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Best American Poetry 2016 (The Best American Poetry series) Kindle Edition

by David Lehman (Author), Edward Hirsch (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 64 ratings
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The premier anthology of contemporary American poetry continues—guest edited this year by award-winning poet Edward Hirsch, a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and the president of The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

The Best American Poetry series is “a vivid snapshot of what a distinguished poet finds exciting, fresh and memorable” (Robert Pinsky); a guiding light for the mood and shape of modern American poetry. Each year, this series presents essential American verse and the poets who create it. Truly the “best” American poetry has appeared in this venerable collection for over twenty-five years.

A poet of decided brilliance since his 1981 debut collection, For the Sleepwalkers, Edward Hirsch curates a thoughtful selection of poetry for 2016 and an Introduction to be savored. Jumpha Lahiri said of Hirsch, “The trademarks of his poems are…to be intimate but restrained, to be tender without being sentimental, to witness life without flinching, and above all, to isolate and preserve those details of our existence so often overlooked, so easily forgotten, so essential to our souls.” Hirsch’s choices for this collection reflect the soul of poetry in America. As ever, series editor David Lehman opens this year’s edition with an insider’s guide and a thoughtful contemplation of poetry today.
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  1. Part of series
    The Best American Poetry
  2. Print length
    241 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Scribner
  6. Publication date
    September 6, 2016
  7. File size
    1924 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A 'best' anthology that really lives up to its title." (Chicago Tribune)

"Each year, a vivid snapshot of what a distinguished poet finds exciting, fresh and memorable: and over the years, as good a comprehensive overview of contem-porary poetry as there can be." (Robert Pinsky )

“A year’s worth of the very best!” (People)

"An essential purchase." (Washington Post)

"The Best American Poetry series has become one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world. For each volume, a guest editor is enlisted to cull the collective output of large and small literary journals published that year to select 75 of the year’s 'best' poems. The guest editor is also asked to write an introduction to the collection, and the anthologies would be indispensable for these essays alone; combined with [David] Lehman’s'state-of-poetry' forewords and the guest editors’ introductions, these anthologies seem to capture the zeitgeist of the current attitudes in American poetry.” (Academy of American Poets )

About the Author

David Lehman, the series editor of The Best American Poetry, edited The Oxford Book of American Poetry. His books of poetry include The Morning Line, When a Woman Loves a Man, and The Daily Mirror. The most recent of his many nonfiction books is The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir. He lives in New York City and Ithaca, New York.

Edward Hirsch is an American poet and critic who wrote national bestseller How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. He has published nine books of poems, including The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems, which brings together thirty-five years of work, and Gabriel: A Poem, a book-length elegy for his son that The New Yorker calls “a masterpiece of sorrow.” He has also published five prose books about poetry. He is president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in New York City.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0176M1BSE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; 2016th edition (September 6, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1924 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 241 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 64 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
64 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sam Leamy
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and enthralling in its simplicity
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2017
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'When someone dies, the clothes are so sad." With lines so simple and poignant as this from Emily Fragos, the collection of the Best American Poetry of 2016 took me by the hand and turned the pages for me, one after another through more than sixty poems. It is an incredible journey into a genre that I rarely dip into. With an eclectic range of styles from the most formal, academic, and even bizarre, there are words, imagery and narratives for all of us.
As I don't normally read poetry, not since leaving London University in my twenties, I appreciated the foreword by David Lehman who mixed the past understanding of the role of such writing and brought into the present. The following introduction by the guest editor Edward Hirsch reminded me that "poetry is not dead. On the contrary it is an art form that continues to thrive in unexpected ways, engaging and evading its own history, setting out on unknown paths."
This anthology took me down little know streets, into lives and emotions that are so detailed and dense with all the senses that it left me wanting more. More.

