1937 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Events
- February 1 – First broadcast on Sveriges Radio of the continuing programme Dagens dikt.
- Summer – In Nazi Germany, Wolfgang Willrich, a member of the SS, lampoons German expressionist poet Gottfried Benn in his book Säuberung des Kunsttempels; Heinrich Himmler, however, steps in to reprimand Willrich and defends Benn on the grounds of his pro-Nazi record since 1933.
- Iowa Writers' Workshop is founded by Paul Engle at the University of Iowa
- George Hill Dillon becomes editor of Poetry Magazine, remaining in that post until 1949.
- Poems of colonial American pastor Edward Taylor are first discovered and published.
- W. B. Yeats concludes his recordings of his own verse and his broadcast lectures on the BBC.
Works published in English
Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada
- Wilson MacDonald, Comber Cove. Toronto: S.J.R. Saunders.
- E. J. Pratt, The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems, Toronto: Macmillan. Governor General's Award 1937.
India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English
- Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Strange Journey, Madras: Shakti Karyalayam
- P. R. Kaikini, This Civilization, Bombay: New Book Co.
- Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom
- W. H. Auden, Spain
- W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland, partly poetry
- George Barker, Calamiterror
- John Betjeman, Continual Dew: A little book of bourgeois verse, including "The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel"
- Edmund Blunden, A Ballad of Titles, An elegy, and other poems and Uneasy Quiet
- Walter de la Mare, This Year, Next Year, illustrations by Harold Jones, Faber
- David Jones, In Parenthesis, frontispiece by author, Faber
- Charles Madge, The Disappearing Castle
- Edwin Muir, Journeys and Places
- Enoch Powell, First Poems, Oxford: Blackwell
- Isaac Rosenberg, Collected Works, foreword by Siegfried Sassoon; posthumously published
- Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry in English, published in the United Kingdom
- Stevie Smith, ''A Good Time Was Had By All''
United States">American poetry">United States
- W. H. Auden, with Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland
- R. P. Blackmur, From Jordan's Delight
- Louise Bogan, the Sleeping Fury
- Richard Eberhart, Reading the Spirit
- Robert Hillyer, A Letter to Robert Frost and Others
- Robinson Jeffers, Such Counsels You Gave to Me
- Josephine Johnson, Year's End
- Edna St. Vincent Millay, Conversation at Midnight
- Ezra Pound, The Fifth Decad of Cantos
- May Sarton, Encounter in April
- Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the author's first book; for children
- Wallace Stevens, The Man with the Blue Guitar, and Other Poems, includes "The Man With the Blue Guitar," "A Thought Revolved," and "The Men That Are Falling", Knopf
- Allen Tate, ''Selected Poems''
Other in English
- Allen Curnow, Enemies: Poems 1934–36, New Zealand
- Robin Hyde, Wednesday's Children, New Zealand
- Seaforth Mackenzie, Our Earth, Sydney: Angus and Robertson; Australia
Works published in French
Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada
- Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, ''Regards et jeux dans l'espace''
France">French poetry">France
- Jacques Audiberti, Race des hommes
- Rene-Guy Cadou, Les Brancardiers de l'aube, the author's first book of poems, published when he was 17 years old
- Pierre Jean Jouve, Matière celeste
- Max Jacob, Morceaux choisis
- Oscar Vladislas de Lubicz-Milosz, also known as O. V. de L. Milosz, Dix-sept Poèmes de Milosz
- Henri Michaux, Plume, précédé de Lointain intérieur
- Pierre Reverdy, Ferraille
- Philippe Soupault, ''Poésies Complètes 1917-1973''
Works published in other languages
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
- Mallavarapu Visveswara Rao, Madukila, notable for its style, sentiments and various metrics
- Rabindranath Tagore:
- * Khapchada, short, humorous and frivolous poems in the style of nursery rhymes
- * Chadar Chabi
- Samar Sen, Kayekti Kabita, Indian, Bengali-language
- Sudhindranath Dutta, ''Krandasi''
Telugu">Telugu poetry">Telugu
- Gangula Sayi Reddi, Kapu bidda, poems on the condition of farmers; Telugu
- Gurram Jashuva, editor, Khanda Kavyamu or Jashuva Khandakavyalu, in seven volumes, published from this year to 1949; anthology of Telagu poetry
- Peer Aziz Ullah Haqqani, Qissa-e-Mumtaz E Benazir, a large masnavi of Romantic mysticism; Telugu; posthumous
- Srirangam arayanababu, Rudhirajyoti, Telugu
- Vedula Satyanarayan Shastri, Dipavali, romantic lyrics, Telugu
Urdu">Urdu poetry">Urdu
- Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi Noor-e-Mashriq - Collection of nazms, geets and sonnets published by Jyoti Prasad Gupta, Jyoti Printing Works, Esplanade, Delhi in 1937.
