The Best American Poetry 2006

From Barnes & Noble

About poetry, wordsmith Billy Collins once opined that "more people should be reading it, but maybe fewer people should be writing it.... There's an abundance of unreadable poetry out there." As if to assist would-be poetry lovers in wading through the sludge, the former U.S. poet laureate has chosen a rich selection of four-star-worthy verse.

Publishers Weekly

In the 19th installment of this annual series, former poet laureate Collins (The Trouble with Poetry, 2005), one of America's most popular poets ever, has culled the typical handful of big names and some surprising new voices from more than 50 American literary publications. Collins's predilections for accessibility, humor and tidy forms are evident, but there are also surprises. Usual suspects former Best American editors Ashbery (who surprises with a poem in neatly rhymed couplets), Hass, Simic, Tate and Muldoon, as well as Mary Oliver meet rising masters like Kay Ryan ("A bird's/ worth of weight/ or one bird-weight/ of Wordsworth"), Vijay Seshadri and Franz Wright. Most interesting, however, is the chance each volume offers to see which up-and-comers make the cut. This year's roster includes edgy poems by Joy Katz, Danielle Pafunda ("my hair cramped with sexy"), Terrance Hayes, and Christian Hawkey ("O my/ beloved shovel-nosed mole"), among others. Collins's surprising and opinionated introduction in which he admits that, unlike some of series editor David Lehman's previous guest editors, "the designation `best' doesn't bother me," and offers his definition of a good poem (often one that "starts in the factual" and displays "a tone of playful irreverence") may cause some controversy. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.