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losethegirl's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Hit and miss as any anthology is — worth the read, though.
ysaabook's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.5
It's the first Best American Poetry collection I've read, but I really enjoyed it. We referenced this collection in my creative writing class and I found a lot of diversity in it- lighthearted poems, emotional poems. Different styles, different backgrounds of poets. And I love the author's commentary at the end. I'm just a poetry nerd. I liked the diverse set of poems and authors I got to read. It's helped me learn my own writing style.
wesb's review
2.0
When you get right down to it, the poetry we enjoy -- the poetry that speaks to us -- is different for everyone. This year's BAP demonstrates just how true this is. With this in mind, I hereby express my deepest condolences for sticking this book with a devastating two-star rating.
Like I said, it's a matter of taste. And I'm not so finicky as to not see the value in these poems. In fact, Alan Shapiro's "Encore" damn near brought me to tears. There were other poems that I thought were good, in technical terms, but for some mysterious reason (probably some defect in myself), they did not speak to me. Other poems, I'll admit, made me roll my eyes because they were so thoroughly, helplessly, needlessly -- ready for it? -- poetic. A strange criticism, to be sure, but it's the best way I can describe it.
I don't profess to know a great deal about contemporary poetry, and I'm writing this review, more than anything, to remind myself why I gave this such a low rating.
Like I said, it's a matter of taste. And I'm not so finicky as to not see the value in these poems. In fact, Alan Shapiro's "Encore" damn near brought me to tears. There were other poems that I thought were good, in technical terms, but for some mysterious reason (probably some defect in myself), they did not speak to me. Other poems, I'll admit, made me roll my eyes because they were so thoroughly, helplessly, needlessly -- ready for it? -- poetic. A strange criticism, to be sure, but it's the best way I can describe it.
I don't profess to know a great deal about contemporary poetry, and I'm writing this review, more than anything, to remind myself why I gave this such a low rating.
robinwalter's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Poetry is of course intensely subjective, and this collection just did not gel with me. I think it was an ominous warning that the lead editor's intro was a lengthy discussion about the death of poetry. Apparently, the fact that the powerful and privileged no longer have utterly untrammeled freedom of speech and freedom of consequences from that speech is or may be an existential threat both to freedom of speech (i.e., their freedom to say what they like with no comeback of any sort) and poetry itself.
The guest editor's own intro included a lengthy paean to "American" poetry in the more conventionally used "US" sense, then included poems from authors well-known for not being from the US. The inclusion of works by Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood in The Best American Poetry 2019 seemed odd after such a discussion celebrating US poetry.
Finally, much of the poetry itself was simply too violent and sanguinary for my squeamish sensibilities. For these reasons, I can give it no more than 3/5
The guest editor's own intro included a lengthy paean to "American" poetry in the more conventionally used "US" sense, then included poems from authors well-known for not being from the US. The inclusion of works by Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood in The Best American Poetry 2019 seemed odd after such a discussion celebrating US poetry.
Finally, much of the poetry itself was simply too violent and sanguinary for my squeamish sensibilities. For these reasons, I can give it no more than 3/5
samanthaisonline's review
4.0
As with any poetry collection, the poems in The Best American Poetry 2019 were hit or miss. There were, however, a great number of beautiful poems that vastly outweighed the not-as-beautiful ones, earning this collection a 4/5.
Some of my favorite poems from this collection include: "I Now Pronounce You Dead" by Martín Espada, "On Confessionalism" by John Murillo and "The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady & The Dead & The Truth" by Morgan Parker.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
Some of my favorite poems from this collection include: "I Now Pronounce You Dead" by Martín Espada, "On Confessionalism" by John Murillo and "The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady & The Dead & The Truth" by Morgan Parker.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
ursulamonarch's review against another edition
I'm often looking to try to read more poetry, and usually pick up collections by individual authors, so I thought an anthology like this would be good exposure to a variety of poets. It didn't work for me - I found the introductions off-putting and few of the poems interesting. I did very much enjoy the Atwood poem!
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