The Best American Poetry

Book Overview

The Best American Poetry 2004 celebrates the vitality and richness of poetry in the United States and Canada today. Guest editor Lyn Hejinian, acclaimed for her own innovative writing, has chosen seventy-five important new poems and contributed a provocative introductory essay. Through her selections, Hejinian has created an essential nexus -- a meeting place for readers to encounter an extraordinary range of poets. With illuminating...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 074325757X
• ISBN13: 9780743257572
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Ivory-tower intellectual fireworks

I read the 2002 and 2003 editions, and though obviously I would not have purchased 2004 if my curiosity had not been sparked by some of the poems, they are some things that irk me about the series: Do you really need to have two or more advanced degrees from Ivy League institutions and eight volumes of poetry to your name to be recognized for an American poem? Because, that's what the selections imply. I mean, it strikes me sometimes that poetry has become so obscure in its meanings that the only way to judge it is via the resume and distinction of the poet. So, once again, what you have in the 2004 BAP is a collection of the work of ivory tower intellectuals. Almost every selection is heavily informed by 'critical theory' tropes and studies of other avante-garde poets. That said, I love difficult poetry, and a lot of the poems this year are absolutely mesmerizing. Also, in year's past, the poems have not necessarily fit together very well, and this year, I was able to read 5 or 10 in a row without being made to cringe by a self-concious stinker or feel like I was cruising on a rumble strip of nonsense. I guess the nation's tiny poetry audience is somewhat attracted by the cache of hyper-educated poets. I sense that many of poems are missing that hardcore grit that I look for, but all the same, this is very intelligent poetry and the process of seeing through some of it may be valuable to poets and readers.

Relax Old Lady (a response to the review below)

You've been out of the literary loop for quite some time if all this seems like "drivel" (a word I hope no poet ever uses in their work). Maybe after you complete your masters you'll realize that poetry has evolved into a more complicated form of expression than what you were given to read in your survey class. Go buy a hallmark card if you're so inclined.

Mars Needs More Terrorists

Remember about 10 years back when Nirvana broke open the mainstream for acts like Pavement and Built to Spill? Remember when you could hear their songs on the radio? This year's BAP is like that, with Lyn Hejinian playing Nirvana to a host of thrilling underground acts. You've still got your Billy Collinses and Robert Pinskys assuming their customary air space, but there's a bunch of new names--new names!--from smaller journals that have to give anyone bored with respectable workshop verse some spark of hope. The 'Best American' title's always been a bit of a gimmick: how can a few dozen poets, picked by one person, represent the entire U.S. of A. in all its diversity? And at its best to boot? What's interesting about the series to me is the guest editors, who play tug-of-war every year over what 'best,' 'any good,' or just plain 'poetry' might mean in a field so shy of consensus on these questions. Hejinian's given Lehman's rope a harder tug than usual and deserves big hugs for it. I'm guessing a lot of these poets will end up back underground again next year. That's not necessarily a bad thing; not sure I'd want to see Pavement rubbing elbows with Britney at the Grammys anytime soon, either. But we had 2004.

This One Really is the Best

I was disheartened to see the negative reviews of the Creeley BAP of 2002, and fear this volume might get a similarly chilly reception. It contains substantial poems by notables such as David Shapiro ("A Burning Interior") and Kenneth Irby. It is weighted toward Language Poetry and New York School, and short of the mediocrities that normally populate this series. If you believe that poetry should be intellectually and artistically challenging, not just inane anecdotes told in warmed-over, flat, clichéd language, this is the book for you. It might be the most avant-garde anthology marketed toward an essentially middle-brow public. I hope this time it makes the connection.