Programming And Events:
April is National Poetry Month, and there are those who maintain that our "poetry phobic" nation needs all the encouragement it can get to sample serious verse. Too many of us never got over 9th grade précis-writing trauma, I fear.
One way to overcome those qualms is to simply sample poetry anthologies for simple pleasure.
Don't worry so much about uncovering the deeper meaning of the poems included and simply appreciate the mastery--and beauty--of the language.
Plainspoken and always engaging, former Poet Laureate Billy Collins serves as guest-editor for the 2006 edition of The Best American Poetry. Unlike many editors of such volumes, he is not at all apologetic about personally selected the year's "best." "Who would reach for a book called Some Pretty Good Poems?" he asks in his introduction.
Actually, Collins himself has been published in Garrison Keillor's earlier, Good Poems, but his point is nonetheless well taken. He admits that "the best" included here are really the "best of the ones that happened to come my way." But what did come his way includes some pretty outstanding, innovative work. What makes this particular volume so appealing is Collins' unerring feel for poetry with a true "human voice." It doesn't matter that he had previously been unfamiliar with 75% of the selected writers himself.
I could not even make that claim. Most of the selections were from small presses, and only a few names (John Ashbery, Stephen Dobyns) were familiar to me. But poetry is all about discovery. And it's hard to imagine that most readers won't make several delightful discoveries in this volume.
The "best of the small presses" is honored annually in the form of the Pushcart Prize. Founded in 1976 by literary maverick Bill Henderson, the Pushcart has been singling out superlative short stories, essays and poetry published in small literary journals. The recent Pushcart Book of Poetry celebrates thirty years of prizewinning verse. Edited by Joan Murray,Ýthe book contains the works of some of our most celebrated poets (and she is quick to cite numerous Pulitzer, Nobel, and National Book Award winners) as well as several "only a few have heard of yet." This "best of the best" volume is a remarkable feat and a fine introduction to some of the best poetry available.
Also highly recommended among recent offerings is Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, edited by Neil Astley and published by Miramax Books. This volume is a comprehensive collection of "life affirming poems" from the early 20th century to the present day. The poems for the original British edition were collected well before the events of September 11, but nearly all speak to "anxieties felt by people at that time and since."
Oxford University Press can be counted on for offering definitive editions of literary genres and sub-genres. Their 2006 Anthology of African-American Poetry is certainly that. Editor Arnold Rampersad has organized the volume according to numerous important themes found in African-American verse. Sections are devoted to the themes of the family (man, woman and child), religion, music, death and justice. Unlike many anthologies, the works of several representative writers appear in each section, giving the reader a genuine feeling for their writing.
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