In
book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...
fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categorizes collections of shorter works, such as
short stories and short
novels, by different authors, each featuring unrelated casts of characters and settings, and usually collected into a single volume for publication. Alternatively, it can also be a collection of selected writings (short stories, poems etc.) by one author.
Complete collections of works are often called "
complete works
The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, ''Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete W ...
" or "" (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
equivalent).
Etymology
The word entered the English language in the 17th century, from the
Greek word, ἀνθολογία (''anthologic'', literally "a collection of blossoms", from , ''ánthos'', flower), a reference to one of the earliest known anthologies,
the ''Garland'' (, ''stéphanos''), the introduction to which compares each of its anthologized poets to a flower. That ''Garland'' by
Meléagros of Gadara formed the kernel for what has become known as the
Greek Anthology.
''
Florilegium'', a Latin derivative for a collection of flowers, was used in medieval Europe for an anthology of Latin proverbs and textual excerpts. Shortly before anthology had entered the language, English had begun using florilegium as a word for such a collection.
Traditional
In
East Asian tradition, an anthology was a recognized form of compilation of a given
poetic form. It was assumed that there was a cyclic development: any particular form, say the ''
tanka
is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.
Etymology
Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short ...
'' in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, would be introduced at one point in history, be explored by masters during a subsequent time, and finally be subject to popularisation (and a certain dilution) when it achieved widespread recognition. In this model, which derives from Chinese tradition, the object of compiling an anthology was to preserve the best of a form, and cull the rest.
In
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
, an anthology (or ''antologi'' in
Malay) is a collection of ''syair'', ''sajak'' (or modern prose),
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...
s,
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
scripts, and
pantuns. Notable anthologies that are used in
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
s include
''Sehijau Warna Daun'', ''Seuntai Kata Untuk Dirasa'', ''Anak Bumi Tercinta'', ''Anak Laut'' and ''Kerusi''.
Twentieth century
In the twentieth century, anthologies became an important part of poetry publishing for a number of reasons. For
English poetry, the
Georgian poetry series was trend-setting; it showed the potential success of publishing an identifiable group of younger poets marked out as a 'generation'. It was followed by numerous collections from the 'stable' of some literary editor, or collated from a given publication, or labelled in some fashion as 'poems of the year'. Academic publishing also followed suit, with the success of the
Quiller-Couch Oxford Book of English Verse encouraging other collections not limited to modern poetry. The concept of 'modern verse' was fostered by the appearance of the phrase in titles such as the
Faber & Faber anthology by
Michael Roberts, and the very different
William Butler Yeats Oxford Book of Modern Verse.
Since publishers generally found anthology publication a more flexible medium than the collection of a single poet's work, and indeed rang innumerable changes on the idea as a way of marketing poetry, publication in an anthology (in the right company) became at times a sought-after form of recognition for poets. The self-definition of movements, dating back at least to
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
's efforts on behalf of
Imagism
Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized literary modernism, modernist literary movement in the English language. ...
, could be linked on one front to the production of an anthology of the like-minded. Also, whilst not connected with poetry, publishers have produced collective works of fiction from a number of authors and used the term anthology to describe the collective nature of the text. These have been in a number of subjects, including ''Erotica'', edited by
Mitzi Szereto
Mitzi Szereto is an author of multi-genre fiction and nonfiction. She has written novels and short stories, and edited fiction and nonfiction anthologies, including her popular true crime franchise "The Best New True Crime Stories." Her books to ...
and ''
American Gothic Tales'' edited by
Joyce Carol Oates.
See also
*
Anthology film
*
Chrestomathy
*
Diwan
*
Miscellany
A miscellany is a collection of various pieces of writing by different authors. Meaning a mixture, medley, or assortment, a miscellany can include pieces on many subjects and in a variety of different forms. In contrast to anthologies, whose ...
*
Omnibus edition
*
Primer
Primer may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth
* ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour
Literature
* Primer (textbook), a te ...
*
Book series
*
Volume (bibliography)
*
Collection (publishing)
In the field of book publishing, a collection or, more precisely, editorial collection (french: collection éditoriale; es, colección editorial; it, collana editoriale; pt, coleção de livros, translation=collection of books), is a set of boo ...
References
External links
{{Authority control
Poetry
Literary terminology
Bundled products or services