The Best American Poetry 1997 [Paperback]

James Tate (Author), David Lehman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 1997 | Series: Best American Poetry

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, The Best American Poetry is the one indispensable volume for readers eager to follow what's new in poetry today. Sales continue to grow and plaudits keep coming in for this "high-voltage testament to the vitality of American poetry" (Booklist). Selected by prizewinning guest editor James Tate, the seventy-five best poems of the year were chosen from more than three dozen magazines and range from the comic to the cosmic, from the contemplative to the sublime. In addition to showcasing our leading bards -- such as John Ashbery, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, and Mark Strand -- the collection marks an auspicious debut for eye-opening younger poets. With comments from the poets themselves offering insights into their work, The Best American Poetry 1997 delivers the startling and imaginative writing that more and more people have come to expect from this prestigious series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The daily routine of our lives can be good and even wonderful, but there is still a hunger in us for the mystery of the deep waters, and poetry can fulfill that hunger." So writes James Tate, editor of the 1997 edition of Best American Poetry. The poems that follow his essay bear out the claim. Including work by Allen Ginsberg, Denise Levertov, Mark Strand, and other first-rate poets, the 1997 collection again delights the reader with the variety and quality of poetry now being written. Here is a taste, from Mark Strand's contribution, "Morning, Noon and Night": "Whatever the starcharts told us to watch for or the maps / Said we would find, nothing prepared us for what we discovered. / We toiled in the shadowless depths of noon, / While an alien wind slept in the branches, and dead leaves / Turned to dust in the streets." This series consistently produces collections that are essential reading for poetry lovers.

Review

Chicago Tribune A truly memorable anthology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; Original edition (September 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684814528
• ISBN-13: 978-0684814520
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better volumes in the series, January 17, 1999

By 

Rishi K. Agrawal (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best American Poetry 1997 (Paperback)

I have been reading this series since 1993 and I feel that this is one of the strongest ones in the series. Some good choices from the better known poets, and wonderful poems by poets I was unfamiliar with, including Thomas Sayers Ellis (whose "Atomic Bride" is sure to become a classic). Though the book may drift a little towards the middle in terms of taste, Tate does a good job of mixing different aesthetics into this volume. Also, I think Tate's introduction is the most memorable I've read from the series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best in the series, January 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best American Poetry 1997 (Hardcover)

Leave it to James Tate. The poems in this collection are witty, profound, whimsical, and memorable. There isn't one I wouldn't finish reading if I came across it in its original source.

Unlike some of the unpolished PC rants in Rich's collection, these are poems that truly matter because they reflect on what Faulkner called "the verities of the human heart." Unlike some of the fatally over-ambitious poems in Hollander's collection, these poems are less than epic length but more than haiku -- just right.

I'm mostly a library reader, but this is the one I might actually buy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A collection of strong, widely divergent poets., January 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best American Poetry 1997 (Paperback)

This anthology represents the current standard aspiring writers must live up to. I look to this collection for a vivisection of the poetry "mood" prevelant in the past year. It is encouraging to find such a diversity of writers between the covers of one book. I especially applaud the inclusion of "new" writers such as Bob Hicok. He has been a local favorite in southeastern Michigan for the past couple of years, and I am delighted to see him receiving national attention. I highly recommend this volume of poetry.