60 / Rabindranath Tagore -- Address to the angels / Maxine Kumin -- The afterlife / Billy Collins -- The continuous life / Mark Strand -- The country without a post office / Agha Shahid Ali -- The darkling thrush / Thomas Hardy -- Duration / Octavio Paz -- The garden shukkei-en / Carolyn Forche -- The greatest grandeur / Pattiann Rogers -- The last question / Dorothy Parker -- Midnight verses / Anna Akhmatova -- New rule / Anne Carson -- Song of reasons / Robert Pinsky -- Spring-watching pavilion / Ho Xuan Huong -- Temple bells die out / Matsuo Basho -- To an unknown poet / Carolyn Kizer.
Provides analysis of the most frequently studied poems in literature courses. Contains author biography (if attributed), poem text, poem summary, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.