You make some good points about how selected poems are in fact selected. The “Best” Poems of Jane Kenyon (Donald Hall’s wife) leaves out my favorite (and I am not alone) of her poems, “Taking Down the Tree.”. On the other hand, I suspect that publishers can’t afford to keep all these skinny editions in print — so frequently, our best bet is a “Selected Poems of…”
One thing I've noticed about Les Murray's poems is that it's never obvious which ones will make it into an anthology or a "selected". I love "Noonday Axeman" but it often doesn't make the cut. As you say, he wrote a lot, but the number of good -- and even great -- poems he wrote is astonishing.
You make some good points about how selected poems are in fact selected. The “Best” Poems of Jane Kenyon (Donald Hall’s wife) leaves out my favorite (and I am not alone) of her poems, “Taking Down the Tree.”. On the other hand, I suspect that publishers can’t afford to keep all these skinny editions in print — so frequently, our best bet is a “Selected Poems of…”
I love Jane Kenyon, and that poem is amazing. "Tick, tick, the desiccated needles drop."
One thing I've noticed about Les Murray's poems is that it's never obvious which ones will make it into an anthology or a "selected". I love "Noonday Axeman" but it often doesn't make the cut. As you say, he wrote a lot, but the number of good -- and even great -- poems he wrote is astonishing.
"Noonday Axeman" is a really good one.