1981 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Events
- Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement.
- Final issue of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Magazine published.
- First issue of Conjunctions literary journal published.
- This year, "the word 'Martianism' came into use, through the verse of Craig Raine and his associates, presenting a vision of life on Earth as seen by a visiting Martian," the 1982 Britannica Book of the Year reported. Some noted that "Martianism" is an anagram for one of Raine's associates, Martin Amis.
Works published in English
Australia">Australian literature">Australia
- R. Hall, editor, Collins Book of Australian Poetry, anthology
- H. Heseltine, editor, Penguin Book of Modern Australian Verse, anthology
- L. Kramer, Oxford History of Australian Literature
- Jennifer Maiden, For The Left Hand, South Head
Canada">Canadian literature">Canada
- Margaret Atwood, True Stories
- Alfred Bailey, Miramichi Lightning: The Collected Poems.
- Roo Borson, A Sad Device,, American-Canadian
- Louis Dudek, Continuation I. Montréal: Véhicule Press, 1981.
- Louis Dudek, Poems from Atlantis. Ottawa: Golden Dog, 1981.
- Robert Finch, Has and Is.
- Gwen Hauser, Gophers and Swans
- George Johnston:
- *Auk Redivivus: Selected Poems
- *Rocky Shores.
- Irving Layton, Europe And Other Bad News. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
- Dorothy Livesay, The Raw Edges: Voices from Our Time. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press.
- Gwendolyn MacEwen, Trojan Women. 1981.
- Jay Macpherson, Poems Twice Told: The Boatman & Welcoming Disaster. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
- Anne Marriott:
- *This West Shore, Toronto: League of Canadian Poets.
- *The Circular Coast: Poems New and Selected, Oakville, ON: Mosaic Press.
- George McWhirter, The Island Man
- P. K. Page, Evening Dance of the Grey Flies, poetry and prose
- Stephen Scobie, A Grand Memory For Forgetting
- Stephen Scobie and Douglas Barbour:
- * The Pirates of Pen's Chance: Homolinguistic Translations
- * The Maple Laugh Forever: An Anthology of Canadian Comic Poetry
- F. R. Scott, The Collected Poems of F. R. Scott. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. Governor General's Award 1981.
- Raymond Souster, Collected Poems of Raymond Souster, Volume Two, 1955-62
India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English
- Keki N. Daruwalla, Winter Poems, Bombay: Allied Publishers.
- Jayanta Mahapatra, Relationship, winner of the Central Sahitya Akademi Awardin 1982; Cuttack: Chandrabhaga Society
- Pritish Nandy, editor, Indian Poetry in English Today, New Delhi: Sterling Publication Pvt. Ltd.
Ireland">Irish poetry">Ireland
- Dermot Bolger, Finglas Lilies
- Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin: The Rose Geranium, Dublin: The Gallery Press
- Seamus Heaney, Selected Poems 1965-1975, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
- Michael Longley, Patchwork, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
- Thomas McCarthy, The Sorrow Garden, Anvil Press, London, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
- Derek Mahon:
- * Courtyards in Delft. Gallery Press
- * The Hunt by Night
- Christopher Nolan, Dam-Burst of Dreams
United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom
- Dannie Abse, Way Out in the Centre
- Sir John Betjeman, Church Poems
- Alison Brackenbury, Dreams of Power
- Roberta Berke, Bounds out of Bounds: A Compass for Recent American and British Poetry, Oxford University Press, criticism
- Douglas Dunn, St. Kilda's Parliament
- D. J. Enright, Collected Poems
- James Fenton, Dead Soldiers, Sycamore Press,
- Roy Fisher, Consolidated Comedies
- Thom Gunn, Talbot Road
- Tony Harrison:
- * Continuous
- * A Kumquat for John Keats
- Seamus Heaney, Selected Poems 1965-1975, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland native published in the United Kingdom
- John Heath-Stubbs:
- * Buzz Buzz
- * Editor, Selected Poems of Thomas Gray
- Ted Hughes:
- * Under the North Star
- * Editor, Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath
- Peter Levi, Private Ground
- Liz Lochhead, The Grimm Sisters
- Christopher Logue, Ode to the Dodo
- Michael Longley, Patchwork, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
- Derek Mahon:
- * Courtyards in Delft. Gallery Press
- * The Hunt by Night
- Andrew Motion, Independence
- Norman Nicholson, Sea to the West
- Brian Patten, Love Poems
- Tom Paulin, The Book of Juniper
- Sylvia Plath, Collected Poems, posthumous, containing 224 poems in chronological order, edited by Ted Hughes; poems by an American, edited by her English husband
- Peter Porter, English Subtitles
- Peter Reading, Tom O'Bedlam's Beauties
- Peter Redgrove, The Apple Broadcast, and Other New Poems
- Carol Rumens, Unplayed Music
- Elizabeth Smart, Ten Poems
- D. M. Thomas, Dreaming in Bronze
- R. S. Thomas, Between Here and Now
- The Faber Book of Christian Verse
United States">American poetry">United States
- A.R. Ammons, A Coast of Trees
- John Ashbery, Shadow Train
- Imamu Amiri Baraka, formerly "LeRoi Jones", Reggae or Not!
