Mark Jarman and Robert McDowell start the small magazine The Reaper to promote narrative and formal poetry.
Conjunctions literary magazine gets its start one afternoon late this year when founding editor Bradford Morrow sits in Beat poet Kenneth Rexroth's library in Santa Barbara, California talking over the idea of assembling a publication to celebrate James Laughlin, editor of New Directions. Poets solicited for the publication promised to send in work for future issues of the magazine, not realizing that no magazine was planned. Morrow then started the magazine, financing the first few issues himself.
Three new Hebrew literary journals appear this year in Israel: Mahbarot, edited by Y. Kenaz, Rosh a poetry journal edited by O. Bartena, and Hazerem hehadash, founded by a group of young ex-soldiers.
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Roo Borson (American-Canadian):
In the Smoky Light of the Fields, ISBN 0-88823-024-9
Rain, ISBN 0-920806-19-8
Fred Cogswell, A Long Apprenticeship
Louis Dudek, Cross-Section: Poems 1940-1980. Toronto: Coach House Press.
Dorothy Farmiloe, Words for My Weeping Daughter
Robert Finch, Variations and Theme.
Gail Fox, In Search of Living Things
Ralph Gustafson, Landscape with Rain
Irving Layton, For My Neighbours in Hell. Oakville, Ontario: Mosaic Press.
Miriam Mandel, Where Have You Been?. Edmonton: Longspoon Press.
Joe Rosenblatt, The Sleeping Lady. Exile Editions.
Raymond Souster, Collected Poems, Volume 1 (1940-55) (first of a projected ten-volume collection)
Raymond Souster and Richard Woollatt, eds. Poems of a Snow-Eyed Country. Don Mills, ON: Academic Press.
Andrew Suknaski, Montage for an Interstellar Cry
Anne Szumigalski, A Game of Angels
Tom Wayman, Living on the Ground: Tom Wayman Country, including "Garrison", first prize-winner of the U.S. Bicentennial poetry competition
Phyllis Webb, Wilson's Bowl
A. J. Seymour, A Treasury of Guyanese Poetry
Pamela Mordecai, Mervyn Morris, editors, Jamaica Woman: An Anthology of Poems, Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
Lorna Goodison, Tamarind Season
Mutabaruka, The First Poems: 1970–1979
Derek Walcott, The Star-Apple Kingdom, St. Lucia native living in and published in the United States
Meena Alexander, Stone Roots ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, by an Indian writing and living in the United States
Dilip Chitre, Travelling In A Cage ( Poetry in English ), Mumbai:Clearing House
Keki Daruwalla:
Editor, Two Decades of Indian Poetry 1960-1980, Delhi: Vikas
Winter Poems ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Allied Publishers Pvt Ltd.
E. V. Ramakrishnan:
A Python in A Snake Park ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Rupa and Co. ISBN 81-7167-194-2
Being Elsewhere in Myself ( Poetry in English ), Kolkata: Writers Workshop , India.
Jayanta Mahapatra, The False Start ( Poetry in English ) , Bombay: Clearing House , India .
