1936 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Events

January - Canadian Poetry Magazine first published by the Canadian Authors Association, with E. J. Pratt's active involvement. It becomes associated with more traditional poetry, very popular in Canada at this time.
May
* In Nazi Germany, the SS magazine Das Schwarze Korps attacks the expressionist and experimental poetry of German Gottfried Benn as degenerate, Jewish and homosexual.
* Greek poet and Communist activist Yiannis Ritsos is inspired to write his landmark poem Epitaphios by a photograph of a dead protester during a massive tobacco-workers demonstration in Thessaloniki; it is published soon afterwards. In August, the right-wing dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas comes to power in Greece and copies are burned publicly at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens.
August 18 - 38-year-old Spanish dramatist and poet Federico García Lorca is among those arrested by Francoist militia during the White Terror at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and is never seen again.
James Laughlin founds New Directions Publishing in New York, which publishes many modern poets for the first time.
A version of J. R. R. Tolkien's influential lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" is published in Proceedings of the British Academy.
W. B. Yeats begins delivering broadcast lectures on the BBC, and makes recordings of his own verse.

Works published in English

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

W. E. Collin, The White Savannahs, the first collection of criticism of contemporary poetry in Canada from a modernist perspective; written by a professor of French at the University of Western Ontario
Kenneth Leslie, Such a Din! Poems. Halifax: McCurdy.New Provinces, first anthology of modernist poetry in Canada, including work by F. R. Scott, E. J. Pratt, Robert Finch, A. J. M. Smith, Leo Kennedy, A. M. Klein.
Marjorie Pickthall, The Complete Poems of Marjorie Pickthall, 2nd edition.. Posthumously published
Charles G. D. Roberts, Selected Poems of Sir Charles G.D. Roberts..
Frederick George Scott, ''Poems''

India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English

Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Strange Journey, Pondicherry: Bharatha Shakthy Nilayam
Nilima Devi, The Hidden Face, Calcutta: Futurist Publishing House
P. R. Kaikini, Songs of a Wanderer ; Bombay: New Book Co.
M. S. Nirmal, Song of Immortality, Lahore: Model Electric Press
Brajendranath Seal, The Quest Eternal
Subho Tagore, Peacock Plumes,

New Zealand">New Zealand poetry">New Zealand

Ursula Bethell, Time and Place: poems by the author of 'From a garden in the Antipodes, Christchurch: Caxton Press
Robin Hyde:
* Passport to Hell
* ''Check To Your King''

United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

W. H. Auden, Look, Stranger!
Julian Bell, Work for the Winter
Edmund Blunden, Verses: To H.R.H. The Duke of Windsor
Roy Campbell, Mithraic Emblems
Cecil Day-Lewis, Noah and the Waters
T. S. Eliot, Collected Poems 1909-35, including "Burnt Norton", first of the Four Quartets
John Gawsworth edits anonymously Edwardian Poetry, Book One
A. E. Housman, More Poems
James Joyce, Collected Poems
Patrick Kavanagh, Ploughman, and Other Poems
F. R. Leavis, Revaluation: tradition & development in English poetry rejects Milton, Spenser, and Shelley and praises Donne, Pope, Gerard Manley Hopkins, T. S. Eliot, and others
Louis MacNeice, translation from the original Ancient Greek, The Agamemnon of Aeschylus
Robert Nichols, A Spanish Triptych
Ruth Pitter, A Trophy of Arms, preface by James Stephens
Michael Roberts edits The Faber Book of Modern Verse, which praises poets such as W. H. Auden and T. S. Eliot and ignores poets like Robert Frost and Thomas Hardy
Sacheverell Sitwell, Collected Poems, introductory essay by Edith Sitwell
William Soutar, A Handful of Earth
Dylan Thomas, Twenty-five Poems, including "And death shall have no dominion"
Edward Thomas, Collected Poems, Faber and Faber
W. B. Yeats, editor, ''The Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892-1935''

