1966 in poetry

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

Events

Raymond Souster founds the League of Canadian Poets
Philip Hobsbaum, who had founded The Belfast Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1963, departs for Glasgow, and the Belfast Group meetings lapsed for a while, but then was reconstituted in 1968 by Michael Allen, Arthur Terry, and Seamus Heaney. At one time or another, the grouping also includes Michael Longley, James Simmons, Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson, Stewart Parker, Bernard MacLaverty and the critic Edna Longley. Meetings will be held at Seamus and Marie Heaney's house on Ashley Avenue. The Belfast Group will last until 1972.
Russian poet Joseph Brodsky returns to Leningrad from the exile near the Arctic Circle where he had been sent when a Soviet court in 1964 convicted him of "parasitism".
Starting this year and continuing for a decade, Bulgarian censors prevent publication of works by Konstantin Pavlov, poet and screenwriter who was defiant against his country's communist regime; his popularity didn't wane, as Bulgarians clandestinely copied and read his poems.
Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort found Modern Poetry in Translation, a British journal focusing on the art of translating poetry. Later defunct, the magazine was relaunched in 2004 under editors David and Helen Constantine.
The journal L'éphémère founded in France; poets associated with it include Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin and André du Bouchet; it ceased publication in 1973

Works published in English

Listed by nation where the work was first published ; substantially revised works listed separately:

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

Margaret Avison, The Dumbfounding
Earle Birney, Selected Poems
Arthur Bourinot, Watcher of Men: selected poems
George Bowering, The Silver Wire
Leonard Cohen, The Parasites of Heaven
John Robert Colombo, Miraculous Montages
Robert Finch, Silverthorn Bush and Other Poems.
Lakshni Gill, During Rain I Plant Chrysanthemums
Ralph Gustafson, Sift in an Hourglass
George Johnston, Home Free
Gwendolyn MacEwen, A Breakfast for Barbarians
Richard Outram, Exultante Jubilee
Joe Rosenblatt, The LSD Leacock. Toronto: Coach House Press.
F. R. Scott, Selected Poems. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
A. J. M. Smith, and F. R. Scott, editors, The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse, second edition
Raymond Souster, ed. New Wave Canada, anthology of seven young writers
Miriam Waddington, ''The Glass Trumpet''

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

Nissim Ezekiel, Collected Poems,
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Bharatmata: A Prayer, an experimental work published by the author's own publishing house; Bombay: Ezra-Fakir Press
Dom Moraes, Beldam & Others
Gieve Patel, Poems, Mumbai: Nissim Ezekiel.
G. S. Sharat Chandra, Bharata Natyam Dancer and Other Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India.
Leela Dharmaraj, Slum Silhouette and Other Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India.
R. P. N. Sinha, editor, A Book of English Verse on Indian Soil, New Delhi: Orient Longmans

Ireland">Irish poetry">Ireland

Austin Clarke, Mnemosyne Lay in Dust, Dublin: Dolmen Press
Seamus Heaney, Death of a Naturalist, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
Thomas Kinsella, Wormwood, Dublin: Dolmen Press; book widely available in the United Kingdom
Louis MacNeice, The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice, edited by E. R. Dodds, including "Mayfly", "Snow", "Autumn Journal XVI", "Meeting Point", "Autobiography", "the Libertine", "Western Landscape", "Autumn Sequel XX", "The Once-in-Passing", "House on a Cliff", "Soap Suds", "The Suicide" and "Star-gazer", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom,
John Montague, All Legendary Obstacles, Dublin: Dolmen Press

United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

W. H. Auden, English poet published in the United States:
* About the House, first published in the United States, 1965
* Collected Shorter Poems 1927–57
Karen Gershon, Selected Poems
Gavin Bantock, Christ
George Barker, Dreams of a Summer Night
John Betjeman, High and Low
Basil Bunting, Briggflatts
Angela Carter, Unicorn
Lawrence Durrell, The Ikons, and Other Poems
Tom Earley, A Welshman in Bloomsbury
Gavin Ewart, Pleasures of the Flesh
Elaine Feinstein, In a Green Eye, Goliard Press
Robert Graves, Collected Poems
J. C. Hall, The Burning Hare
Seamus Heaney, Death of a Naturalist, Faber & Faber, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
Philip Hobsbaum, In Retreat
Christopher Isherwood, Exhumations, stories, articles and poetry; an English writer living in and published in the United States
Elizabeth Jennings, The Mind Has Mountains
Thomas Kinsella, Wormwood, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Philip Larkin, The North Ship
Richard Logue, Logue's ABC
Norman MacCaig, Surroundings
Louis MacNeice, The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice, edited by E. R. Dodds, including "Mayfly", "Snow", "Autumn Journal XVI", "Meeting Point", "Autobiography", "the Libertine", "Western Landscape", "Autumn Sequel XX", "The Once-in-Passing", "House on a Cliff", "Soap Suds", "The Suicide" and "Star-gazer", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom,
Ruth Pitter, Still by Choice
Sir Herbert Read, Collected Poems, Horizon Press
Peter Redgrove, The Force and Other Poems, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
Jon Silkin, New and Selected Poems
Stevie Smith, The Frog Prince, and Other Poems
Gillian Smyth, The Nitrogen Dreams of a Wide Girl
Gary Snyder, A Range of Poems, London: Fulcrum Press, American
R.S. Thomas, Pietà, Welsh
Anthony Thwaite and John Hollander publish the first anthology of double dactyls, Jiggery Pokery
Charles Tomlinson, American Scenes, and Other Poems, London: Macmillan
David Wevill, ''A Christ of the Ice Floes''

