The Best of the Best American Poetry

1988-1997

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by Harold Bloom and David Lehman

Simon & Schuster Trade

Due/Published April 1998, 384 pages, paper

ISBN 0684847795

Every year since 1988 a major poet has selected seventy-five poems for publication in The Best American Poetry. But who is to undertake the formidable task of reading all 750 poems anthologized in The Best American Poetry and picking the 75 "best of the best"? The seventy-five poems Bloom has chosen go a long way toward defining a contemporary canon of American poetry. Included are unforgettable poems from A. R. Ammons, John Ashbery, Louise Gluck, Jorie Graham, Mark Strand, and Richard Wilbur, among many others. Diverse in form, style, method, and metaphor, the poems are united in their power to move and enlighten readers. Also included are comments from the poets themselves about their work and fascinating excerpts from the introductory essays of the ten previous editors. The Best of the Best American Poetry reflects not only the taste of the current editor, but the predilections of the all-star list of poets who have contributed their time and intellect to make this series what it is today.