1937 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

• February 1 – First broadcast on Sveriges Radio (Sweden) of the continuing programme Dagens dikt ("Poem of the day").^[1]
• Summer – In Nazi Germany, Wolfgang Willrich, a member of the SS, lampoons German expressionist poet Gottfried Benn in his book Säuberung des Kunsttempels; Heinrich Himmler, however, steps in to reprimand Willrich and defends Benn on the grounds of his pro-Nazi record since 1933 (his earlier artistic output being dismissed as irrelevant).
• Iowa Writers' Workshop is founded by Paul Engle at the University of Iowa
• George Hill Dillon becomes editor of Poetry Magazine, remaining in that post until 1949.
• Poems of colonial American pastor Edward Taylor (d. 1729) are first discovered and published.^[2]
• W. B. Yeats concludes his recordings of his own verse and his broadcast lectures on the BBC (begun in 1936).^[3]

• Wilson MacDonald, Comber Cove. Toronto: S.J.R. Saunders.^[4]
• E. J. Pratt, The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems, Toronto: Macmillan.^[5] Governor General's Award 1937.

• Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Strange Journey ( Poetry in English ), Madras: Shakti Karyalayam^[6]
• P. R. Kaikini, This Civilization ( Poetry in English ), Bombay: New Book Co.^[7]
• Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature ( Poetry in English ), London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry published in the United Kingdom^[8]

• W. H. Auden, Spain^[9]
• W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland, partly poetry^[9]
• George Barker, Calamiterror^[9]
• John Betjeman, Continual Dew: A little book of bourgeois verse,^[9] including "The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel"
• Edmund Blunden, A Ballad of Titles, An elegy, and other poems and Uneasy Quiet
• Walter de la Mare, This Year, Next Year, illustrations by Harold Jones, Faber
• David Jones, In Parenthesis, frontispiece by author, Faber
• Charles Madge, The Disappearing Castle^[9]
• Edwin Muir, Journeys and Places^[9]
• Enoch Powell, First Poems, Oxford: Blackwell^[10]
• Isaac Rosenberg, Collected Works, foreword by Siegfried Sassoon; posthumously published^[9]
• Iqbal Ali Shah, editor, The Coronation Book of Oriental Literature, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 404 pages; anthology; Indian poetry in English, published in the United Kingdom^[8]
• Stevie Smith, A Good Time Was Had By All^[9]

• W. H. Auden, with Louis MacNeice, Letters from Iceland^[11]
• R. P. Blackmur, From Jordan's Delight^[11]
• Louise Bogan, the Sleeping Fury^[11]
• Richard Eberhart, Reading the Spirit^[11]
• Robert Hillyer, A Letter to Robert Frost and Others^[11]
• Robinson Jeffers, Such Counsels You Gave to Me^[11]
• Josephine Johnson, Year's End^[11]
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, Conversation at Midnight^[11]
• Ezra Pound, The Fifth Decad of Cantos^[11]
• May Sarton, Encounter in April^[11]
• Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the author's first book; for children
• Wallace Stevens, The Man with the Blue Guitar, and Other Poems, includes "The Man With the Blue Guitar," "A Thought Revolved," and "The Men That Are Falling", Knopf^[12]
• Allen Tate, Selected Poems^[11]

• Allen Curnow, Enemies: Poems 1934–36 (Caxton), New Zealand
• Robin Hyde, Wednesday's Children, New Zealand
• Seaforth Mackenzie, Our Earth, Sydney: Angus and Robertson; Australia

• Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, Regards et jeux dans l'espace ^[13]

• Jacques Audiberti, Race des hommes^[14]
• Rene-Guy Cadou, Les Brancardiers de l'aube, the author's first book of poems, published when he was 17 years old^[14]
• Pierre Jean Jouve, Matière celeste^[15]
• Max Jacob, Morceaux choisis^[15]
• Oscar Vladislas de Lubicz-Milosz, also known as O. V. de L. Milosz, Dix-sept Poèmes de Milosz^[15]
• Henri Michaux, Plume, précédé de Lointain intérieur^[15]
• Pierre Reverdy, Ferraille^[15]
• Philippe Soupault, Poésies Complètes 1917–1973^[15]

Including all of the British colonies that later became India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Listed alphabetically by first name, regardless of surname:

• Mallavarapu Visveswara Rao, Madukila, notable for its style, sentiments and various metrics^[16]
• Rabindranath Tagore:
  • Khapchada, short, humorous and frivolous poems in the style of nursery rhymes^[16]
  • Chadar Chabi^[16]
• Samar Sen, Kayekti Kabita, Indian, Bengali-language^[16]
• Sudhindranath Dutta, Krandasi^[16]

• Gangula Sayi Reddi, Kapu bidda, poems on the condition of farmers; Telugu^[16]
• Gurram Jashuva, editor, Khanda Kavyamu or Jashuva Khandakavyalu, in seven volumes, published from this year to 1949; anthology of Telagu poetry^[16]
• Peer Aziz Ullah Haqqani, Qissa-e-Mumtaz E Benazir, a large masnavi of Romantic mysticism; Telugu; posthumous^[16]
• Srirangam arayanababu, Rudhirajyoti, Telugu^[16]
• Vedula Satyanarayan Shastri, Dipavali, romantic lyrics, Telugu^[16]

• Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi Noor-e-Mashriq (The Light of the East) - Collection of nazms, geets and sonnets published by Jyoti Prasad Gupta, Jyoti Printing Works, Esplanade, Delhi in 1937.

