The Pushcart Book of Poetry [Hardcover]

Joan Murray (Editor), The Pushcart Prize Poetry Editors (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

As selected from the first twenty-five years of The Pushcart Prize, the best poetry in recent American literature.

What a wealth of brilliance has appeared in over a quarter-century of The Pushcart Prize, and much of that brilliance has been evident in the poetry.

From the start of the series in 1976, the editors of The Pushcart Prize have celebrated all sorts of poetry, from the traditional to the experimental, by both known and unknown poets. More than 750 poems have appeared, selected by new poetry editors for most of the twenty-five editions.

Under the general editorship of Joan Murray, herself a distinguished poet, all of the past poetry editors were asked to select their favorite poems; the result is a poetry anthology like no other. The list of editors alone reads like a Who's Who of American poetry: Billy Collins, Grace Schulman, Carolyn Forché, Gerald Stern, Stanley Plumly, Philip Levine, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, Philip Booth, William Heyen, Elizabeth Spires, Marvine Bell, Carolyn Kizer, Lynn Emanuel, David St. John, Hether McHugh, and many others.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This gigantic volume of recent verse is culled from Pushcart Prize annual anthologies, 1976 to the present, chosen by small-press editors and previous winners. Reappearing are 180 poems, in chronological order. The volume leads off with Adrienne Rich, marches through superb lyrics by Stanley Kunitz, Linda Gregerson and Rosanna Warren, and brandishes aphorisms from Derek Walcott ("all revolution is rooted in crime"), Philip Levine ("So many poems begin where they/ should end, and never end"), and others. Readers seeking clear situations and boldly stated emotion may find more to like than readers who prefer the reverse, though there's something for almost everyone. The standouts are often the long poems, a rarity for anthologies, which this book's project almost demands—Leslie Scalapino's fugue about girlhood, for example, and Lynda Hull's scorching seven-part elegy "Suite for Emily." Though Pushcart's slogan, "best of the small presses," suggests writers rescued from obscurity, many poets here are mainstream names, like Levine, Heaney, Stern and Wright. Also included are less famous poets like the raw and haunting Brigit Pegeen Kelly—perhaps the strongest among the discoveries this big book permits. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is the most anticipated literary anthology of the year. To celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2001, the Pushcart Press published two retrospective "best of the best" collections, The Pushcart Book of Short Stories andThe Pushcart Book of Essays. Now, at long last, the best poems volume arrives. Poet Murray worked with the nearly 50 other outstanding poets who have served as Pushcart poetry editors to construct this historic, illuminating, and thoroughly enjoyable gathering. Murray's smart and witty introduction is followed by 180 poems that exemplify the formal explorations of the last 30 years and reflect the ripple effect of watershed events and social change. Here are vital works by the late Joseph Brodsky and Amy Clampitt and clarion poems by poets who continue to enlighten and enthrall readers, among them Lisel Mueller, Gerald Stern, Natasha Trethewey, Pattiann Rogers, and Edward Hirsch. Etheridge Knight captures the spirit of the endeavor: "We free singers be." Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: Pushcart Press; First edition. edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888889349
• ISBN-13: 978-1888889345
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,108,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)