Best Gay Poetry 2008 (Paperback)

~ Lawrence Schimel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The particular significance of this anthology is in its illumination of the diverse ways in which contemporary writers are seeking to conjugate a desire for 'gay poetry'. Indeed, there is a full spectrum of poetries here from a twenty page poetic dialogue in iambic pentameters (by Billy Merrill) to a compact composition in pentasyllabic lines (by David Bergman). --Chroma

The quality of the work is reason enough to relish this collection, but Schimel adds bibliographic value to creative excellence by including generous contributor bios pointing to other work by the poets in the book, and - a real treat for hardcore fans of queer poetry - an extensive listing of recent anthologies and single-author titles for further reference. This addition to the range of ''best of'' queer titles promises to become a stellar showcase for the genre... --Richard Labonte, Book Marks

Product Description

Best Gay Poetry is a new annual series collecting the best gay poems of the year before. It offers both poetry aficionados and casual gay readers an easy way to keep abreast of the field and find poems that speak to their experience.

Editor Lawrence Schimel has brought together a diverse array of poems and voices, not merely in their poetic style and form, but also in how gay subjects and themes are addressed. Drawing on poems published in journals, anthologies, and single-author collections, Best Gay Poetry 2008 offers the cream of the crop of what was published in 2007, gathered together in one handy volume. Featuring work from 50 gay poets, readers will find herein a mix of established poets and exciting new voices, including Carl Phillips, Rane Arroyo, David Bergman, Timothy Liu, Brad Gooch, Reginald Shepard, Jeff Mann, Steve Fellner, Jee Leong Koh, Steven Cordova, Jericho Brown, and many others.

Best Gay Poetry 2008 also includes an annotated bibliographic round-up of relevant gay-interest poetry books published the year before, making it an invaluable research tool for both institutions and individuals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Lethe Press; annotated edition edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590211286
• ISBN-13: 978-1590211281
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #677,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Anthology, January 24, 2009

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Schimel, Lawrence, editor. "Best Gay Poetry/2008", Lethe Press, 2008.

An Anthology

Amos Lassen

I am always apprehensive when I see the word "best" in a title because that word can have strange connotations. My mom used to say it was best to drink tea when someone doesn't feel well but I never found that drinking tea made me feel any better. However, being a long time fan of Lawrence Schimel I felt fairly safe when I picked up his edited anthology of best gay poetry. He provides the reader with an easy way to keep up with what is going on in the field of gay poetry and I was able to enjoy almost every selection in the volume. There is diversity in the poems chosen in subject matter as well as in style and form and the variety of gay subjects presented is amazing. There are also both new and established poets in the 50 poems here and what I really enjoyed was reading poetry by some of my favorite prose writers like Brad Gooch and Jeff Mann.
What I also find important here is that many stop reading poetry when they no longer have to---as in having finished college survey courses or English majors who do not work in the field. Here is a way to approach poetry for pure pleasure and to enjoy simply for the sake of enjoyment. I was thinking as I sat down to write this review that if I were to list all of my favorites, I would use all of the space for my review. So I say to you to pick up a copy and find your favorites.
Schimel also provides an annotated bibliography in which he gives an overview of gay-relevant poetry published in 2008 so it is easy to find other places to find good poetry. There is also a wonderful introduction and a section on the poets.