The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry

If you've ever been disappointed by the inconsistent quality of poems found in the "Best American Poetry" series published by Scribner (with series editor David Lehman), this anthology will show you why. Not every poem will give you chills or connect with your soul, but not a single one is bad or banal.

I bought a copy of the first edition of this book (much prettier cover I am sorry to say) in high school. I thumbed through it, over and over, finding new and different poems to savor, getting exposed to countless amazing poets whose full books now grace my shelves (Anthony Hecht, Elizabeth Bishop, Adrienne Rich, Mona Van Duyn, Howard Nemerov). This book, by choosing generally shorter poems that catch your eye (with some exceptions) by a host of excellent modern poets with tremendous variations in styles, changed me from a poetry dabbler to a true poetry consumer and fan. I often give away copies of this book, with post-its marking my favorites. I highly, highly recommend this book, particularly to people intimidated by the number of diverse and excellent poets from which to choose.

This is a great anthology of later 20th C. American poets and a great book to use for a poetry reading group, because the selection for each poet is sufficiently long to provide a good introduction. It inspired me to acquire books by many of the individual poets. I would prefer that the poems be dated and would greatly prefer it to be available hardbound - it deserves the permanence in my library. McClatchy's editing of this and Contemporary World Poetry is outstanding!

The poet Robert Wallace said, "No magic, no poem." In this collection, edited by J.D. McClatchy, there is enough magic to power a year's worth of David Copperfield performances. Bringing together the disparate but somehow harmonious voices of Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, Jorie Graham, Elizabeth Bishop and sixty-one other outstanding contemporary poets, this collection provides a wonderful overview of our country's modern poetry movement. Such classics as Plath's "Daddy" and Ginsberg's "Sunflower Sutra" can be found alongside works by Denise Levertov, Edward Hirsch and the beautifully imagistic James Schuyler. Poetry these days, particularly as represented on the 'net, seems to have become gritty and ultra-confessional. It is a pleasure to read a work where the poets employ the old-fashioned devices of metaphor and imagery to create powerful emotions in the reader and to express something of their own inner lives. Highly recommended!