The Best American Poetry 2004
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Lyn HejinianEditor: David Lehman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-31
ISBN: 074325757X
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of The Best American Poetry 2004
Book Review: Aging Trendies
Summary: 1 Stars
Series editor David Lehman says in his engaging forward to this book, "A poem must capture the reader before it can do anything else, and to do that it must give pleasure." But that's exactly where this volume falls short. I doubt that many people will derive much pleasure out of this book, regardless of their educational background, cultural perspective, or literary tastes. The few exceptions will likely be graduate writing students and professors, who will read the book to figure out what they must do to have a chance of getting into a future volume in the series. As a life-long reader of poetry from a whole variety of poetic schools and styles, I'm disappointed that this volume makes little attempt to recognize the rich diversity of poetry that is being written today. Most of this is from the school that holds that if it's unlike anything else (even if it has no discernible meaning), then it must be good.
One line of Bob Perelman's poem "Here 2" (one of the few poems in the book I found interesting) refers to "the studied refusals of cliche." And that sums up the book pretty well. Some highly educated people here have spent years of study and effort learning how to write poems that they hope no one will ever accuse of being cliched. And all their study and over-intellectualizing has sucked all the juice out of their writing. Does the poem use a phrase that anyone has used before in the last 200 years? Trash it--it's a cliche. Does the poem evoke a recognizable human feeling that anyone has ever felt prior to, say, twelve minutes ago. Cliche--get rid of it. Does the poem have a meaning that can be discerned after three or four readings? (Not necessarily a deep or profound meaning but, as Frost said, just "a momentary stay against confusion.") Well, meaning--the thought that a writer can or should briefly impose some order on the chaos of life--is so cliche! (I won't even go into the book's general disregard of old poetic techniques like rhyme and meter, the lack of which will be offputting to some readers. While I enjoy those things, I don't think they're essential to a good poem...a poem that might inspire feeling or reflection in many people if they found it.)
Ironically, the writing here isn't so new or avant-garde as its proponents may think. The average age of the 75 poets in this book is about 54, and over two-thirds of the poets were born in 1954 or before. There's nothing wrong with age--I'm 50 myself. My point is that the supposed meaningfulness of meaninglessness has been part of the literary and artistic scene for decades now...and has become a cliche itself. This isn't really all that fresh.
A few of the poets here do write understandable verse and have written wonderful poems elsewhere, among them Rita Dove and Yusef Komunyakaa (both of whom did a much better job of presenting the diversity of modern poetry when they guest-edited earlier volumes in this same series) and Billy Collins. But they seem represented here by less than their best work. Kim Addonizio, one of my favorite poets, has written many striking poems, alternating between burning, abrasive intensity ("Glass," "Theodicy," "For Desire") and quiet grace ("Conversation at Woodside," "At Moss Beach," "Dance"). Frankly, it's sad to see her represented here by a sub-par effort--a variation on the joke about why the chicken crossed the road.
I'd recommend passing on this year's volume and instead buying a collection by Dove, or Komunyakaa, or Addonizio, or Collins, or any of a couple dozen other poets not included here. (If you like rhyme and meter, you could pick up a book by Richard Wilbur, or Timothy Steele, or Rhina Espaillat, all masters in that.) And, David, I hope next year's volume shows more of the "pleasure" principle you advocated in the foreword!
Summary of The Best American Poetry 2004
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 comments from the writers, and series editor David Lehman's insightful foreword evaluating the current state of the art, The Best American Poetry 2004 is an indispensable addition to a series that has established itself as the first word on what's new and noteworthy in the poetry of our times.Poetry Books
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