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A review by matthewwester
The Best American Poetry 1997 by David Lehman, James Tate
3.0
Solid 3.5 stars. As with most poetry anthologies, a handful of the poems had great impact and reminded me why I love poetry (about 10%), a handful of the poems didn't connect with me whatsoever (15%), and the rest are pretty decent poems that are not life-changing but that's okay (75%).
The Best American Poetry series is a good springboard; If you see an author you like, go look up one of their books. If you get a sense you'll enjoy one of the publications that publish the poems you like, go look up the publication. And the poem notes from each of the authors are great, especially when they cause you to flip back and read the poem with deepened understanding.
I am curious about the authors who didn't contribute notes for the end of the book. Were they too busy to send the editor a few, quick thoughts? Did they strongly feel the poem stood on its own or were they just lazy? I get more curious the more I think about it.
The Best American Poetry series is a good springboard; If you see an author you like, go look up one of their books. If you get a sense you'll enjoy one of the publications that publish the poems you like, go look up the publication. And the poem notes from each of the authors are great, especially when they cause you to flip back and read the poem with deepened understanding.
I am curious about the authors who didn't contribute notes for the end of the book. Were they too busy to send the editor a few, quick thoughts? Did they strongly feel the poem stood on its own or were they just lazy? I get more curious the more I think about it.