- Ted Berrigan, In a Blue River
- Robert Bly, The Man in the Black Coat Turns
- Paul Bowles, Next to Nothing: Collected Poems 1926–1977
- Joseph Payne Brennan, Creep To Death
- Joseph Brodsky: Verses on the Winter Campaign 1980, translation by Alan Meyers. – London: Anvil Press Russian-American
- Gwendolyn Brooks:
- * Black Love
- * To Disembark
- Jared Carter, Work, for the Night Is Coming
- Gregory Corso, Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit, his first collection in 11 years
- Peter Davison, Barn Fever and Other Poems
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Endless Life: Selected Poems
- Carolyn Forche, The Country Between Us
- Daryl Hine, Selected Poems
- John Hollander:
- * Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse, poetry
- * The Figure of Echo
- Janet Kauffman, The Weather Book
- Denise Levertov, Light Up the Cave
- Philip Levine, One for the Rose
- Frederick Morgan, Northbook
- Michael Palmer, Notes For Echo Lake
- Sylvia Plath, The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, editor, containing 224 poems in chronological order
- Marie Ponsot, Admit Impediment
- Michael Ryan, In Winter
- Anne Sexton, The Complete Poems, published posthumously
- Leslie Marmon Silko, Storyteller, short stories, poems and photographs
- Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic a collection of children's poetry
- Gilbert Sorrentino, Selected Poems 1958-1980
- Gerald Stern, The Red Coal
- Robert Stone, A Flag for Sunrise
- Mark Strand, The Planet of Lost Things
- Richard L. Tierney, Collected Poems
- Michael Van Walleghen, More Trouble With the Obvious
- David Wagoner, Landfall
- Rosmarie Waldrop, Nothing Has Changed
- Diane Wakoski, The Magician's Feastletters
- Robert Penn Warren, Rumor Verified: Poems 1979-1980
- Richard Wilbur, Seven Poems
- Nancy Willard, A Visit to William Blake's Inn, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
- Colin Robert Chase, The Dating of Beowulf
- John Hollander:
- * Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse, criticism
- * The Figure of Echo, criticism
Other in English
- Alistair Campbell, Collected Poems, Hazard,, New Zealand
- C. K. Stead, In the Glass Case, criticism, New Zealand
Works published in other languages
Denmark">Danish poetry">Denmark
- Inger Christensen, Alphabet, translated into English by Susanna Nied in 2001
- Klaus Høeck:
- * Canzone, publisher: Gyldendal
- * Sorte sonetter, publisher: Gyldendal
- Søren Ulrik Thomsen, City Slang
French language
Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada, in French
- Pierre Nepveu, editor, La poésie québécoise, des origines à nos jours, en collaboration avec Laurent Mailhot, Montréal: Presses de l'Université du Québec/l'Hexagone, anthology
- Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska, Entre le souffle et l'aine, Saint-Lambert: Le Noroît
- Jean Royer, L'intime soif, Montréal: Éditions du silence
France">French poetry">France
- Alain Bosquet:
- * Poèmes, deux
- * Sonnets pour une fin de siècle
- Jean Cayrol, Poésie-Journal
- Michel Deguy, Donnant Donnant
- Emmanuel Hocquard, Une ville ou une petite ile
- Abdellatif Laabi, Sous le bâillon le poème. L'Harmattan, Paris, Moroccan author writing in and published in France
- Charles le Quintrec, La Lumière et l'argile
- Jacques Roubaud, Dors
- Jacques Roubaud and Florence Delay, Merlin l'enchanteur
German">German literature">German
- Christoph Buchwald, general editor, and Rolf Haufs, guest editor, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 3, publisher: Claassen; anthology
- V. Hage, editor, Lyrik für Leser: Deutsche Gedichte der siebziger Jahre, anthology
- Heinz Toni Hamm, Poesie und kommunikative Praxis
- Klaus Weissenberger, editor, Die deutsche Lyrik, 1945-1975
