America - The Poetry Of - An Introduction. Poetry can sometimes be elusive, the real meaning layered beneath another. In this volume American Poets give voice to their Nation, their hopes and aspirations. Whitman, Emerson and Dickinson are joined by Poe, Holmes, Dunbar and others to pleasure our ears and minds with a rambling stroll through their works. It doesn't define America but it captures her mood and flavours her soul of these early times in the American dream.