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From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great

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It is impossible to like every poem included in an anthology. Having said this, what an anthology does is to include a rich variety of works that allows readers to judge on their own. From the Fishouse has exactly served this purpose by including a wide range of poems that appeal to us through the sounds, diction, forms and craft. Some of the poems in the book are followed with the poets' opinions on the piece, canon and craftsmanship. Some of which are eye-opening, humorous and resonant to writers who feel they have read enough. And of course, the book comes with a CD that contains tracks of poets' reading of their own works, which could allow readers to feel and appreciate the musicality embedded between the lines.

What I like most about the book is its indexing. Since it is hard to pigeon hole a poem into just one category, the editors are considerate enough to indicate the obvious techniques employed in every poem and rearrange them in the end-of-book index. Say you are a teacher and you want to make use of a poem that makes use of long vowels for your own teaching, the list will help you to locate the right works. It's so convenient.

Though the poems are gathered in this anthology mainly because they all emphasize the oral nature of poetry, meaning is not sacrificed. Some of my favorite lines include: "And me with my Voice, projecting nostalgia/ onto strangers" (Charles Flowers' "The Way We Were", p. 37), "Once, I pressed my ear/ against a doorframe in Iowa./ Picture a lover fresh from his beloved/ trying hard to become a doorframe/ through which that beloved will walk and even sleepwalk. Listen." (John Poch's "Jorie Graham", p. 84), "Let the pregnant woman hold something of clay in her hand/ for the secret of patience (no secret) is more patience." (Ilya Kaminsky's "Second Ending of the Fairy Tale", p. 90), "... we can't keep our hands off each other/ until we can - " (Matthew Dickman's "Love", p. 151).

Tomorrow's poets create classics today with the group anthology "From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems That Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great". Nearly two hundred poems by one hundred poets, it's a fine catalogue of what the world of poetry can expect in the future from this excellent, aspiring stars. The poems are set in Pittson, Maine, but they ring out well through the shared story. "From the Fishouse" is a top pick for fans of poetry anthologies. "Correspondence" by Diana Marie Delgado: Brother, deep in the moth hour and still no altar to speak of./Everyone's got a life they cannot stop. Time passes, nothing survives.//The real me slipped out like a hiccup and Z marooned/himself in the arms of another girl's couch. I have a book for you.//It's about life and a real time G doing it. Mom's fine, breaking/crooked as an eggshell. Dad the same teething crocodile.//I've never seen so much sad architecture. Remember when the field/froze white and Mom tied plastic over our shoes?//This the only place that's ever felt like home. I hope you get this/ letter before lockdown. Or have you learned how to read in the dark?