The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics - 4th Edition by Stephen Cushman & Clare Cavanagh & Jahan Ramazani & Paul Rouzer (Paperback)

About the Book

Rev. ed. of: The Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics / Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan, co-editors; Frank J. Warnke, O.B. Hardison, Jr., and Earl Miner, associate editors. 1993.

Book Synopsis

The most important poetry reference for more than four decades--now fully updated for the twenty-first century

Through three editions over more than four decades, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics has built an unrivaled reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference for students, scholars, and poets on all aspects of its subject: history, movements, genres, prosody, rhetorical devices, critical terms, and more. Now this landmark work has been thoroughly revised and updated for the twenty-first century. Compiled by an entirely new team of editors, the fourth edition--the first new edition in almost twenty years--reflects recent changes in literary and cultural studies, providing up-to-date coverage and giving greater attention to the international aspects of poetry, all while preserving the best of the previous volumes.

At well over a million words and more than 1,000 entries, the Encyclopedia has unparalleled breadth and depth. Entries range in length from brief paragraphs to major essays of 15,000 words, offering a more thorough treatment--including expert synthesis and indispensable bibliographies--than conventional handbooks or dictionaries.

This is a book that no reader or writer of poetry will want to be without.

• Thoroughly revised and updated by a new editorial team for twenty-first-century students, scholars, and poets


• More than 250 new entries cover recent terms, movements, and related topics


• Broader international coverage includes articles on the poetries of more than 110 nations, regions, and languages


• Expanded coverage of poetries of the non-Western and developing worlds


• Updated bibliographies and cross-references


• New, easier-to-use page design


• Fully indexed for the first time

Review Quotes

"The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics is a stupendous work. . . . What makes it unique and extremely valuable is the exhaustive entries. . . . Running into 1639 pages, in single volume, this is a huge contribution to the study of poetry and poetics. Any student of literature and linguistics should have a copy as it introduces the reader to every nuance of poetry, in its finest. A marvelous work indeed."---Vaidehi Nathan, Organiser

"The Princeton Encyclopedia is a superb achievement, an essential item for university libraries supporting literature courses and I would strongly urge public libraries to also purchase a copy."---Linda Kemp, Reference Reviews

"[T]he Princeton Encyclopedia has earned its reputation as the standard reference work for the array of topics comprehended by the study of poetry. . . . [I]ts coverage of an impressive range of poetic traditions hitherto relatively unheralded in mainstream Western criticism is one of its most prominent achievements. . . . [T]his edition of the Encyclopedia has turned concertedly to expert specialists in non-Western poetries like never quite before, which allows for subtle, well-informed and finely grained entries across (almost) the full range of world poetries. . . . [T]his fourth edition of The Princeton Encyclopedia superlatively fulfils its nearly fifty-year-old commitment to, as the preface to the first edition had it, 'accuracy, utility, interest, and . . . thoroughness.'"---Ross Wilson, Times Literary Supplement

"[I]f you're a student of poetry, you'll want to own a copy. . . . The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics goes far beyond a beginner's guide to poetry, and the new Fourth Edition is a worthy update to an already excellent encyclopedia series."-- "Poetry International"

"[I]t is a browser's gem. This fully indexed Encyclopedia is user friendly and of immense interests to poets, editors, scholars and everyone interested in poetry. With the wealth of information it contains it is great value for money and in my opinion is far more reliable than researching on line."---Les Merton, Poetry Cornwall

"[O]ne of the greatest literary reference works in all of poetry. . . . The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics is an excellent, worthy addition to anyone's collection."---John Cowans, BookPleasures

"[T]his encyclopedia is a bargain for anyone seriously interested in poetry. . . . This Princeton Encyclopedia, for all its contemporaneity, has the bonus of several hundred years' scholarship behind it. . . . The entries . . . are scholarly and extremely wide-ranging. All kinds of poetry are . . . taken seriously and the traditions of all major languages--and many minor ones--are treated in considerable detail."---Geoff Page, Age

