Widely appreciated as a significant American poet, May Swenson has earned the praise of Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Howard, and Elizabeth Bishop, and is described by John Hollander as \"one of our few unquestionably major poets.\" May Swenson has also been described as \"perhaps the best poet to come out of Mormondom,\" (Karl Keller
Dialogue 14.2 p. 136) and as an \"accomplished imagist and devotee of the specific\" (Mary Bradford,
Dialogue 13.3 p. 140). At the same time, she represents a controversial figure in Mormon literature, since she is also known as an \"expatriate\" to the Mormon culture (Bruce Jorgensen,
Dialogue 9.4 p. 51). However, see Susan Howe\'s article regarding
the Mormon aspects of May Swenson\'s poetry. Swenson published eleven collections of verse that have received many honors. Her poetry has appeared in major journals such as
The New Yorker,
The Paris Review,
Parnassus,
The Atlantic Monthly, etc.
Included in
75 Significant Mormon Poets