United States">American poetry">United States

A.R. Ammons, Northfield Poems
John Ashbery, Rivers and Mountains
Ted Berrigan, Some Things
Paul Blackburn,
* 16 Sloppy Haiku and a Lyric for Robert Reardon
* Sing Song
* translator, Poem of the Cid
Gwendolyn Brooks, We Real Cool
Robert Creeley, Poems 1950-1965
Robert Duncan, The Years as Catches
Randall Jarrell, The Lost World
Josephine Jacobsen, The Animal Inside
LeRoi Jones, Black Art
Stanley Kunitz, The Testing Tree
James Merrill, Nights and Days
W. S. Merwin, Collected Poems, New York: Atheneum
Sylvia Plath, Ariel, New York: Harper & Row American poet in the United Kingdom
A. K. Ramanujan, The Striders
Kenneth Rexroth, Collected Shorter Poems
Adrienne Rich, Necessities of Life, W. W. Norton & Company
Theodore Roethke, Roethke: Collected Poems
Anne Sexton, Live or Die
Louis Simpson, Selected Poems
Gary Snyder, A Range of Poems, London: Fulcrum Press
William Stafford, The Rescued Year
Robert Penn Warren, Selected Poems, New and Old: 1923-1966
Louis Zukofsky, All: the collected short poems 1956–1964, W. W. Norton & Company

Criticism, scholarship, biography

Wallace Stevens, Letters of Wallace Stevens, edited by Holly Stevens

Other in English

James K. Baxter, Pig Island Letters
Louise Bennett, Jamaica Labrish, Jamaica
John Pepper Clark, A Reed in the Tide
Keith Harrison, ''Points in a Journey''

Works published in other languages

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:

Denmark">Danish literature">Denmark

Benny Anderson (poet), Portrætgalleri
Thorkild Bjørnvig, Vibrationer
Poul Borum, Dagslys
Jørgen Gustava Brandt, Der er æg i mit skæg
Knud Holst, Samexistens
Henrik Nordbrandt, Digte
Bundgård Povlsen, ''Døgndrift''

Finland">Finnish literature">Finland

Paavo Haavikko, Puut, kaikki heidän vihreytensä,
Eeva-Liisa Manner, Kirjoitettu kivi, poems and translations from contemporary Spanish poets
Pentti Saarikoski, ''Ääneen''

French language

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada, in French

Roger Brien:
* Prométhée
* Le Jour se lève
Roland Giguère, L'Age de la parole
Marie Laberge, D'un Cri à l'autre
Rina Lasnier, L'Arbre blanc
Suzanne Paradis, Le Visage offensé
Jean Royer, À patience d'aimer, Québec: Éditions-de-l'Aile
Gemma Tremblay, ''Cratères sous la niege''

France">French poetry">France

Louis Aragon:
* Elégie a Pablo Neruda
* Les Poetes
L. Brauquier, a book of poetry
P. Chabaneix, a book of poetry
René Char:
* Recherche de la base et du sommet, Retour amont
* Retour Amont
Michel Déguy:
* Actes
* Ouï-dire
Pierre Emmanuel, Ligne de faîte
Andre Frenaud, Les Rois Mages, revised edition
Pierre Emmanuel, pen name of Noël Mathieu, Ligne de faîte
Gérard Genette, Figures I, one of three volumes of a work of critical scholarship in poetics – general theory of literary form and analysis of individual works — the Figures volumes are concerned with the problems of poetic discourse and narrative in Stendhal, Flaubert and Proust and in Baroque poetry
Eugène Guillevic, Avec
Robert Marteau, Travaux sur la terre
A. Miatlev, Thanathème
Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppia, Le ocassioni, and La bufera e altro, translated by Patrice Angelini into French from the original Italian; Paris: Gallimard
Jean-Claude Renard, La Terre du sacré, received the 1966 Prix Sainte-Beuve
A. Richaud, Je ne suis pas mort
P. Seghers, Dialogue
J. Tortel, Les Villes ouvertes
Dominique Tron, Stéréophonies
Boris Vian, a book of poetry

