Great American Poems: The Road Not Taken, The Waste Land, Paul Revere's Ride, and 99 Others

For some, the song of America is an anthem, exalting the fabled American Dream; for others, it is a funeral dirge for a dream indefinitely deferred. Yet, from the optimism of Emma Lazarus's The New Colossus to the disenchantment of Paul Laurence Dunbar's We Wear the Mask, the diverse and sometimes dissonant voices in this collection combine to form an eclectic collage of American poetry.

This anthology explores a wide range of themes, many universal and some uniquely American; ruminations on beauty and grief can be found alongside thoughts on bigotry, Buffalo Bill, the birth of a nation, and the death of Kurt Cobain. This patchwork of American poetry is as diverse and multifaceted as the country itself.

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and notes to help readers understand and appreciate the nuances of the poems in this collection.