Hebrew">Hebrew literature">Hebrew
- A. Hillel, Devareiy
- Gabriel Preil, a new collection
- Avot Yeshurun, a new collection
- S. Shalom, a new collection
- Yehuda Amichai, Shalva gedola, she'elot uteshuvot
- Robert Whitehill, Efes Makom, published in Israel
- Peretz Banai, a "new poet"
- Esther Ettinger, a "new poet"
- Yosef Yehezkel, a "new poet"
- Aharon Shabtai, Xut
- Mordecai Geldman, a new collection
- Hannah Barzilai, a new collection
- Batsheva Sharif, a new collection
- Michael Senunit, a new collection
- Menachem Ben, a new collection
Hungary">Hungarian poetry">Hungary
- György Petri, Örökhétfő
India">Indian poetry">India
- Hari Daryani, Amar Gitu, a verse translation into Sindhi of the Gita
- K. G. Sankara Pillai, Kavitha, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Kerala Kavita; Malayalam-language
- K. Satchidanandan, Peedana Kalam, ; Malayalam-language
- Namdeo Dhasal; Marathi-language:
- * Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi?, Mumbai: Ambedkara Prabodhini
- * Ambedkari Chalwal, Mumbai: Ambedkara Prabodhini
- Nilmani Phookan, Gacia Larkar Kavita, Guwahati, Assam: Bani Prakash, Assamese-language
- Nirendranath Chakravarti, Pagla Ghonti, Kolkata: Dey’s Publishing; Bengali-language
- Parsram Rohra "Nimano", Sindhi-language
- Pritish Nandy and Shakti Chattopadhyay, Pritisa Nandira kabita, Kalikata: Ananda Pabalisarsa
- Rajendra Kishore Panda, Choukathhare Chirakala, Cuttack: Friends Publishers, Oraya-language
- Rituraj, Pul aur Pani, New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan; Hindi-language
- Umashankur Joshi, Gujarati-language:
- * Dharavastra
- * Saptapadi
- Vinod Kumar Shukla, Vah Aadmi Chala Gaya Naya Garam Coat Pehankar Vichar Ki Tarah, Hapur: Sambhavna Prakashan; Hindi-language
- Udaya Narayana Singh, Anuttaran, Calcutta: Mithila Darshan, Maithili-language
- Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi, Rang-o-Noor - published by R.K.Sehgal, Bazm-e-Seemab, New Delhi, Urdu
Italy">Italian poetry">Italy
- Eugenio Montale, L'opera in versi
- Carlo Betocchi, Poesie del sabato
- Eugenio Montale, Altri verse e poesie disperse, Milan: Arnaldo Mondadore Editore; Italy
- Maria Luisa Spaziani, Geometria del disordine
- Giovanni Guidici, Il ristorante dei morti
- Amelia Rosselli:
- * Primi scritti 1952-1965
- * Impromptu
Poland">Polish poetry">Poland
- Stanisław Barańczak, Ksiazki najgorsze 1975-1980, criticism; Kraków: KOS
- T. Kostkiewiczowa and Z. Goliński, editors, Swiat polprawiac—zuchwate rzemiosto, anthology
- Ryszard Krynicki, Niewiele więcej. Wiersze z notatnika 78-79 ; Kraków: Cracowska Oficyna Studentow
- Ewa Lipska, Poezje wybrane, Warszawa: LSW
- Bronisław Maj, Taka wolność. Wiersze z lat 1971-1975 ; Warsaw: MAW
- Piotr Sommer, Przed snem
Portuguese language
Portugal">Portuguese literature">Portugal
- Herberto Helder, Poesia Toda
- A. Pinheiro Torre, O Ressentimento dum Ocidental
Brazil">Brazilian literature">Brazil
- Carlos Drummond de Andrade, A paixão medida
- João Cabral de Melo Neto, A escola das faces
- Adélia Prado, Terra de Santa Cruz
- Mário da Silva, several volumes of poetry
Spanish language
Spain
- Antonio Abad, Misericor de mí
- Matilde Camus:
- * He seguido tus huellas
- * Testigo de tu marcha
- Concha Lagos, Teoría de la inseguridad
- Vincente Presa, Teoría de los límites
- Pablo Virumbrales, Cancionero del vaso
Latin America
- Mario Benedetti, Viento del exilio, Uruguay
Swedish">Swedish poetry">Swedish
- Karl Vennberg, Bilder I-XXVI
- Goran Sonnevi, Små klanger; en rőst
- Eva Runefelt, Augusti
Yiddish
Criticism, scholarship and biography in Yiddish
- Itskhak Janoswicz, Avrom Sutzkever, His Poetry and Prose
- The Lexicon of Modern Yiddish Literature, the eighth and final volume
