Poetry of America Author: W.J.Linton Publisher: George Bell & Sons, York St Covent Garden, London Date: 1878fictionThe full title is Poetry of America: Selections From One Hundred American Poets From 1776 to 1876. Compiled just after the US Centennial, it is an ambitious anthology celebrating a century of American poetic independence from Britain. It includes works by major literary figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Beyond mainstream poetry, the book features two highly distinctive additions: a comprehensive introductory review analyzing early American verse written before 1776, and a section dedicated to traditional African American songs and spirituals. This was one of the earliest instances of a major transatlantic anthology recognizing African American folk music as a vital pillar of American culture. This volume also features an iconic frontispiece portrait of Walt Whitman.book, poetry of america, w.j.linton, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, warrnambool, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, great ocean road, poetry