto Cardenal, Canto nacional, NicaraguaRosario Castellanos, "Valium 10"Rafael Méndez Dorich, Globos cautivos, posthumously published (Lima), PeruEnrique Fierro, Mutaciones, UruguayUlalume González de León, Plagio, UruguayAlvaro Mutis, Summa de magroll el Gaviero, ColombiaJosé Miguel Oviedo, Estos treceJosé Emilio Pacheco, Irás y no volverás, MexicoJusto Jorge Padrón, Mar de la nocheGabriel Zaid, Práctica mortal, MexicoRuy de Moura Belo, Portugal:País possível ("The Possible Country"), consisting of a single, long poem, Pequena História Trágico-Trerrestre ("Brief Tragi-Terrestrial History")Transporte no tempo ("Borne through Time")Odysseus Elytis, The Trills Of Love (Τα Ρω του Έρωτα), GreeceKlaus Høeck, Rejse l-V, publisher: Grevas; DenmarkSee 1973 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.Cholmondeley Award: Patric Dickinson, Philip LarkinEric Gregory Award: John Beynon, Ian Caws, James Fenton, Keith Harris, David Howarth, Philip PaceyQueen's Gold Medal for Poetry: John Heath-StubbsConsultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (later the post would be called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): Daniel Hoffman appointed this year.American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in Poetry, John Crowe RansomBollingen Prize: James MerrillNational Book Award for Poetry: A. R. Ammons, Collected Poems, 1951-1971Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Maxine Kumin, Up CountryFellowship of the Academy of American Poets: W. S. MerwinMax Jacob prize: Hubert Juin for Le Cinquième PoèmeGuillaume Apollinaire prize: Marc AlynGrand Priz of the French Academy: André FrénaudGrand Aigle d'Or: Eugène Guillevicdate not known:Ben Doyle (pen name: "Ben Dollar")Duo Yu, ChineseSonnet L'Abbé, CanadianPaul Vermeersch, CanadianBirth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
March 26 – Noël Coward, 73, English actor, playwright, poet and composer of popular music, of a heart attackMay 20 – Charles Brasch, 63, New Zealand poet, literary editor, and arts patronJune 4 – Arna Bontemps, 70 (born 1902), American poet and member of the Harlem Renaissance, of a heart attackAugust 17 – Conrad Aiken, 84, of a heart attackSeptember 2 – J. R. R. Tolkien, 81, English novelist, poet and academicSeptember 16 – Víctor Jara, 40, Chilean writer, poet and Communist politician, by political murderSeptember 23 – Pablo Neruda, 69, Chilean writer, poet and Communist politician, from leukemiaSeptember 28 – W. H. Auden, 66, English poet, often cited as one of the most influential of the centuryOctober 17 – Ingeborg Bachmann (born 1926) Austrian poet and authorNovember 22 – Ramon Guthrie, 77,November 23 – Francis Webb, 48, Australian poetNovember 24 – John G. Neihardt (born 1881), American author and poetDecember 14 – Josef Magnus Wehner, 82 (born 1891), German poet and playwrightDecember 30 – Vagaland, pen name of Thomas Alexander Robertson, 64 (born 1909), Shetland Scottish poetdate not known – Kenneth Allott, Welsh poet, academic, and authority on Matthew Arnold 