Ireland
Eavan Boland, In Her Own Image, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Dermot Bolger, The Habit of Flesh
Seamus Heaney, Selected Poems 1965-1975, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
Thomas Kinsella, Poems 1956–1973, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Paul Muldoon, Why Brownlee Left Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
Tom Paulin, The Strange Museum, including "Pot Burial" and "Where Art Is a Midwife", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
New Zealand
James K. Baxter, Collected Poems, posthumous
Charles Brasch, Indirections: a Memoir, 1909-1947, Wellington ; New York: Oxford University Press, autobiography
Alistair Campbell, The Dark Lord of Savaiki: Collected Poems, Christchurch: Hazard Press
Lauris Edmond:
Wellington Letter: A Sequence of Poems
Seven: Poems
Salt from the North
W. H. Oliver, Out of Season: Poems, Wellington; New York: Oxford University Press, New Zealand
Alistair Patterson, editor, Fifteen Contemporary New Zealand Poets, anthology
Ian Wedde, Castaly: Poems 1973–1977
Eavan Boland, In Her Own Image, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Alan Brownjohn, A Night in the Gazebo
David Constantine, A Brightness to Cast Shadows
Wendy Cope, Across the City
Donald Davie, In the Stopping Train, and Other Poems
Lawrence Durrell, Collected Poems: 1931–1974, edited by James A. Brigham
Gavin Ewart, The Collected Ewart 1933–1980 (see also Collected Poems 1990)
Elaine Feinstein, The Feast of Eurydice, Faber & Faber/Next Editions
James Fenton, A German Requiem: A Poem, Salamander Press, a pamphlet
Roy Fisher, Poems 1955–1980
John Fuller, The January Divan
Roy Fuller, The Reign of Sparrows
Geoffrey Grigson, History of Him
Seamus Heaney, Selected Poems 1965–1975 (see also New Selected Poems 1990), Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
Adrian Henri, From the Loveless Matel
Frances Horovitz, Water Over Stone
Elizabeth Jennings, A Dream of Spring
Linton Kwesi Johnson, Inglan is a Bitch
Thomas Kinsella, Poems 1956–1973, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Laurence Lerner, A.R.T.H.U.R. & M.A.R.T.H.A.; or, The Loves of the Computers, South African native living and published in the United Kingdom
George MacBeth, Poems of Love and Death
Norman MacCaig, The Equal Skies
Pete Morgan, One Greek Alphabet
Paul Muldoon, Why Brownlee Left, Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
Tom Paulin, The Strange Museum, Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
Kathleen Raine, The Oracle in the Heart, and Other Poems 1975–1978
Jeremy Reed, Bleecker Street
Jon Silkin, The Psalms With Their Spoils
Anthony Thwaite, Victorian Voices
John Wain, Poems, 1949–1979
Benjamin Zephaniah, Pen Rhythm, his first published collection
D. J. Enright, editor, The Oxford Book of Contemporary Verse (see above)
Blake Morrison, editor, The Movement
Charles Tomlinson, editor, The Oxford Book of Verse in English translation
Geoffrey Grigson, editor, Oxford Book of Satirical Verse
Gavin Ewart, editor, Penguin Book of Light Verse
Valentine Cunningham, editor, Penguin Book of Spanish Civil War Verse
Meena Alexander, Stone Roots, New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, by an Indian writing and living in the United States
A.R. Ammons, Selected Longer Poems
Ted Berrigan:
So Going Around Cities: New & Selected Poems (ISBN 0-912652-61-6)
Carrying a Torch
Elizabeth Bishop, That was Then, published posthumously (died 1979)
Philip Booth, Before Sleep
Joseph Brodsky: A Part of Speech, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Russian-American
Lucille Clifton, Two-Headed Woman
George F. Butterick and Richard Blevins, editors, Charles Olson and Robert Creeley: The Complete Correspondence, first volume published this year (ninth and last volume published in 1990), Santa Barbara, California
Billy Collins, Video Poems