 Bring A Chainsaw: (And Other Stories From My Solo Travels)
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Hamilton R
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep and careful look into the poetry scene of America 2016
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017
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A deep look into the poetry scene of America 2016. What I like about this collection of poems, and the Best American Poetry series in general, is that it is as if you have taken out a subscription to dozens of literary magazines, and are reading the best poetry in so many exciting forms and styles, from magazines reaching from the Alaska Review and Cherry Tree, to Ploughshares, the Paris Review, and the Prairie Schooner.
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Ben Pieper
4.0 out of 5 stars This volume got me hooked on the BAP series
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2016
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Overall, I would give this collection a B to 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 have not read too many modern poetry anthologies, but I am starting to do so for two reasons. First, to narrow down my own literary tastes. Second, to improve my own poetry and eventually find a more distinct voice. I find myself in the habit of simply imitating the voices of the poets that I am inspired by from week to week.

The following are my favorites from this collection:

Masterpieces (7)
"Ugglig" by Michelle Boisseau
"Hubert Blankenship" by David Bottoms
"Humanity 101" by Denise Duhamel
"My Life" by Lynn Emanuel
"One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing" by Charles Fort
"The Lady Responds" by Juliana Gray
"Dome of the Hidden Temple" by James Tate

Masterful (10)
"On the Certainty of Bryan" by Olena K. Davis
"The Sadness of Clothes" by Emily Fragos
"Meet Me at the Lighthouse" by Dana Gioia
"As If" by Julie Kane
"Solitaire" by Deborah Landau
"If He Came & Diminished Me & Mapped My Way" by Larry Levis
"Ode While Awaiting Execution" by Thomas Lux
"Psalm for the Lost" by Paul Mariani
"My Father's "Norton Introduction to Literature" (1981)" by Hai-Dang Phan
"Vineyard" by David St. John

Masters Candidates (9)
"O, Esperanza" by Catherine Barnett
"Whitman, 1841" by Rick Barot
"Here I Am" by Martin Espada
"When I turned fourteen my mother's sister took me to lunch and said" by Alexis Rhone Fancher
"A Drop of Seawater Under the Microscope" by Amy Gerstler
"Aubade" by Major Jackson
"Lament" by Debra Marquart
"Late Aubade" by James Richardson
"To Think of How Cold" by Eleanor Wilner

Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 35% of the poems contained in this volume.
2 people found this helpful
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Carolyn Stice
5.0 out of 5 stars Edward Hirsch for the win
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2016
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I purchased this book because of the guest editor, Edward Hirsch. He does an amazing jog of curating this collection. Take the time to read his introduction. As always, he is insightful, smart, and entertaining. I also really appreciate his philosophy behind choosing these pieces, as he was very conscious of trying to represent the diversity of the American voice. Sometimes this series is hit and miss, but this time was a definite win!
4 people found this helpful
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starlirs
5.0 out of 5 stars Reliably good series
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016
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I get the new volume of this series every year and always enjoy it. Amazon does a great job of getting it in stock and notifying me when it is available. I greatly appreciate that.
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SympatheticEar
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful selection this year
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2016
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Last year I had trouble finding any poems I really liked. This year, I can't find any I dislike. A wide range of styles and themes, wonderfully crafted. I keep saying, "I wish I wrote that!"
11 people found this helpful
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a reader/viewer
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent selection of some of our best poets
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2016
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Excellent selection of some of our best poets. Edward Hirsch's introduction is worth the price of admission, a superb accounting of our current fractured poetry scene.
4 people found this helpful
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Olga Abella
5.0 out of 5 stars Good collection of poetry
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2016
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I bought this as a gift, but skimmed through it before I gave it away. it has some really nice selections.
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Top reviews from other countries

M. Bhagat Singha, Guwahati, Assam
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in India on May 19, 2021
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Received in good condition, packing was also good
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2017
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Always a great, inclusive, selection. Something for everyone.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction, interesting selection
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2017
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Excellent and thoughtful introduction with a really helpful and concise summary of the development of poetry over the years. Has a wide range of poetic forms and styles inside. Some seem to me to be closer to prose but that's the fashion apparently. There's a bit too much telling in some too though it's fair to have some if only to set up a poem and locate the reader quickly. if something interesting / challenging happened to the poet then that's a starting point but doesn't need to be the main thrust of the ensuing poem. referencing obscure literary folk or sources is a big turn off for me - there's a risk of 'poetry eating itself' in this :) Let the words speak for themselves,
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Shashvat
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in India on November 21, 2017
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not at all best poetry barring few poems.
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