Belgium">Belgian poetry">Belgium

R. Goffin, a book of poetry in the publishing series "Poètes d'Aujourd'hui", French language, published in Belgium

Germany">German literature">Germany

West Germany

Günter Eich, Anlässe und Steingärten
Beda Allemann, editor, Ars poetica: Texte von Dichtern des 20. Jahrhunderts zur Poetik, 51 essays, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
Walter Naumann, Traum und Tradition in der deutschen Lyrik, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag
Translations
Oswald de Andrade, translations of his:
* Livro de Ensaios
* ''Gálaxias''

East Germany

Wolf Biermann, Die Drahtharfe
Volker Braun, ''Vorläufiges''

Hebrew">Hebrew literature">Hebrew

Israel">Israeli literature">Israel

Reuven Ben-Yosef, Shehafim Mamtinim American-born poet
David Fogel, collected poems, with an introduction by D. Pagis
S. Halkin, Maavar Yabok
C. Schirmann, a book of poetry: a compilation of new poems from the Genizah
Shin Shalom, a book of his complete works
N. Zach, ''Kol ha-Halav veha-Devash''

India">Indian poetry">India

Listed in alphabetical order by first name:

Geeta Parikh, Purvi; Gujarati-language
Hari Daryani, Mauj Kai Mehran, Sindhi-language
Udaya Narayana Singh, Kavayo Vadanti, Calcutta: Mithila Darshan; Maithili-language

Italy">Italian literature">Italy

Alfonso Gatto, La storia delle vittime
Dacia Maraini, Crudeltà all'aria aperta
Eugenio Montale, Xenia, poems in memory of Mosca, first published in a private edition of 50; Italy
Antonio Porta, I rapporti
Giovanni Raboni, Le case della Vetra
Sergio Salvi, Le croci di Cartesio
Roberto Sanesi, Rapporto informativo
Maria Luisa Spaziani, ''Utilità della memoria''

Norway">Norwegian literature">Norway

Georg Johannesen, Nye dikt
Sigmund Skard, Haustraun
Einar Skjæraasen, Bumerke
Ragnvald Skrede, Grunnmalm
Stein Mehren, Tids Alder
Jan Erik Vold, ''Hekt''

Portuguese language">Portuguese literature">Portuguese language

Brazil">Brazilian literature">Brazil

Oswald de Andrade, Complete Works, a new edition
Manuel Bandiera, Estrêla da Vida Inteira, an anthology of his poems, commemorating his 80th birthday
João Cabral de Melo Neto, A Educação pela Pedra
Mário Faustino, Poesía
Ferreira Gullar, Luta Corporal e Outros Poemas
Mário da Silva Brito, ''Poemário da Silva Brito''

Portugal">Portuguese poetry">Portugal

Ruy de Moura Belo, ''Boca bilíngüe''

Russia">Russian literature">Russia

Pavel Antokolski, two volumes of poems to celebrate his 70th birthday
David Kugoltinov, a book of poems translated from Kalmuk published in the "Soviet Poetry Library" series
Robert Rozhdestvenski, The Radius of Action, including "Letter to the Thirtieth Century"

Spanish language">Spanish literature">Spanish language

Mexico

José López Bermùdez, Canto a Morelos
Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Siete de espadas
Octavio Paz, "Vrindaban" and "Madurai" two poems on a Hindu theme by the Mexican ambassador to India
José Emilio Pacheco, El reposo del fuego
Ramón López Velarde, ''Suave Patria''

Spain

Jaime Gil de Biedma:
* En favor de Venus, a collection
* Moralidades, a larger collection published in Mexico
Carlos Barral, Figuración y fuga
Alfonso Canales, Aminadab
Gloria Fuertes, Ni tiro, veneno, ni navaja
Justo Jorge Padrón, Escrito en el agua
Dionisio Ridruejo, Cuaderno Catalán
Joaquín Caro Romero, ''El tiempo en el espejo''

Other in Spanish

José Santos Chocano, Antología, pról. y notas de Julio Ortega, Lima: Editorial Universitaria, Peru

Yiddish">Yiddish literature">Yiddish

Israel Emiot, a collection of poems
Jacob Glatstein, A Jew from Lublin
Gabriel Preil, a collection of poems
Chava Rosenfarb, a collection of poems
Meyer Stiker, a collection of poems
Moisei Teif, a collection of poems
Leyb Vaserman, a collection of poems

Other languages

Betti Alver, Tähetund, Estonia
Nizar Qabbani, Drawing with Words, Syrian poet writing in Arabic
Giorgos Seferis, Τρία Κρυφά Ποιήματα, Greece
Wisława Szymborska, 101 wierszy, Poland

Awards and honors

Nobel Prize for Literature: Nelly Sachs, a German poet, writing in German but living in Sweden and a Swedish subject, shared the prize with novelist and short story writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon of Israel.