• Anupa Sharma, Siddharth, a Hindi epic in 18 chapters on the story of Gautama Buddha^[16]
• D. R. Bendre, also known as Ambikatanaya Datta, Sakhigita, the title poem is autobiographical; Kannada^[16]
• Devandas Kishinani, 'Purab Sandes, Indian, Sindhi-language^[16]
• Ghulam Mohammad Hanafi, Jang-e Amir Hamza, a Jangnama, based on an episode in the movement to spread Islam; Kashmiri^[16]
• Hijam Anganhal Simha, Singel Indu, a long narrative Meitei poem^[16]
• Manjewshwara Govinda Pai, Golgotha, long narrative poem on the final days of Jesus Christ, Kannada^[16]
• Riddhinath Jha, Pravasi Mithiles, verses praising the Maharaja of Darbhanga; Maithili^[16]
• Siyaramsharan Gupta, Bapu, on Gandhi and his ideology, Hindi^[16]

• Xavier Abril, Descubrimiento del alba^[17]
• José Santos Chocano, Poemas de amor doliente, Peru^[18]
• Manuel Moreno Jimeno, Así bajaron los perros^[17]
• Luis Fabio Xammar, Waino^[17]

• Miguel Hernández, Viento del pueblo; Spain^[19]

• Amir Hamzah, Nyanyi Sunyi, Dutch East Indies

• Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: W. H. Auden
• Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (the post which was later called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): Joseph Auslander appointed this year (he would serve until 1941)
• Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Edwin Markham
• Governor General's Award, poetry or drama: The Fable of the Goats, E. J. Pratt^[20]

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• January 1:
  • John Fuller, English poet and author
  • Dilwar Khan (died 2013), Bengali poet
• January 14 – J. Bernlef, born Hendrik Jan Marsman (died 2012), Dutch poet, novelist and translator
• February 21 – Mervyn Morris, Jamaican poet
• February 27 – Peter Hamm (died 2019), German poet, author, journalist, editor and literary critic
• April 10 – Bella Akhmadulina (died 2010), Russian poet
• April 23 – Coleman Barks, American poet who, although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, is nonetheless renowned as a translator of Rumi and other mystic poets of Persia
• April 30 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
• May 11 – Michael Heller, American poet
• May 21 – Glen Sorestad, Canadian poet
• June 8 – Gillian Clarke, native Welsh, English-language poet, playwright, editor, broadcaster, lecturer and translator (from Welsh)
• June 10 – Susan Howe, American poet and critic closely associated with the Language poets
• July 3 – Milovan Danojlić, Serbian poet and essayist (died 2022)
• July 10 – Kurt Bartsch, German poet^[21]
• July 29 – Eleanor Wilner, American poet and editor
• August 3
  • Marvin Bell (died 2020), American poet
  • Diane Wakoski, American poet associated with the "deep image" poets and the Beats
• September 14 – Douglas Oliver (died 2000), British poet
• October 11 – R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, critic and translator
• November 4 – W. Dabney Stuart, American poet
• November 9
  • Roger McGough, English poet
  • S. Abdul Rahman (died 2017), Tamil poet
• November 11 – Alicia Ostriker, American poet and academic
• November 19 – Meg Campbell (died 2007), New Zealand poet and wife of Alistair Campbell
• December 1 – Eugene B. Redmond, African-American poet
• December 31 – Nicolas Born (died 1979), German poet
• Also:
  • Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Lebanese-born French poet, novelist and beauty queen
  • Parijat, पारिजात, Bishnu Kumari Waiba (died 1993), Nepalese novelist and poet
  • John Riley (died 1978), English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• March 8 – Albert Verwey (born 1865), Dutch poet
• June 22 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (born 1901?), Malagasy poet writing in French; suicide
• July 6 – Alex McDade (born 1905), Scottish poet and labourer; killed in the Spanish Civil War
• July 18 – Julian Bell (born 1908), English poet, and a member of a family whose notable members include his parents, Clive and Vanessa Bell; his aunt, Virginia Woolf; his younger brother, writer Quentin Bell; and his half-sister, writer and painter Angelica Garnett; killed in the Spanish Civil War
• August 11 – Edith Wharton (born 1862), American novelist, short story writer, designer and poet
• September 8 – Anna Hempstead Branch (born 1875), American poet
• October 22 – Chūya Nakahara 中原 中也 (born 1907), early Shōwa period Japanese poet (surname: Nakahara)
• December 26 – Ivor Gurney (born 1890), English composer and poet; tuberculosis while suffering delusional insanity
• December 29 – Don Marquis (born 1878), American poet, artist, newspaper columnist, humorist, playwright and author best known for creating the characters "Archy" and "Mehitabel"
• Also – Constance Woodrow (born 1899), English-born Canadian poet

• Poetry
• List of poetry awards
• List of years in poetry