"Oh, Edna!" The Best 101 poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay 1917 - 1923
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
If you believe the name "Edna" sounds old-fashioned, you haven’t yet met the woman who defined the roaring twenties.
At SomeThink Publications, we are thrilled to announce our latest release: "Oh, Edna!" — a curated collection of the best poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
For many, the first encounter with Millay happens by chance—perhaps stumbling upon her defiant "First Fig" or the staggering, soulful depth of "Renascence." For me, it began decades ago in a university library, falling headlong for a voice that felt strikingly modern despite being written a century ago.
FIRST FIG My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light!
Why Millay Matters Today
Edna St. Vincent Millay was a poetic prodigy and a provocateur. She was a woman strikingly ahead of her time, whose verse was—and often still is—deemed "shocking." She didn't just write poetry; she lived it with a burning intensity that earned her the Pulitzer Prize and made her a household name.
In this volume, we have gathered the top Edna St. Vincent Millay poems to showcase the full range of her genius. Whether she is exploring the weight of infinity or the "puny fever" of human love, her work remains a masterclass in the discipline of compression.
Inside the Collection
This isn’t just another Edna St. Vincent Millay anthology. We have meticulously organized her work into a "Themed Selection" to help readers navigate her complex sensibilities.
The Power of the Short Poem: From the bright, eight-line flares that made her famous to her mastery of the Millay sonnet, every line is cut down to its living edge.
A Journey Through Her Major Works: Featuring essential selections from her most iconic early collections, including:
Renascence and Other Poems (1917)
A Few Figs from Thistles (1920)
Second April (1921)
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (1922)
Timeless Themes: The collection explores love, time, joy, faith, loss, and awakening—poems that can be read in a breath but carried quietly through a life.
Feed Your Soul with Edna St Vincent Millay's Poetry
Whether you are looking for the best of Edna St. Vincent Millay to add to your own library or seeking a meaningful poetry gift book for a loved one, Oh, Edna! offers both blossoms and sustenance.
"Oh, Edna!" is now available in a beautiful 5.5 x 8.5" hardcover edition.
TIME DOES NOT BRING RELIEF Time does not bring relief; you all have lied Who told me time would ease me of my pain! I miss him in the weeping of the rain; I want him at the shrinking of the tide; The old snows melt from every mountain-side, And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane; But last year's bitter loving must remain Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide! There are a hundred places where I fear To go,—so with his memory they brim! And entering with relief some quiet place Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say, "There is no memory of him here!" And so stand stricken, so remembering him!
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