1988 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

List of years in poetry (table)
In literature
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
+...

Events

  • The first annual The Best American Poetry volume is published this year.
  • During a poetry reading in which popular Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky takes written questions from the audience, he reads out two responses: "All of you are Jews or sold out to Jews", one reads. Another only says, "We will kill you". In The Ditch: A Spiritual Trial, published in 1986, Voznesensky had written poetry and prose about a 1941 German massacre of 12,000 Russians in the Crimea, and the looting of their mass graves in the 1980s by Soviet citizens that was tolerated, he said, by officials because the victims were primarily Jews. Voznesensky reads the notes out loud and challenges the writers to identify themselves. None does.

Works published in English

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

Australia

Canada

India, in English

Ireland

  • Ciaran Carson, The New Estate and Other Poems, Oldcastle: New Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-032-1
  • Harry Clifton, The Liberal Cage, Oldcastle: New Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-026-0
  • Paul Durcan, Jesus and Angela, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
  • Seamus Heaney: The Sounds of Rain, Emory University, Northern Irish poet at this time living in the United States
  • Valentin Iremonger, Sandymount, Dublin, including "This Houre Her Vigill", "Clear View in Summer" and "Icarus"
  • Thomas Kinsella:
    • Blood and Family, including "The Messenger" and "Out of Ireland"
    • One Fond Embrace: Peppercanister 13
  • Philippe Jaccottet, The Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet, Viking, translated from French by Derek Mahon, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
  • Medbh McGuckian, On Ballycastle Beach Northern Irish poet published in the United Kingdom

New Zealand

United Kingdom

Anthologies

United States

Poets appearing in The Best American Poetry 1988

The 75 poets included in The Best American Poetry 1988, edited by David Lehman, co-edited this year by John Ashbery:

Other works published in English

Works published in other languages

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

Arabic language

  • Nizar Qabbani, Syrian:
    • Three Stone-throwing Children
    • Secret Papers of a Karmathian Lover
    • Biography of an Arab Executioner

French language

  • Michel Deguy, Comité ("Committee"), a book attacking French publishers for using poets they rarely publish themselves to help determine which books of poetry to accept; France
  • Abdellatif Laabi, translator, Je t'aime au gré de la mort, translated from the original Arabic of Samih al-Qâsim into French; Paris: Unesco/Éditions de Minuit
  • Jean Royer, Poèmes d'amour, 1966-1986, Montréal: l'Hexagone; Canada

India

Listed in alphabetical order by first name:

Poland

  • Stanisław Barańczak, Widokowka z tego swiata ("A Postcard from the Other World"), Paris: Zeszyty Literackie
  • Ryszard Krynicki, Niepodlegli nicości (wybrane i poprawione wiersze i przekłady) ("Independent Nothingness (Selected and Revised Poems and Translations)"); Warsaw: NOWA
  • Piotr Sommer, Czynnik liryczny i inne wiersze

Spanish Language Poetry

Other languages

Awards and honors

Australia

Canada

India

United Kingdom

United States

Births

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

See also