Awards in Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

See 1966 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

Awards in France">French poetry">France

Prix des Critiques: René Char, for his work as a whole
Grand Prix de Poésie de l'Académie Française: Pierre Jean Jouve

Awards in the United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

Awards in the United States">American poetry">United States

Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress : James Dickey appointed this year.
National Book Award for Poetry: James Dickey, Buckdancer's Choice
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Richard Eberhart, Selected Poems
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Archibald MacLeish and John Berryman

Awards in Spain">Spanish literature">Spain

Premio de la Crítica : Claudio Rodriguez, Alianza y condena
Premio Adonais for verse: Vincente García Hernández, ''Los pájaros''

Other

Nordic Council's literature prize: Gunnar Ekelöf, ''Diwan över fursten av Engion''

Births

April 8 – Todd Swift, Canadian-born British poet
April 26 – Natasha Trethewey, American Poet Laureate
May 28 – Roddy Lumsden, Scottish poet
June 12 – Michael Redhill, American-born Canadian poet
July 21 – Tsering Woeser, Tibetan poet and essayist
August 10 – Christian Bök, Canadian experimental poet
August 31
* Alice Oswald, English poet
* Christian Wiman, American poet
September 4 – Yanka Dyagileva, Russian punk singer-songwriter and poet
October 7 – Sherman Alexie, Native American poet and author
October 19 – Dimitris Lyacos, Greek poet and playwright
November 17 – Jane Holland, English poet and novelist
December 20 – Joseph Woods, Irish poet
December 27 – Chris Abani, Nigerian poet
Also:
* Maurice Manning, American poet
* Constance Merritt, American poet
* Daljit Nagra, English poet
* Richard Price, British poet, curator and editor
* Volker Sielaff, German poet
* Yi Sha, Chinese poet

Deaths

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

January 22 – Jun Kawada 川田順, 84, Japanese, Shōwa period tanka poet and entrepreneur
January 23 – Berton Braley, 83, American poet
March 5 — Anna Akhmatova, 76, Russian poet
March 17 – Einar Skjæraasen, 66, Norwegian author and poet
March 29 – Arnold Wall, 97, New Zealand professor, philologist, poet, mountaineer and botanist
April 5 – Marcel Noppeney, Luxembourg French-language poet
May 14 – Georgia Douglas Johnson, 86, African American poet and playwright, of a stroke
June 1 – Inge Müller, 85, East German poet
June 7 – Jean Arp, 79, French Alsatian sculptor, painter and poet, leader in Dadaism
June 10 – Henry Treece, 54, English children's historical novelist and poet
June 27 – Arthur Waley, 76, English translator of Chinese poetry, Orientalist and Sinologist
July 11 – Delmore Schwartz, 52, American poet and short story writer, of a heart attack
July 25 – Frank O'Hara, 40, American art curator and poet, key member of the New York School, of ruptured liver following automobile accident
August 2 or 3 – Tristan Klingsor, pseudonym of Léon Leclère, 91, French poet, painter and musician, part of the fantaisiste school of French poets
August 10 – J. C. Bloem, 79, Dutch poet
August 12 – Artur Alliksaar, 43, Estonian poet, of cancer
August 14
*Raymond Duncan, 91, American-born dancer, artist, poet, craftsman and philosopher
*Alfred Kreymborg, 82, American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist
August 26 – W. W. E. Ross, 72, Canadian poet
August 27 – John Cournos, 85, Russian-American Imagist poet, better known for his novels, short stories, essays, criticism and translations of Russian literature; wrote under the pen name "John Courtney"
August 29 – Melvin B. Tolson, 68, African American Modernist poet, educator, columnist and politician
September 25 – Mina Loy, 73, English-born American artist, poet, Futurist and actress
September 28 – André Breton, 70, French poet, essayist and theorist, the leading exponent of Surrealism in literature
December 9 – Lazarus Aaronson, 71, English poet and academic economist
Also – Jun Tanaka 田中純, Japanese, Shōwa period poet