The Best American Poetry 1997

James Tate, David Lehman

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 1997
• Print ISBN: 9780684814520
• eBook ISBN: 9781439105979
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: American Poetry
• Index: Literature

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, The Best American Poetry is the one indispensable volume for readers eager to follow what's new in poetry today. Sales continue to grow and plaudits keep coming in for this "high-voltage testament to the vitality of American poetry" (Booklist). Selected by prizewinning guest editor James Tate, the seventy-five best poems of the year were chosen from more than three dozen magazines and range from the comic to the cosmic, from the contemplative to the sublime. In addition to showcasing our leading bards -- such as John Ashbery, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, and Mark Strand -- the collection marks an auspicious debut for eye-opening younger poets. With comments from the poets themselves offering insights into their work, The Best American Poetry 1997 delivers the startling and imaginative writing that more and more people have come to expect from this prestigious series.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword By David Lehman
• About the Author 2
• Introduction By James Tate
• Ai, “Back In The World“
• Sherman Alexie, “The Exaggeration Of Despair”
• Agha Shahid Ali, “Return To Harmony 3”
• A. R Ammons, From “Strip”
• Nin Andrews, “That Cold Summer”
• L. S Asekoff, “Rounding The Horn”
• John Ashbery, “The Problem Of Anxiety”
• Marianne Boruch, “Camouflage”
• Catherine Bowman, “No Sorry”
• Joseph Brodsky, “Love Song”
• Stephanie Brown, “Feminine Intuition”
• Joshua Clover, “The Map Room”
• Billy Collins, “Lines Lost Among Trees”
• Gillian Conoley, “The Sky Drank In”
• Jayne Cortez, “The Heavy Headed Dance”
• Robert Creeley, “Won’t It Be Fine ”
• Carl Dennis, “History”
• William Dickey, “The Death Of John Berryman”
• Robert Dow, “How Should I Say This ”
• Thomas Sayers Ellis, “Atomic Bride”
• Irving Feldman, “You Know What I’m Saying ”
• Herman Fong, “Asylum”
• Dick Gallup, “Backing Into The Future”
• Martin Galvin, “Introductions”
• Amy Gerstler, “A Fan Letter”
• Allen Ginsberg, “Is About”
• Dana Gioia, “The Litany”
• Elton Glaser, “Smoking”
• Kate Gleason, “After Fighting For Hours”
• Albert Goldbarth, “Complete With Starry Night And Bourbon Shots”
• Jorie Graham, “Thinking”
• Donald Hall, “The Porcelain Couple”
• Daniel Halperm, “Her Body”
• Robert Hass, “Interrupted Meditation”
• Bob Hicok, “Heroin”
• Paul Hoover, “California”
• Christine Hume, “Helicopter Wrecked On A Hill”
• Harry Humes, “The Butterfly Effect”
• Don Hymans, “Passacaglia”
• Lawson Fusao Inada, “Making It Stick”
• Richard Jackson, “The Poem That Was Once Called “Desperate” But Is Now Striving To Become The Perfect Love Poem”
• Gray Jacobik, “Dust Storm”
• George Kalamaras, “Mud”
• Jennifer L. Knox, “The Bright Light Of Responsibility”
• Philip Kobylarz, “A Bill Posted”
• Yusef Komunyakaa, “Jeanne Duval’s Confession”
• Elizabeth Kostova, “Suddenly I Realized I Was Sitting”
• Denise Levertov, “The Change”
• Larry Levis, “Anastasia And Sandman”
• Matthew Lippman, “Hallelujah Terrible”
• Beth Lisick, “Empress of Sighs”
• Khaled Mattawa, “Heartsong”
• William Matthews, “Vermin”
• Josip Novakovich, “Shadow”
• Geoffrey Nutter, “From A Summer Evening”
• Catie Rosemurgy, “Mostly Mick Jagger”
• Clare Rossini, “Valediction”
• Mary Ruefle, “Topophilia”
• Hillel Schwartz, “Recruiting Poster”
• Maureen Seaton, “Fiddleheads”
• Vijay Seshadri, “Lifeline”
• Steven Sherrill, “Katyn Forest”
• Charles Simic, “The Something”
• Charlie Smith, “Beds”
• Leon Stokesbury, “Evening’S End”
• Mark Strand, “Morning Noon And Night”
• Jack Turner, “The Plan”
• Karen Volkman, “Infernal”
• Derek Walcott, “Italian Eclogues”
• Rosanna Warren, “Diversion”
• Lewis Warsh, “Downward Mobility”
• Terence Winch, “Shadow Grammar”
• Eve Wood, “Recognition”
• Charles Wright, “Disjecta Membra”
• Dean Young, “Frottage”
• Contributors’ Notes And Comments
• Magazines Where The Poems Were First Published
• Acknowledgments
• Cumulative Series Index