Allen Ginsberg, Straight Hearts' Delight: Love Poems and Selected Letters, 1947–1980
Daniel G. Hoffman, Brotherly Love
Galway Kinnell, Mortal Acts, Mortal Words
James McMichael, Four Good Things
William Meredith, The Cheer
James Merrill, Scripts for the Pageant
Howard Nemerov, Sentences
Molly Peacock, And Live Apart
James Schuyler, The Morning of the Poem
Frederick Seidel, Sunrise
Louis Simpson, Caviare at the Funeral
Mark Strand, Selected Poems, Canadian native living in and published in the United States
Derek Walcott, The Star-Apple Kingdom, St. Lucia native living in and published in the United States
Rosmarie Waldrop, When They Have Senses (Burning Deck Press)
Robert Penn Warren, Being Here: Poetry 1977–1980
Philip Whalen, Enough Said (Grey Fox Press)
Ray Young Bear, winter of the salamander (sic)
Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman (biography)
Lew Welch, I Remain (letters; Grey Fox Press), posthumous
Lorna Goodison, Tamarind Season, Jamaica
Philip Salom, The Silent Piano (Fremantle Arts Centre) ISBN 978-0-909144-31-9, Australia
Chris Wallace-Crabbe, editor, The Golden Apples of the Sun: Twentieth Century Australian Poetry, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, anthology
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:
Klaus Høeck, Denmark:
Bowie, Bowie, with Asger Schnack, publisher: Gyldendal
Eno One, with Asger Schnack, publisher: Albatros
Nul (med Asger Schnack og F.P.Jac), publisher: Sommersko
Renaldo & Clara (med Asger Schnack), publisher: Virkelyst
Klaus Rifbjerg, Livsfrisen
Suzanne Jacob, Poèmes I : Gémellaires, Montréal: Le Biocreux
Pierre Nepveu, Couleur chair, Montréal: l'Hexagone
Edmond Robillard, Le temps d'un peu ... : Poèmes, Montréal: Éditions Albert-le-Grand
Jean Royer, Faim souveraine, l'Hexagone
Yves Bonnefoy, Entretiens sur la poésie, France
Philippe Denis:
Carnet d'un aveuglement
Surface d'écueil
Emmanuel Hocquard, Une journée dans le détroit
Edmond Jabès, L'Ineffacable L'Inaperçu
Abdellatif Laabi, Moroccan author writing in and published in France:
Le Règne de barbarie. Seuil, Paris (épuisé)
Histoire des sept crucifiés de l'espoir. La Table rase, Paris
Jean Max Tixier, editor, Vers une logoqie poétique, publisher: La Table Rase
Christoph Buchwald, general editor, and Christoph Meckel, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 2 ("Poetry Yearbook 2"), publisher: Claassen; anthology
Ernst Jandl, Der gelbe Hund
Johanna Moosdorf, Sieben Jahr sieben Tag
W. Schubert and K. H. Höfer, editors, Ansichten über Lyrik, anthology, poems and prose since Opitz
Roger Loewig, Ein Vogel bin ich ohne Flügel
Thomas Brasch, Der Schöne 27. September
Günter Kunert, Abtötungsverfahren
Natan Sach, Tsfonit misrahit
Dan Pagis, editor, an anthology of medieval Hebrew love poetry
Mavet ve' ahava, an anthology of Egyptian poetry in Hebrew translation
Listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Gulzar, Kuch Aur Nazme, New Delhi: Radhakrishna Prakashan; Hindi-language
Kedarnath Singh, Zameen Pak Rahi Hai, Delhi: Prakashan Sansthan; Hindi
M. Gopalakrishna Adiga, Mulaka Mahasayaru, India, Kannada-language
Nilmani Phookan, Kavita, Guwahati, Assam: Barua Book Agency, Assamese-language
Rajendra Kishore Panda, Nija Pain Nanabaya,Samabesha, Bhubaneswar: Prakashani, Oraya-language
Panna Nayak, Philadelphia; Gujarati-language
Prabhu Chugani, Surkh Gulab Suraha, a collection of five-line poems in a form invented by him; the book received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981, Indian, Sindhi-language
Piero Bigongiari, Moses
Valerio Magrelli, Ora serrata retinae
Eugenio Montale, L'opera in versi, the Bettarini-Contini edition (published in 1981 as Altri verse e poesie disperse), publisher: Mondadori; Italy
Edoardo Sanguineti, Stracciafoglio
Antonio Porta, Passi passaggi
Maurizio Cucchi, Le meraviglie dell'acqua
Ugo Reale, Il cerchio d'ombra
Ernst Orvil, Nær nok (Norwegian)
