Post-Modern American Poets

Post-Modern American Poets American poetry is full of personal freedom where people can express themselves with no strings attached. There are many different subjects that American poets choose to write about. Many tend to focus on their own individual problems in society. The structures of American poets also include personal confessions and insights. American poets have helped create our vision of post modern literature. Billy Collins, born in New York, wrote poetry about daily aspects in life. Anne Sexton, born in Massachusetts, wrote poems about personal struggles. These two modern American poets are similar in the way they have written about everyday complications and events. The styles of Billy Collins and Anne Sexton can be considered personal and dramatic in several ways. For example, Collins’ style is very involved with his inner life because he expresses such emotion for his daily aspects. In the poem “Forgetfulness”, the style is a free verse expression of something that happens to people everyday- memory loss. The progression of memory loss throughout the poem is symbolic of the loss of memory throughout life. Not all poems must end with a life-changing epiphany. This poem is a clever reflection on the nature of human memory loss, and a wonderful contribution by Collins to the world of contemporary poetry. On the other hand, Anne Sexton has a style that is best described as autobiographical and concentrates on her deep personal feelings, especially anguish. One example can be seen in the poem, “Wanting to Die” which expresses how she wants to commit suicide. Another example can be seen in the poem, “Despair” where Sexton’s sadness is portrayed by despair taking her away. It is a very controversial subject, however, both poets do not seem to mind to reach out to it. The themes of Collins and Sexton are somewhat different as Collins uses humor to make a serious point, and Sexton uses her psychological struggles to express hidden