The New American Poets: A Bread Loaf Anthology (Bread Loaf Anthology)

Rating:
Summary: A treasure chest for the poetry lover
Review: You probably haven't heard of any of the poets collected in this exciting anthology. That's okay. They publish their poems in little literary journals and their books are mostly published by obscure presses. Most of these poets haven't published more than one book. I'm pretty familiar with contemporary poetry, but the majority of the writers collected here were unknown names to me.

Now I know their names, and better than that, I know their poems. My life is fuller, and I'm grateful to Michael Collier for creating such a diverse and vibrant collection. There is truly something for just about everyone here, from the lover of the bizarre and experimental to the traditionalist yearning for poets who know what meter is (there's not much rhyming, though).

Where do you start with a book like this? You could just dip in somewhere at random and see what you find; with this collection, you're probably going to pull out a moment of wonder no matter which page you flip to. If you've got to start somewhere, check out Olena Kalytiak Davis -- she's one of the most amazing poets alive, I think, and Collier has collected some brilliant recent work which didn't make it into her book And Her Soul Out of Nothing. But maybe you prefer something a little less daring for your first try -- check out the amusing, thought-provoking poems by Roger Fanning, written with perfectly accessible diction and syntax. You'd certainly like the poems by Richard Blanco, for I've shown his work to a number of very different people, all of whom liked it very much. If you want something which makes you feel like you're really reading cutting-edge poetry, check out D.A. Powell -- you'll have to hold the book sideways to read his poems. Don't miss Nick Flynn's "Bag of Mice" or Adrienne Su's "I Can't Become a Buddhist", or Campbell McGrath's wonderful "Capitalist Poem #36", which begins, "We've got this cheese down here to give away,/ tens of thousands of pounds of cheese."

The New American Poets was published in celebration of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference's 75th anniversary, and I can't think of a better tribute to the conference which has played such an important role in the lives of many of the greatest poets in the U.S. than this anthology, a wonderful gift to all readers of poetry.

Rating:
Summary: A treasure chest for the poetry lover
Review: You probably haven't heard of any of the poets collected in this exciting anthology. That's okay. They publish their poems in little literary journals and their books are mostly published by obscure presses. Most of these poets haven't published more than one book. I'm pretty familiar with contemporary poetry, but the majority of the writers collected here were unknown names to me.

Now I know their names, and better than that, I know their poems. My life is fuller, and I'm grateful to Michael Collier for creating such a diverse and vibrant collection. There is truly something for just about everyone here, from the lover of the bizarre and experimental to the traditionalist yearning for poets who know what meter is (there's not much rhyming, though).

Where do you start with a book like this? You could just dip in somewhere at random and see what you find; with this collection, you're probably going to pull out a moment of wonder no matter which page you flip to. If you've got to start somewhere, check out Olena Kalytiak Davis -- she's one of the most amazing poets alive, I think, and Collier has collected some brilliant recent work which didn't make it into her book And Her Soul Out of Nothing. But maybe you prefer something a little less daring for your first try -- check out the amusing, thought-provoking poems by Roger Fanning, written with perfectly accessible diction and syntax. You'd certainly like the poems by Richard Blanco, for I've shown his work to a number of very different people, all of whom liked it very much. If you want something which makes you feel like you're really reading cutting-edge poetry, check out D.A. Powell -- you'll have to hold the book sideways to read his poems. Don't miss Nick Flynn's "Bag of Mice" or Adrienne Su's "I Can't Become a Buddhist", or Campbell McGrath's wonderful "Capitalist Poem #36", which begins, "We've got this cheese down here to give away,/ tens of thousands of pounds of cheese."

The New American Poets was published in celebration of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference's 75th anniversary, and I can't think of a better tribute to the conference which has played such an important role in the lives of many of the greatest poets in the U.S. than this anthology, a wonderful gift to all readers of poetry.