A Masque of Poets

A Masque of Poets is an 1878 book of poetry published in the United States. The book included several poems, all published anonymously, including one by Emily Dickinson.

The book compiled 68 poems as well as a "novellette in verse" titled Guy Vernon. The book was published by Roberts Brothers as part of their "No Name" series and included both American and British poets. The series was meant to allow readers to enjoy literature based on inherent merit without the burden of knowing the author's popularity, as the New York Graphic reported, readers were "forced to trust more to their own taste and judgment, and rely less on reputations".Harper's also wrote approvingly of the series: "The idea is a good one, not only because it will pique the curiosity of the reader, but also because it will put the writers on their mettle to do their best, and absolutely prevent that trading on reputation which is the greatest vice of American litterateurs."

A Masque of Poets was edited by George Parsons Lathrop and its contributors included Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Ellery Channing, Annie Adams Fields, James T. Fields, Sidney Lanier, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, James Russell Lowell, Louise Chandler Moulton, Christina Rossetti, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, Edmund Clarence Stedman, Celia Thaxter, and Sarah Chauncey Woolsey.Guy Vernon, the long piece that concluded the book, was by John Townsend Trowbridge.

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