Edited by the 1993 winner of the National Book Award for Poetry, this collection brings together some of the most original poems being written today. Seventy-five poets are represented, from such well-known names as Richard Wilbur and Amy Clampitt to the 39 poets whose work are appearing in this series for the first time.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Some of the strong poems in Lehman's always worthwhile annual anthology series include Jorie Graham's "In the Hotel," Mark Doty's "Difference," Lyn Hejinian's "The Polar Circle," J.D. McClatchy's "Found Parable" and W.D. Snodgrass's "Snow Songs." The Graham, for instance, is a painstaking and courageous exploration of emptiness revealed as fully occupied; the writer's brilliance lies not only in her descriptive, imaginative accuracy in envisioning this, but also in a sort of investigative patience that equips her to "report" on absence in breathtaking detail. Her achievement seems pioneering. Likewise, Hejinian writes like an honest high-roller, seeking out "the farthest extent of a scene," though in more abstract terms than Graham's. The matchless musicality of Snodgrass, and a personal encyclopedia of imagery ("God's bobbin mills"; "the horizon, a maternal flour sifter") summon up a winter's snow, while McClatchy's earnest intellectual wit writes an essay as a poem. Virtuosity and range buoy the book. And fortunately, Lehman uses the opportunity of his introduction to make critical suggestions about the state of poetry and poetry criticism. As usual, this yearly compendium is not to be missed.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The distinguished poet A.R. Ammons edits the seventh annual collection of America's "best" poetry. Ammons, who revels in abstractions, has gathered fascinating work by such revered writers as James Merrill, Richard Howard, the late May Swenson, Kenneth Koch, Amy Clampitt, and John Ashbery, along with relative newcomers like Cathy Bowman, Dionisio D. Martinez, Tom Andrews, and Fred Muratori. "Formal" and free verse, prose poems, and even a piece from a trade publication, Glass Technology, are included; much of the work is sexually explicit and intellectually complex. In his brief introduction, Ammons defends the poem in general rather than his individual choices as a "symbolic action," not to be confused with the critical act of explication. Joyful and peculiar, this year's selection is deliciously untrendy. Recommended.
Ellen Kaufman, Dewey Ballantine Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Ellen Kaufman, Dewey Ballantine Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
The Best of Mediocre Poetry,
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This review is from: BEST AMERICAN POETRY 1994 (Paperback)
I bought this one for a buck at a library sale, and I think I just about got my money's worth. The introduction by A.R. Ammons wasn't all I'd hoped for from a poet I admire so much, but included in the collection are poems by the likes of John Ashbery, Charles Bukowski, Amy Clampitt, James Merrill and Charles Simic. (Yeah, they're in alphabetical order. Weird, huh?) All things considered, The Best American Poetry 1994 seems to confirm that 1994 wasn't exactly a banner year for American poets.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The 7th Edition - Poems of the Gritty Real,
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This review is from: The Best American Poetry 1994 (Paperback)
"Ammons's sly and sometimes bawdy humor turns up more frequently in his extended poems, which are spacious and inclusive, accommodating everything from hymns and credos to memos received and jokes overheard. Ammons's short poems tend, by contrast, to be compressed and intense meditations on nature and natural phenomena." ~ Archie: A profile of A.R. Ammons (1926-2001) by David Lehman
When reading The Best American Poetry series, it is especially helpful to understand the motivations of the Guest editor who assists David Lehman in the selection of poems from a variety of literary journals. A.R. Ammons' selections are honest, unconventional, passionate, intimate, sensual and at times overtly erotic. There is no shame in the honesty or the truth with which the writer's express human emotions, longings and at times awakening desire. "Time to admit my altar is a desk. Time to confess the cross I bear a pen. My soul, a little like a compact disc, Slides into place, a laser plays upon Its surface, and a sentimental mist," ~Mark Jarman, Unholy Sonnets Here we find poems that reach across boundaries, address profound experiences, charm with form and convince us that frankness in poetry is perhaps what we sometimes long for because it presents a place of free expression where doors fly open and we reach the depths of human expression. Poems about death, science, nature, childbirth, snow, Greek mythology, alcoholism, snow take the moods from profound to humorous in a heart beat. Rebecca Byrkit's completely chaotic poem: "The Only Dance There Is" blows the lid off the idea of "gritty real." At times you are not quite sure if you are reading a poem or a confession of a life lived in wild abandon. The poem is rich with scents, visual references, sounds and bawdy humor. A girl named Tracey, who owned this book before me had lovingly place little x's on the listings in the contents page. It seems she enjoyed Tom Andrews', "Cinema Verite," Catherine Bowman's "Demographics," Mark Doty's "Difference," Alice Fulton's "The Priming Is a Negligee," and Janet Holmes, "The Love of the Flesh." She also enjoyed Carl Phillips' "A Mathematics of Breathing" which has a very intriguing conclusion. My favorite line in the book is from Allison Funk's poem: "After Dark" where she writes: "weakens a soft bank until, thunder from afar, it collapses into water." The conclusion of her poem speaks of A.R. Ammons' love of nature and the entire poem is truly stunning in the way it pulls in images from nature to express deeply profound emotions and experiences. Denise Duhamel's "Bulimia" is startling in it's portrayal of a societal problem brought on by a desire for perfection. Charles Bukowski speaks of domestic abuse in "me against the world." Debora Greger's "The Frog in the Swimming Pool" brought "scent memories" of long-forgotten childhood experiences while living on a farm. "A wet green velvet scums the swimming pool, furring the cracks. The deep end swims in a hatful of rain, not enough to float" Dean Young brings out startling emotions in "Upon Hearing of My Friend's Marriage Breaking Up," as he brings out a certain frustration when screaming at the radio. Brighde Mullins paints a much more serene image with "At the Lakehouse." The poem is stunning in its ability to capture the sound of a screen door, the downpour of rain, the wet scents of mud and weeds. There is a wildness about the nature elements in this poem as a book is blown into the water in the storm. Some of the poems speak of a certain dissatisfaction while others express the desire to move forward, forgetting the past. These poems have real substance, are based on realistic situations and have the scents, sounds, emotions and desires that many lines of poetry long to become. Welcome to the "gritty real" world of the honest poet's mind. As Rebecca Byrkit says about her poem: "ballistic and finite and, as it turned out, vastly liberating." ~The Rebecca Review
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