Scan barcode
A review by b_p
The Best American Poetry 2016 by David Lehman, Edward Hirsch
4.0
Overall, I would give this collection a B average (technically an 86.9% avg.) as far as the quality of the poems contained. I know that attempting to quantify poetic effect/value is a ridiculous gesture, but I am simply a ridiculous person. Of course, this is purely based off of my own tastes and will not necessarily reflect your average satisfaction rate.
I have not read too many modern poetry anthologies, but I am starting to do so for two reasons. First, to narrow down my own literary tastes. Second, to improve my own poetry and eventually find a more distinct voice. I find myself in the habit of simply imitating the voices of the poets that I am inspired by from week to week.
The following are my favorites from this collection:
Masterpieces (7)
"Ugglig" by Michelle Boisseau
"Hubert Blankenship" by David Bottoms
"Humanity 101" by Denise Duhamel
"My Life" by Lynn Emanuel
"One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing" by Charles Fort
"The Lady Responds" by Juliana Gray
"Dome of the Hidden Temple" by James Tate
Masterful (10)
"On the Certainty of Bryan" by Olena K. Davis
"The Sadness of Clothes" by Emily Fragos
"Meet Me at the Lighthouse" by Dana Gioia
"As If" by Julie Kane
"Solitaire" by Deborah Landau
"If He Came & Diminished Me & Mapped My Way" by Larry Levis
"Ode While Awaiting Execution" by Thomas Lux
"Psalm for the Lost" by Paul Mariani
"My Father's "Norton Introduction to Literature" (1981)" by Hai-Dang Phan
"Vineyard" by David St. John
Masters Candidates (9)
"O, Esperanza" by Catherine Barnett
"Whitman, 1841" by Rick Barot
"Here I Am" by Martin Espada
"When I turned fourteen my mother's sister took me to lunch and said" by Alexis Rhone Fancher
"A Drop of Seawater Under the Microscope" by Amy Gerstler
"Aubade" by Major Jackson
"Lament" by Debra Marquart
"Late Aubade" by James Richardson
"To Think of How Cold" by Eleanor Wilner
Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 35% of the poems contained in this volume.
I have not read too many modern poetry anthologies, but I am starting to do so for two reasons. First, to narrow down my own literary tastes. Second, to improve my own poetry and eventually find a more distinct voice. I find myself in the habit of simply imitating the voices of the poets that I am inspired by from week to week.
The following are my favorites from this collection:
Masterpieces (7)
"Ugglig" by Michelle Boisseau
"Hubert Blankenship" by David Bottoms
"Humanity 101" by Denise Duhamel
"My Life" by Lynn Emanuel
"One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing" by Charles Fort
"The Lady Responds" by Juliana Gray
"Dome of the Hidden Temple" by James Tate
Masterful (10)
"On the Certainty of Bryan" by Olena K. Davis
"The Sadness of Clothes" by Emily Fragos
"Meet Me at the Lighthouse" by Dana Gioia
"As If" by Julie Kane
"Solitaire" by Deborah Landau
"If He Came & Diminished Me & Mapped My Way" by Larry Levis
"Ode While Awaiting Execution" by Thomas Lux
"Psalm for the Lost" by Paul Mariani
"My Father's "Norton Introduction to Literature" (1981)" by Hai-Dang Phan
"Vineyard" by David St. John
Masters Candidates (9)
"O, Esperanza" by Catherine Barnett
"Whitman, 1841" by Rick Barot
"Here I Am" by Martin Espada
"When I turned fourteen my mother's sister took me to lunch and said" by Alexis Rhone Fancher
"A Drop of Seawater Under the Microscope" by Amy Gerstler
"Aubade" by Major Jackson
"Lament" by Debra Marquart
"Late Aubade" by James Richardson
"To Think of How Cold" by Eleanor Wilner
Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 35% of the poems contained in this volume.