Other Indian languages
- Anupa Sharma, Siddharth, a Hindi epic in 18 chapters on the story of Gautama Buddha
- D. R. Bendre, also known as Ambikatanaya Datta, Sakhigita, the title poem is autobiographical; Kannada
- Devandas Kishinani, 'Purab Sandes, Indian, Sindhi-language
- Ghulam Mohammad Hanafi, Jang-e Amir Hamza, a Jangnama, based on an episode in the movement to spread Islam; Kashmiri
- Hijam Anganhal Simha, Singel Indu, a long narrative Meitei poem
- Manjewshwara Govinda Pai, Golgotha, long narrative poem on the final days of Jesus Christ, Kannada
- Riddhinath Jha, Pravasi Mithiles, verses praising the Maharaja of Darbhanga; Maithili
- Siyaramsharan Gupta, Bapu, on Gandhi and his ideology, Hindi
Spanish language
Peru">Peruvian poetry">Peru
- Xavier Abril, Descubrimiento del alba
- José Santos Chocano, Poemas de amor doliente, Peru
- Manuel Moreno Jimeno, Así bajaron los perros
- Luis Fabio Xammar, ''Waino''
Other in Spanish
- Miguel Hernández, Viento del pueblo; Spain
Other
Awards and honors
- Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: W. H. Auden
- Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress : Joseph Auslander appointed this year
- Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Edwin Markham
- Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: The Fable of the Goats, E. J. Pratt
Births
Death years link to the corresponding " in poetry" article:- January 1:
- * John Fuller, English poet and author
- * Dilwar Khan, Bengali poet
- January 14 - J. Bernlef, born Hendrik Jan Marsman, Dutch poet, novelist and translator
- February 21 - Mervyn Morris, Jamaican poet
- February 27 - Peter Hamm, German poet, author, journalist, editor and literary critic
- April 10 - Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet
- April 23 - Coleman Barks, American poet who, although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, is nonetheless renowned as a translator of Rumi and other mystic poets of Persia
- April 30 - Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
- May 11 - Michael Heller, American poet
- May 21 - Glen Sorestad, Canadian poet
- June 8 - Gillian Clarke, native Welsh, English-language poet, playwright, editor, broadcaster, lecturer and translator
- June 10 - Susan Howe, American poet and critic closely associated with the Language poets
- July 3 - Milovan Danojlić, Serbian poet and essayist
- July 10 - Kurt Bartsch, German poet
- July 18 - Roald Hoffmann, born Safran, Polish-born American theoretical chemist, poet and playwright, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- July 29 - Eleanor Wilner, American poet and editor
- August 3
- * Marvin Bell, American poet
- * Diane Wakoski, American poet associated with the "deep image" poets and the Beats
- September 14 - Douglas Oliver, British poet
- October 11 - R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, critic and translator
- November 4 - W. Dabney Stuart, American poet
- November 9
- * Roger McGough, English poet
- * S. Abdul Rahman, Tamil poet
- November 11 - Alicia Ostriker, American poet and academic
- November 19 - Meg Campbell, New Zealand poet and wife of Alistair Campbell
- December 1 - Eugene B. Redmond, African-American poet
- December 23 - Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Lebanese-born French poet, novelist and beauty queen
- December 31 - Nicolas Born, German poet
- Also:
- * Parijat, पारिजात, Bishnu Kumari Waiba, Nepalese novelist and poet
- * John Riley, English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival
Deaths
Death years link to the corresponding " in poetry" article:- March 8 - Albert Verwey, Dutch poet
- June 22 - Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy poet writing in French; suicide
- July 6 - Alex McDade, Scottish poet and labourer; killed in the Spanish Civil War
- July 18 - Julian Bell, English poet, and a member of a family whose notable members include his parents, Clive and Vanessa Bell; his aunt, Virginia Woolf; his younger brother, writer Quentin Bell; and his half-sister, writer and painter Angelica Garnett; killed in the Spanish Civil War
- August 11 - Edith Wharton, American novelist, short story writer, designer and poet
- September 8 - Anna Hempstead Branch, American poet
- October 22 - Chūya Nakahara 中原 中也, early Shōwa period Japanese poet
- December 26 - Ivor Gurney, English composer and poet; tuberculosis while suffering delusional insanity
- December 29 - Don Marquis, American poet, artist, newspaper columnist, humorist, playwright and author best known for creating the characters "Archy" and "Mehitabel"
- Also - Constance Woodrow, English-born Canadian poet