United States">American poetry">United States

Conrad Aiken, Time in the Rock
W. H. Auden, Look, Stranger!
Stephen Vincent Benét, Burning City
Lilian Bowes Lyon, Bright Feather Fading
E. E. Cummings, 1/20
Emily Dickinson, Unpublished Poems
Paul Engle, Break the Heart's Anger
John Gould Fletcher, The Epic of Arkansas
Robert Frost, A Further Range
Robinson Jeffers, The Beaks of Eagles
Archibald MacLeish, Public Speech
Edgar Lee Masters, Poems of People
Marianne Moore, The Pangolin and Other Verse
Ogden Nash, The Bad Parents' Garden of Verse
New Directions publishes its first book and its first "annual", New Directions in Prose and Poetry with contributions from Wallace Stevens, Ezra Pound, Elizabeth Bishop, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams and others
Dorothy Parker, Not So Deep as a Well: Collected Poems
Kenneth Patchen, Before the Grave
Frederic Prokosch, The Assassins
Lizette Woodworth Reese, The Old House in the Country
Charles Reznikoff, Separate Way, including "The Socialists of Vienna"
Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Winfield Townley Scott, Elegy for Robinson
Wallace Stevens:
* Ideas of Order, includes "Farewell to Florida," "The Idea of Order at Key West," "Academic Discourse at Havana," "Like Decorations in a Nigger Cemetery," and "A Postcard from the Volcano"), Knopf, enlarged from the 1935 edition
* Owl's Clover, Alcestis Press
John Hall Wheelock, Poems, 1911-1936
William Carlos Williams, ''Adam & Eve & The City''

Other in English

Rex Ingamells, Forgotten People published in Adelaide; including "Garrakeen"; Australia

Works published in other languages

France">French poetry">France

Paul Éluard, pen name of Paul-Eugène Grindel, Les Yeux fertiles
Francis Jammes, Sources, Paris: Le Divan
Pierre Jean Jouve, Hélène
Henri Michaux, Voyage en Grand Garabagne
Benjamin Péret, Je sublime
Saint-John Perse, Poème pour Valery Larbaud, Liège: A la Lampe d'Aladdin; France

Indian">Indian poetry">Indian subcontinent

Including all of the British colonies that later became India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Listed alphabetically by first name, regardless of surname:

Bengali">Bengali poetry">Bengali

Mohitlal Majumdar, Smara-garal, Bengali
Rabindranath Tagore, in these two works as well as in some others of the mid- and early 1930s, the author introduced a new rhythm in poetry that "had a tremendous impact on the modern poets", according to Indian academic Sisir Kumar Das:
* Patrput
* ''Syamali''

Urdu">Urdu poetry">Urdu

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, "Kulam-i Jauhar", an Urdu poem edited and with an introduction by Abudul Majid Daryabadi
Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Zarb-i-Kalim, also rendered "Zarbe Kalim", philosophical poetry book in Urdu; the author's third collection in the Urdu language; the 183 poems include some ghazals; divided into six parts, including Islam and Muslims, Education, and Fine Arts
P. T. Narasimhachar, Mandaliru, 23 lyrics in Sanskritized Urdu

Translation, commentary and critical appreciation of Pas Cheh Bayad Kard and Masnavi Musafir in Urdu by Dr Elahi Bakhsh Akhtar Awan, publishers University Book Agency Peshawar Pakistan, 1960.

Other Indian languages

Changampuzha Krishna Pillai Ramanan, Malayalam-language poem about the life, love and death of his friend, the poet Edappalli Raghavan Pillai
Haridasa Siddhantavagish, Sankara Sambhavam Khandakavya, a mythological poem in Sanskrit
Idappalli Raghavan Pillai, Maninadam, Malayalam
Kulachandra Gautam, Prapanica Carca, religious verses in Nepali by an eminent Sanskrit scholar and translator
Mahadevi Varma, Sandhyagit, considered significant lyrics in the Chayavadi tradition; Hindi
Mahjoor, Taran-e Vatan, Kashmiri
Mohan Singh, Save Pattar, Punjabi romantic lyrics
Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Pas Chih Bayad Kard ay Aqwam-i-Sharq, philosophical poetry book in Persian
Sumitranandan Pant, Yugant, Hindi poems reflecting the author's transition from the Chayavad tradition to Pragtivad
Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Gitika, including poems on God, the beauty of nature, women, national awakening and philosophy; Hindi

Spanish language

Peru">Peruvian poetry">Peru

Rafael Méndez Dorich, Dibujos animados
Enrique Peña Barrenechea, Elegía a Bécquer y retorno a la sombra
César Vallejo, Nómina de huesos
José Varallanos, ''Primer cancionero cholo''

Spain">Spanish poetry">Spain

Federico García Lorca :
* Diván del Tamarit ;
* Sonetos del amor oscuro published this year
* Primeras canciones published this year
Jorge Guillén, Cántico, second, enlarged edition, with 125 poems in seven sections
Miguel Hernández, El rayo que no cesa
Pedro Salinas, Razón d'amor
Luis Felipe Vivanco, ''Cantos de primavera''

