To the Many ― Collected Early Works

Transnational long before the term gained currency, Lola Ridge (1873-1941) was one of the most notable poets writing in America from the publication of her first book, The Ghetto, in 1918 until her death, inauspiciously, shortly before America’s entry into the Second World War. Included are the complete texts of her first three books of poems, The Ghetto, Sun-Up, and Red Flag, as well as the never before published manuscript Verses (1905), the book of early poems she sought to publish in Australia before departing for America in 1907. With its publication, Lola Ridge’s important place in the history of twentieth century poetry takes a significant step toward being recognized and restored.

Lola Ridge, born Rose Emily Ridge (12 December 1873 Dublin – 19 May 1941 Brooklyn) was an Irish-American anarchist poet and an influential editor of avant-garde, feminist, and Marxist publications. She is best remembered for her long poems and poetic sequences, published in numerous magazines and collected in five books of poetry. Daniel Tobin is the author of seven books of poems, Where the World is Made (University Press of New England, 1999), Double Life (Louisiana State University Press, 2004), The Narrows (Four Way Books, 2005), Second Things (Four Way Books, 2008), Belated Heavens (Four Way Books, 2010), The Net (Four Way Books, 2014), and From Nothing (Four Way Books, 2016). The Narrows was a featured book on Poetry Daily, as well as a finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Poetry Book Award.