"[W]orthy. . . . [M]onumental."---Stuart Mitchner, Town Topics

"Ever since its first publication in 1965, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry & Poetics has oft been referred to as the ultimate, authoritative reference with regards the study of poetry. With its menagerie of terms, concepts, schools, movements and international tradition(s), contained herein is an almost one-of-kind reference book. It's so good--it makes for interesting and stimulating reading in its own right; and there really aren't many reference books one can say that about!"---David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews

"Ever since the first edition of this work, in 1965, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics has been a comprehensive and authoritative reference work valued by students, teachers, and poets. . . . This edition will be welcomed by all readers of poetry. It provides so many new essays and updates, and, finally, has an index, which is useful as the Encyclopedia does not include entries on individual poets, but rather discusses them in the context of the larger topics to which they are related. Also beneficial is the new page layout that is easier to read and more conducive to browsing. Highly recommended."-- "Library Journal"

"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013"

"Roland Greene and associates have done a tremendous job in revising Terry Brogan's and Alex Preminger's magisterial 3d edition of this classic work. It's a vast compendium of poetic lore, terminology, technique, and history with an astutely chosen set of contributors. At 1664 pages, I am still cruising the book and wishing I had the digital edition as well. This is a work to dip into at any page for a wealth of detailed and often absorbingly arcane information. PEPP is up to date, with entries for new poetic developments right up to the present (yes, Lavinia, Conceptual poetry, Kootenay school, and Flarf have entries, along with my own précis on 'absorption, ' and new entries on antropofagia, codework, cognitive poetics, Xul, Sanskrit poetry, and many more). The index alone is worth the price of admission. . . . As a kid (and as the kid I still am) I read through dictionaries and encyclopedias, a to z; this book holds that same kind of transfixing fascination. It also shows how new encyclopaedias (I prefer that spelling) can remain relevant in the wake of Wiki. Each of the entries is signed and bears the stamp of its author. While scholarly and descriptive in tone, the book has a thousand different points of view of what poetry is and how it works, hundreds of contradictory, or at least competing, programs. As with the best compendia of odd facts and magical formulae, the wild swerve from one entry to the next offers delight upon delight."---Charles Bernstein, Lemon Hound

"There is a wealth of interest and debate in this impressive book. It is pretty hefty and not for reading on a train but can be dipped into or the specific topics studied in individual detail."---Stella Stocker, Weyfarers

"This belongs on the desk of anyone teaching creative writing or literature, and anyone over the age of twelve who is serious about poetry."---Barbara Berman, Rumpus

"This is a huge reference work, and the publicity people at Princeton are justifiably proud of it. Even though this book is about poetry, it is surprisingly complete. For example; I love how the book discusses the poetry of a people and ties it to their history--I mean, I could read this book for the historical context of a particular body of ethnic or linguistic poetry alone, but of course, there is plenty of poetry in here, too. If you are a poet, a student of poetry or if you (like me) love reading poetry, then this is, without any doubt, the book for you! It certainly would make an excellent gift for the poet, scholar or poetry lover in your life."---Devorah Bennu, GrrlScientist

"With 1,000-plus entries (some 250 of which are new), this edition expands and updates the New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, with a more detailed focus on international traditions not often included in English-language reference tools. . . . This volume will be a valuable addition for universities, and for colleges with MFA programs in creative writing."-- "Choice"

"You can't say enough about The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, because it has already said just about everything. It is an encyclopedia, after all, but more than that, it is a thoroughly illuminating text that contains everything a poet or critic might need to know, from Accentual-Syllabic Verse to Zulu poetry. To put it simply, it is the most fascinating book on poetics published this year."---Stephan Delbos, Body

About the Author

Roland Greene is the Mark Pigott KBE Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Stanford University. Stephen Cushman is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Clare Cavanagh is Professor of Slavic and Comparative Literature at Northwestern University. Jahan Ramazani is the Edgar F. Shannon Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Paul F. Rouzer is Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Minnesota.