- Khaim Leyb Fuks, Biographical Dictionary of Hebrew and Yiddish Writers in Canada
Other
- Chen Kehua, Qijing shaonian Chinese
- Rita Kelly, Dialann sa Díseart, Ireland
- Luo Fu, Wound of Time, Chinese
- Stein Mehren, Den usynlige regnbuen, Norway
- Alexander Mezhirov, Selected Works, two volumes, Russia, Soviet Union
- Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, An dealg Droighin, including "Sceala" and "Failte Bheal na Sionna don Iasc", Gaelic-language, Ireland
- Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet writing in Arabic:
- * I Write the History of Woman Like So
- * The Lover's Dictionary
Awards and honors
Australia">Australian literature">Australia
- Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Alan Gould, Astral Sea
Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada
- Gerald Lampert Award: Elizabeth Allan, The Shored Up House
- 1981 Governor General's Awards: F. R. Scott, The Collected Poems of F. R. Scott ; Michel Beaulieu, Visages
- Pat Lowther Award: M. Travis Lane, Divinations and Short Poems 1973–1978
- Prix Émile-Nelligan: Jean-Yves Collette, La Mort d’André Breton
United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom
- Cholmondeley Award: Roy Fisher, Robert Garioch, Charles Boyle
- Eric Gregory Award: Alan Jenkins, Simon Rae, Marion Lomax, Philip Gross, Kathleen Jamie, Mark Abley, Roger Crowley, Ian Gregson
- Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: D. J. Enright
- Hawthornden Prize: Christopher Reid
United States">American poetry">United States
- Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Kathy Callaway, Heart of the Garfish
- AML Award for poetry to Robert A. Rees for "Gilead"
- Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry: Frank Bidart, "The War of Vaslav Nijinsky"
- Bollingen Prize : Howard Nemerov and May Swenson
- Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress : Maxine Kumin appointed this year.
- MacArthur Fellowships: A.R. Ammons, Joseph Brodsky, Robert Penn Warren
- National Book Award for poetry : Lisel Mueller, The Need to Hold Still
- National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry: A.R. Ammons, A Coast of Trees
- Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress: Maxine Kumin appointed
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: James Schuyler: The Morning of the Poem
- Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Richard Hugo
- Walt Whitman Award: Alberto Ríos, Whispering to Fool the Wind Judge: Donald Justice
Births
- April 6 – Marie Šťastná, Czech poet
- Emily Berry, English poet
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Irish-language poet
Deaths
- January 29 – John Glassco, Canadian poet, memoirist and novelist
- February 23 – Nan Shepherd, Scottish novelist and poet
- March 15 – Horiguchi Daigaku 堀口 大学, Japanese, Taishō and Shōwa period poet and translator of French literature; a member of the Shinshisha ; accompanied his father on overseas diplomatic postings
- April 25 – Takis Sinopoulos, Greek
- April 26 – Robert Garioch, Scots language Scottish poet and translator
- April 29 – Leonard Mann, Australian
- May 8 – Uri Zvi Grinberg, Jewish
- May 31 – Falguni Ray, Bengali poet and youngest member of Hungryalism movement
- August 19 – Badawi al-Jabal, Syrian Arab
- August 27 – James Larkin Pearson, American poet, newspaper publisher; North Carolina Poet Laureate, 1953–1981
- September 12 – Eugenio Montale, 85, Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975
- October 26 – Marie Uguay, 26 , from bone cancer
- October 30 – Georges Brassens, French singer-songwriter and poet
- November 14 – Anton Podbevšek, Slovene avant-garde poet
- Also:
- * Adolf Beiss, German
- * Ada Verdun Howell, Australian