American epic poems
Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
TS ELIOT, THE WASTE LAND
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.
American Epic Poems (Chronological Order)
- 1855: Song of Myself – Walt Whitman
- A celebration of the individual, democracy, and the interconnectedness of all life.
- 1855: The Song of Hiawatha – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- A rhythmic, mythic retelling of Indigenous legends and the tragedy of cultural change.
- 1917–1969: The Cantos – Ezra Pound
- A fragmented, polyglot exploration of global history, economics, and cultural values.
- 1922: The Waste Land – T.S. Eliot
- A definitive modernist portrayal of spiritual exhaustion and social decay after WWI.
- 1930: The Bridge – Hart Crane
- A lyrical attempt to create a unified American myth through the symbol of the Brooklyn Bridge.
- 1946–1958: Paterson – William Carlos Williams
- An industrial city reimagined as a man, capturing the local voice and daily life.
- 1950s–1960s: The Maximus Poems – Charles Olson
- A sprawling investigation of history, geography, and the significance of place.
- 1956: Howl – Allen Ginsberg
- A raw, rhythmic protest against mid-century conformity and social destruction.
- 1961: Helen in Egypt -HD. Based on a fragment about Helen of Troy by the poet Stesichorus of Sicily (c. 640-555 B.C.).
Did her eyes slant in the old way? was she Greek or Egyptian? had some Phoenician sailor wrought her? was she oak-wood or cedar? had she been cut from an awkward block of ship-wood at the ship-builders, and afterwards riveted there, or had the prow itself been shaped to her mermaid body, curved to her mermaid hair? was there a dash of paint in the beginning, in the garment-fold, did the blue afterwards wear away? did they re-touch her arms, her shoulders? did anyone touch her ever? Had she other zealot and lover, or did he alone worship her? did she wear a girdle of sea-weed or a painted crown? how often did her high breasts meet the spray, how often dive down?
- 1972: The Fall of America – Allen Ginsberg
- A road-trip elegy for a nation fractured by war, politics, and technology.
- 1982: The Changing Light at Sandover – James Merrill
- A supernatural, Ouija-board-driven epic exploring the afterlife and the universe.
- 1988: Empire of Dreams – Giannina Braschi
- A postmodern, genre-bending journey through the immigrant experience and New York City.
- 1990: Omeros – Derek Walcott
- A Caribbean retelling of Homeric themes centered on memory, identity, and the sea.
To Foreign Lands
I heard that you ask’d for something to prove this puzzle the New World,
And to define America, her athletic Democracy,
Therefore I send you my poems that you behold in them what you wanted. (Walt Whitman)
American Epic Poems (Alphabetical Order)
AI lists
- Empire of Dreams – Giannina Braschi (1988)
- A genre-bending postmodern epic poem dramatizing the immigrant experience in New York City.
- Howl – Allen Ginsberg (1956)
- A raw, rhythmic protest against mid-century conformity and social destruction.
- Omeros – Derek Walcott (1990)
- A Caribbean retelling of Homeric themes centered on memory, identity, and the sea.
- Paterson – William Carlos Williams (1946–1958)
- An industrial city reimagined as a man, capturing the local voice and daily life.
- Song of Myself – Walt Whitman (1855)
- A celebration of the individual, democracy, and the interconnectedness of all life.
- The Bridge – Hart Crane (1930)
- A lyrical attempt to create a unified American myth through the symbol of the Brooklyn Bridge.
- The Cantos – Ezra Pound (1917–1969)
- A fragmented, polyglot exploration of global history, economics, and cultural values.
- The Changing Light at Sandover – James Merrill (1982)
- A supernatural, Ouija-board-driven epic exploring the afterlife and the universe.
- The Fall of America – Allen Ginsberg (1972)
- A road-trip elegy for a nation fractured by war, politics, and technology.
- The Maximus Poems – Charles Olson (1950s–1960s)
- A sprawling investigation of history, geography, and the significance of place.
- The Song of Hiawatha – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1855)
- A rhythmic, mythic retelling of Indigenous legends and the tragedy of cultural change.
- The Waste Land – T.S. Eliot (1922)
- A definitive modernist portrayal of spiritual exhaustion and social decay after WWI.
On the top floor of the Empire State a shepherd has stood up to sing and dance. What a wonderful thing. That New York City has been invaded by so many shepherds. That work has stopped and there is only singing and dancing. And that the newspapers—The New York Times, in headlines, and The Daily News—call out: New York. New York. New York. Listen to it. Hear it on the radio. And on television. Listen to the loudspeakers. Listen to it. The buffoons have died. And the little lead soldier. Shepherds have invaded New York. They have conquered New York. They have colonized New York. The special of the day in New York’s most expensive restaurant is golden acorn. It’s an egg. It’s an apple. It’s a bird. Fish. Melody. Poetry. And epigram. Now there is only song. Now there is only dance. Now we do whatever we please. Whatever we please. Whatever we damn well please.
(From Pastoral of Empire of Dreams by Giannina Braschi)
American Epic Poetry Resources
- Library of Congress Epic poetry resources
- NY Society Library Epic Poems
- Academy of American Poets /Epic Poems
- Poetry Foundation Epic Poems
Links to other resources for American Epic Poetry: Epic, American Feminist Epics, Puerto Rican Epic Poem