Anthology is a collection of literary works like poems and in some case short stories comic strips or even science fiction
. Short novels are also collected into a single volume for publication. The word Anthology literally means a collection of flowers in Greek, which was the title of the earliest known anthology set up by Meleager of Gadara, which laid the bed rock of Greek Anthology.
In music anthologies typically the works of an artist with a long and diverse career are included. Typically it will include the most famous songs of the artists along with not so popular musical pieces, live recordings and unfinished works etc.
Anthology is also applicable to radio programs and TV programs including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone- to list a few. Some of the other well known examples of anthology films include four rooms, Tales of Manhattan and The Cat o' Nine Tails among others.
The East Asian tradition of Anthology which was prevalent in Japan and China involved preserving the best creations for posterity while culling the rest. Anthology is a long drawn process and gets evolved over many years. As a new technique is introduced into the history, it will be explored and studies in detail by the masters in the society to make it more popular and widely acceptable.
In the twentieth century, anthologies became an integral part of poetry publishing. The Georgina anthology became a trend setter in English poetry and it showcased some of the best known younger poets. The widespread popularity of anthology poems also led to modern verse and some of the finest examples if prose anthologies include Faber & Faber anthology by Michael Roberts among many others. With the advent of online anthologies these have become more popular and easily accessible. An anthology consisting of one or more related novels along with other short stories that might be sharing the same background is often referred to as an "omnibus".
It is interesting to note that in the 1970s various types of anthologies including experimental, regional, and ethnic forms originated and prospered in the literary community. Anthologists have played a significant role in preserving the culture and tradition in its purest form but also focused their attention to the trends in future anthologies.