Other languages

Gottfried Benn, Ausgewählte Gedichte ; when first published in May, the book contains two poems that are deleted for the next edition in November : "Mann und Frau gehen durch die Krebsbaracke" and "D-Zug". The vast majority of the first editions are collected and destroyed.
Paul la Cour, Dette er vort Liv, Denmark
Martinus Nijhoff, Het Uur U, Netherlands
Millosh Gjergj Nikolla, Vargjet e lira, suppressed by government censors; enlarged edition with two poems deleted published in 1944, Albania
Cesare Pavese, Lavorare stanca, shortened by four poems deleted by Fascist censors; enlarged edition nearly double in size published in 1942; Florence: Solaria, Italy
August Sang, Üks noormees otsib õnne, Estonia

Awards and honors

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Robert P. Tristram Coffin: ''Strange Holiness''

Births

Death years link to the corresponding " in poetry" article:

February 19 - Frederick Seidel, American poet
March 19 - Anri Volokhonsky, Russian poet
March 24 - John Robert Colombo, Canadian poet, editor and humorist
March 25 - Neelamperoor Madhusoodanan Nair, Indian Malayalam language poet
March 31 - Marge Piercy, American poet, novelist and social activist
April 6 - John Pepper Clark, Nigerian poet and playwright originally publishing under the name "J. P. Clark"
April 17 - Brendan Kennelly, Irish poet and novelist
April 29 - Alejandra Pizarnik, Argentinian poet
May 28 - Fred Chappell, American poet, author and academic
June 24 - J. H. Prynne, English poet, writer, academic, key figure in the British Poetry Revival and a major contributor to The English Intelligencer
June 26 - Elisabeth Harvor, Canadian novelist and poet
June 27 - Lucille Clifton, African-American poet and feminist
July 9 - June Jordan, African-American political activist, writer, poet and teacher
July 11 - Al Mahmud, Bengali poet
August 24 - A. S. Byatt, English novelist and poet
September 11 - Sandra Hochman, American poet
November 4 - C. K. Williams, American poet
November 17 - Tarapada Roy, Bengali poet, essayist and short-story writer known for his satirical sense of humour
November 23 - Mats Traat, Estonian poet and writer
November 25 - William McIlvanney, Scottish novelist, short story writer and poet
November 27 - Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet
December 1
* George Bowering, Canadian novelist, poet, historian and biographer
* Saqi Farooqi, Indian-born Pakistani Urdu poet
December 4 - Ken Smith, English poet, academic and an editor of the quarterly Stand from in 1963 to 1972
December 17 - Frank Martinus Arion, Curaçaoan novelist and poet
December 26 - Tormod MacGill-Eain, Scottish Gaelic comedian, novelist, poet, musician and broadcaster
December 27 - Sandra Gilbert, American poet, critic and academic
Also:
* Stewart Conn, Scottish poet and playwright
* Rashid Hussein, Palestinian Arabic poet
* Clarence Major, American poet, novelist and painter
* Christopher Wiseman, English-born Canadian poet
* David Young, American poet and translator, editor and co-founder of FIELD magazine

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding " in poetry" article:

January - Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi, 73, Arab poet, philosopher and champion of women's rights
January 18 - Rudyard Kipling, 70, English author and poet, winner of the Nobel prize for literature in 1907
March 1 - Mikhail Kuzmin, 64, Russian poet, novelist and composer
March 3 - Govinda Krishna Chettur, 37, Indian poet writing in English
March 6 - Carlos Oquendo de Amat, 31, Peruvian-born poet, author of 5 Meters of Poems
April 30 - A. E. Housman, 77, English poet, writer and classical scholar, best known for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad
June 11 - Robert E. Howard, 30, American pulp fiction writer and poet, suicide
June 14 - G. K. Chesterton, 62, English writer, journalist, poet, biographer and Catholic apologist
July 4 - Edappally Raghavan Pillai, 27, Indian, Malayalam-language poet, suicide
August 19 - Federico García Lorca, 38, Spanish dramatist, poet, painter, pianist, composer and emblematic member of the Generation of '27, killed by Nationalist partisans at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War
September 26 - Harriet Monroe, 75, American editor, scholar, literary critic and patron of the arts best known as founder and longtime editor of Poetry magazine, of a cerebral haemorrhage
October 5 - J. Slauerhoff, 38, Dutch poet and novelist, of aggravated tuberculosis
December 28 - John Cornford, 21, English Communist poet, in the Spanish Civil War
December 31 - Miguel de Unamuno, 72, Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, and philosopher
Also:
* Kattakkayathil Cherian Mappila, Indian, Malayalam-language poet