Harald Sverdrup, Fugleskremsel (Norwegian)
Marie Takvam, Falle og reise seg att (Norwegian)
Poland
Stanisław Barańczak, Tryptyk z betonu, zmeczenia i sniegu ("Triptych with Concrete, Fatigue and Snow"), Kraków: KOS
M. Korolko, editor, Średniowieczna pieśn religina polska, second edition, anthology
A. Lam, editor, Ze struny na strune, anthology
Bronisław Maj, Wiersze ("Poems"); Warsaw: NOWA
Piotr Sommer, Pamiątki po nas
Jan Twardowski,Niebieskie okulary ("Blue Sunglasses"), Kraków: Znak
Mário Cláudio, Estáncias
Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos, Primavera Autónomia das Estradas
Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Esquecer para lembrar (the third volume of his poetic autobiography)
Mário Chamie
Astrid Cabral
Liane dos Santos
Tarik de Sousa
Dante de Milano, complete poems
Paulo Mendes Campos, complete poems
Afonso Félix de Sousa, book of poems
Aleksandr Blok (1880–1921), much of his poetry was republished in this year, his centenary, including a six-volume edition of his collected works and Blok in the Reminiscences of Contemporaries
Matilde Camus, Perfiles ("Profiles")
Antonio Colinas, Astrolabio
Leopoldo Azancot, La novia judia
Lars Forssell, Stenar
Ylva Eggehorn, Hjärtats Knytnãvsslag
Tobias Berggren, Threnos
Begt Emil Johnson, Vinterminne
Leyzer Aichenrand, Landscape of Fate, Yiddish in Switzerland
Samih al-Qasim, Je t'aime au gré de la mort, Palestinian
Simin Behbahani, Khatti ze Sor'at va Atash ("A Line of Speed and Fire"), Persia
Mairtin O Direain, Danta, including "Deiradh Re", "Cuimhne an Domhnaigh", and "Cranna Foirtil", Gaelic-language, Ireland
Awards and honors
Nobel Prize in Literature: Czesław Miłosz, Polish poet, translator, literary critic, and (since 1951) exile.
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: David Campbell, Man in the Honeysuckle
See 1980 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Cholmondeley Award: George Barker, Terence Tiller, Roy Fuller
Eric Gregory Award: Robert Minhinnick, Michael Hulse, Blake Morrison, Medbh McGuckian
Academy of American Poets Fellowship: Mona Van Duyn
AML Award for Poetry to Emma Lou Thayne for "Once in Israel"
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Donald Justice, Selected Poems (April 14)
American Academy of Arts and Letters: John Ashbery elected a member of the Literature Department
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Mona Van Duyn
Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets: Jared Carter
Premios de la Crítica awards in poetry:
Castilian: Luis Rosales, Diario de una resurrección
Catalan: Miquel Martí i Pol, Estimada Marta
Galician: Eduardo Moreiras, O libro dos mortos
Basque: Juan Mari Lekuona, Ilargiaren eskolan
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 3 – George Sutherland Fraser (born 1915), Scottish poet and critic
February 12 – Muriel Rukeyser, 66 (born 1913), American, of a heart attack
February 25 – Robert Hayden, 66, American poet, essayist, and educator, of a heart ailment
March 25 – James Wright, 52, American, of cancer
March 31 – Vladimir Holan, 74, Czech
April 21 – Sohrab Sepehri (born 1928), Persian poet and painter
April 30 – Luis Muñoz Marín (born 1898), Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician
June 20 – Amy Key Clarke (born 1892), English mystical poet
July 9 – Vinicius de Moraes (born 1913), Brazilian writer, poet and diplomat
July 25 – Vladimir Vysotsky (born 1938), Russian singer-songwriter, poet and actor
August 9 – Denis Glover (born 1911), New Zealand poet and publisher
September 2 – Frederick T. Macartney (born 1887), Australian
September 25 – Marie Under (born 1883), Estonian
October 18 – Martin Haley (born 1905), Australian poet, essayist, translator and schoolteacher
October 25 – Sahir Ludhianvi (born 1921), Urdu/Hindustani poet and Hindi film lyricist
November 21 – A. J. M. Smith (born 1902), Canadian
November 28 – Julia Reynolds, 98
