The Best American Poetry 2025

David Lehman, Terence Winch

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781668080603
• Subtopic: American Poetry
• Index: Literature

Guest edited by Terence Winch—NEA Fellow and editor of the “pick of the week” on the Best American Poetry blog—the 2025 edition marks a poignant farewell to series editor David Lehman, celebrating more than three decades of poetic excellence.

For thirty-eight years, The Best American Poetry series has won widespread acclaim as the nation’s most influential and vital poetry anthology. BAP, which has inspired similar ventures abroad, has garnered plaudits for its ability to capture the zeitgeist of American poetry. This year’s anthology is guest edited by the esteemed poet and songwriter Terence Winch, who brings to the task his work as a musician and poetry editor as well as his many years of experience as head of publications at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Winch, known for his inspired selections on the Best American Poetry blog, curates a vibrant array of compelling voices.

The Best American Poetry 2025 is a landmark edition that not only showcases the finest contemporary American poetry but also honors David Lehman’s achievement as the anthology’s founding editor. “The list of editors is a who’s who of US poetry elites,” writes Oxford professor of poetry A. E. Stallings. “And behind it all, the poet David Lehman, the series editor, has labored quietly and diligently ensuring its continuity and continued relevance.”

Lehman’s vision and dedication have shaped these collections into much-anticipated annual events, sparking lively discussion, controversy on occasion, and always a jubilant affirmation of modern American poetry. This year’s edition stands as a testament to David Lehman’s legacy—and to the enduring power of poetry.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1. Gbenga Adesina, “The People’s History of 1998”
• 2. Hussain Ahmed, “Incantation for a Lake”
• 3. Indran Amirthanayagam, “At the Gate”
• 4. Margaret Atwood, “Tell Me Something Good”
• 5. Catherine Barnett, “Nicholson Baker and I”
• 6. David Beaudouin, “Annunciation”
• 7. Donald Berger, “Uncle Sadness”
• 8. Camille Carter, “Thoughts about Inheritance”
• 9. Grace Cavalieri, “White Suit”
• 10. Christopher Chambers, “What About This”
• 11. Dorothy Chan, “Triple Sonnet for Nomi Malone”
• 12. Heather Christle, “Aubade”
• 13. Lor Clincy, “Wishes for Black Women”
• 14. Andrea Cohen, “Fable”
• 15. Billy Collins, “Thought a Rarity on Paper”
• 16. Katie Condon, “Book Blurb in the American Style”
• 17. Morri Creech, “A Letter from Rome”
• 18. Patricia Davis-Muffett, “Climate Anxiety”
• 19. Armen Davoudian, “The Ring”
• 20. Greg Delanty, “To Our Indolent Cancer”
• 21. Abigail Dembo, “The Travelers”
• 22. Jose Hernandez Diaz, “My Kafka Prose Poem”
• 23. Tishani Doshi, “Egrets, While War”
• 24. Denise Duhamel, “Poem in Which This Fathead ‘Fat Ass’ Admits It”
• 25. Elaine Equi, “Lorca’s Guitar”
• 26. Gerald Fleming, “Two Thousand”
• 27. Joanna Fuhrman, “How to Change the Filter on the Developing Cell Matter in Your Womb”
• 28. Amy Gerstler, “Postcard”
• 29. James Allen Hall, “Inheritance at Corresponding Periods of Life, at Corresponding Seasons of the Year, as Limited by Sex”
• 30. Jeffrey Harrison, “Amnesia”
• 31. Robert Hass, “A Sunset”
• 32. Bob Hicok, “The call to worship”
• 33. Nazifa Islam, “The Wind Whipped Tears into My Eyes”
• 34. Henry Israeli, “Escape Artists”
• 35. Fatima Jafar, “In the End of the Beginning of Our Lives,”
• 36. Brionne Janae, “The Heart”
• 37. Raphael Jenkins, “Two men too man to mourn”
• 38. Virginia Konchan, “Miraculous”
• 39. Victoria Kornick, “Eileen”
• 40. Marianne Kunkel, “Apostate Abecedarian”
• 41. Michael Lally, “DC 1972”
• 42. Danusha Laméris, “Second Sight”
• 43. Hailey Leithauser, “Five Postcards”
• 44. Amit Majmudar, “Patronage”
• 45. Chris Mason, “Well Water”
• 46. Greg McBride, “Know Thyself”
• 47. Jill McDonough, “What We Are For”
• 48. Joyelle McSweeney, “Death Styles 5/6/2021: Terminator 2, Late Style”
• 49. Ange Mlinko, “The Bougainvillea Line”
• 50. Nicholas Montemarano, “A Neighborly Day in This Beautywood”
• 51. Yehoshua November, “What About the Here and Now?”
• 52. Sharon Olds, “Health-Food Panties”
• 53. Michael Ondaatje, “November”
• 54. Pádraig Ó Tuama, “Do You Believe in God?”
• 55. Jose Padua, “Godzilla Meets the Beast”
• 56. Elise Paschen, “After Killers of the Flower Moon”
• 57. Alison Pelegrin, “Zero Bothers Given”
• 58. Donald Platt, “Streak”
• 59. Jana Prikryl, “The Channel”
• 60. Elizabeth Robinson, “The Extinct World”
• 61. Matthew Rohrer, “Nature Poem about Flowers”
• 62. Margaret Ross, “Cooperative”
• 63. Javier Sandoval, “Uncle Peyote”
• 64. Emily Schulten, “Nocturnal”
• 65. Jane Shore, “I Am Sick of Reading Poems about Paintings by Vermeer”
• 66. Martha Silano, “When I Learn Catastrophically”
• 67. Bruce Snider, “Trio”
• 68. Mosab Abu Toha, “Two Watches”
• 69. Tony Towle, “Birthdays”
• 70. Cindy Tran, “Blank Verse”
• 71. David Trinidad, “Never Argue with the Movies”
• 72. Bernard Welt, “The Story So Far”
• 73. Lesley Wheeler, “Sex Talk”
• 74. Geoffrey Young, “The How and When of It”
• 75. Kevin Young, “Snapdragon”
• Contributors’ Notes and Comments
• Magazines Where the Poems Were First Published
• Acknowledgments
• About the Editors
• Copyright