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matthewwester's review
3.0
Solid 3.5 stars. As with most poetry anthologies, a handful of the poems had great impact and reminded me why I love poetry (about 10%), a handful of the poems didn't connect with me whatsoever (15%), and the rest are pretty decent poems that are not life-changing but that's okay (75%).
The Best American Poetry series is a good springboard; If you see an author you like, go look up one of their books. If you get a sense you'll enjoy one of the publications that publish the poems you like, go look up the publication. And the poem notes from each of the authors are great, especially when they cause you to flip back and read the poem with deepened understanding.
I am curious about the authors who didn't contribute notes for the end of the book. Were they too busy to send the editor a few, quick thoughts? Did they strongly feel the poem stood on its own or were they just lazy? I get more curious the more I think about it.
The Best American Poetry series is a good springboard; If you see an author you like, go look up one of their books. If you get a sense you'll enjoy one of the publications that publish the poems you like, go look up the publication. And the poem notes from each of the authors are great, especially when they cause you to flip back and read the poem with deepened understanding.
I am curious about the authors who didn't contribute notes for the end of the book. Were they too busy to send the editor a few, quick thoughts? Did they strongly feel the poem stood on its own or were they just lazy? I get more curious the more I think about it.
b_p's review
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 started a mission last month to read the last few entries in the Best American Poetry series so that I can begin to get a better sense of A) what my taste in poetry is, and B) my own poetic voice. I am finding so far that I am all over the map and impressionable in both areas (I am only an amateur poet at this point, if that).
I intended on reading the BAP series in reverse chronological order (I started with 2016, then 2015...), but I decided to break the trend after I became enamored with James Tate's poetry. I figured that if I enjoyed the poet selecting the poems, that there would be a greater chance that I would rate a collection with a solid B+ or even A- average. Alas, poetry is poetry. Although I ended up with a B average once more, I still found it interesting to find poems throughout the collection that reflected Tate's own. His tendency towards surrealism and his ability to outpour unexpected emotion is present in this collection.
Masterpieces (10)
"Love Song" by Joseph Brodsky
"Lines Lost Among the Trees" by Billy Collins
"The Death of John Berryman" by William Dickey
"The Porcelain Couple" by Donald Hall
"Her Body" by Daniel Halpern
"Making It Stick" by Lawson Fusao Inada
"Vermin" by William Matthews
"Valediction" by Clare Rossini
"Topophilia" by Mary Ruefle
"The Plan" by Jack Turner
Masterful (8)
"Back in the World" by Ai
"The Problem of Anxiety" by John Ashbery
"Atomic Bride" by Thomas Sayers Ellis
"The Bright Light of Responsibility" by Jennifer L. Knox
"Shadow" by Josip Novakovich
"Mostly Mick Jagger" by Catie Rosemurgy
"Italian Eclogues" by Derek Walcott
"Shadow Grammar" by Terrence Winch
Masters Candidates (10)
"The Exaggeration of Despair" by Sherman Alexie
"You Know What I'm Saying" by Irving Feldman
"Is About" by Allen Ginsberg
"The Litany" by Dana Gioia
"After Fighting for Hours" by Kate Gleason
"The Poem That Was Once Called "Desperate" But Is Now Striving to Become the Perfect Love Poem" by Richard Jackson
"Dust Storm" by Gray Jacobik
"A Bill, Posted" by Philip Kobylarz
"Empress of Sighs" by Beth Lisick
"Recruiting Poster" by Hillel Schwarz
Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 38.3% of the poems contained in this volume. Out of the three that I've read
I started a mission last month to read the last few entries in the Best American Poetry series so that I can begin to get a better sense of A) what my taste in poetry is, and B) my own poetic voice. I am finding so far that I am all over the map and impressionable in both areas (I am only an amateur poet at this point, if that).
I intended on reading the BAP series in reverse chronological order (I started with 2016, then 2015...), but I decided to break the trend after I became enamored with James Tate's poetry. I figured that if I enjoyed the poet selecting the poems, that there would be a greater chance that I would rate a collection with a solid B+ or even A- average. Alas, poetry is poetry. Although I ended up with a B average once more, I still found it interesting to find poems throughout the collection that reflected Tate's own. His tendency towards surrealism and his ability to outpour unexpected emotion is present in this collection.
Masterpieces (10)
"Love Song" by Joseph Brodsky
"Lines Lost Among the Trees" by Billy Collins
"The Death of John Berryman" by William Dickey
"The Porcelain Couple" by Donald Hall
"Her Body" by Daniel Halpern
"Making It Stick" by Lawson Fusao Inada
"Vermin" by William Matthews
"Valediction" by Clare Rossini
"Topophilia" by Mary Ruefle
"The Plan" by Jack Turner
Masterful (8)
"Back in the World" by Ai
"The Problem of Anxiety" by John Ashbery
"Atomic Bride" by Thomas Sayers Ellis
"The Bright Light of Responsibility" by Jennifer L. Knox
"Shadow" by Josip Novakovich
"Mostly Mick Jagger" by Catie Rosemurgy
"Italian Eclogues" by Derek Walcott
"Shadow Grammar" by Terrence Winch
Masters Candidates (10)
"The Exaggeration of Despair" by Sherman Alexie
"You Know What I'm Saying" by Irving Feldman
"Is About" by Allen Ginsberg
"The Litany" by Dana Gioia
"After Fighting for Hours" by Kate Gleason
"The Poem That Was Once Called "Desperate" But Is Now Striving to Become the Perfect Love Poem" by Richard Jackson
"Dust Storm" by Gray Jacobik
"A Bill, Posted" by Philip Kobylarz
"Empress of Sighs" by Beth Lisick
"Recruiting Poster" by Hillel Schwarz
Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 38.3% of the poems contained in this volume. Out of the three that I've read
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