The Best American Poetry 1998

Book Overview

The appearance of The Best American Poetry every September is an eagerly awaited rite of fall -- as evidenced by soaring sales and terrific reviews. The popularity of the series is "ample proof that poetry is thriving" (The Orlando Sentinel), and this year's volume will dazzle and delight, instruct and inspire. Under the guiding vision of master poet John Hollander -- one of America's most erudite literary minds -- The Best American Poetry 1998 spotlights the imaginative power and insight of our finest poets at the fin-de-si cle. Diverse in form and method, the poems display an unwavering nobility of expression, maintaining the uncompromising artistic standards essential to The Best American Poetry tradition as it enters its second decade. With a foreword by series editor David Lehman and with comments from the poets illuminating their work, The Best American Poetry 1998 will lead you on an exhilarating and inspiring literary adventure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684814501
• ISBN13: 9780684814506
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Refreshingly accessible

I look forward to each new installment of the BAP series, and I appreciate the unique gloss that each guest editor puts on "their" edition. I enjoy some volumes more than others, and Bly's is one of my favorites. I wearied of the political stridency in Adrienne Rich's 1996 volume, and John Hollander's 1998 volume was a bit too formalistic. Bly's volume, though, contains a nice selection of accessible, incisive and sparkling poems--crisp, pungent and immediate.

Magnificent

This is simply the most superb installment in the series of Best American poetry anthologies. Robert Bly has chosen rich poems that are free of airs and stuffy language, cultivating the unmistakable flavor of American poetry. From newer names like the delightful Billy Collins to older legends such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Phil Levine and Robert Creely, The Best American Poetry of 1999 will have every reader finding something to love within its pages. All poetry lovers-particularly those who are tired of the so-called "language poets"-must give this book a try.

A book worth buying

I really enjoyed Robert Bly's introduction about 'the heat'. All genuine artists are aware of 'the heat' in some way or the other; Heat is what was to Ezra Pound his definition of 'image'. We can even trace 'the heat' back to the idea of catharsis in Aristotle's Poetics. The moments of knowing, human growth, liberation from certain limits are essential aspect of human being that is universal, and it is not confined by any gender or racial limits. This is particularly important because it removes oneself from the influence of multiculturalism and feminism which we hear so often. The anthology itself presents us with finest examples of 'the heat' by contemporary poets. Many thanks to Peggy Steele, Revan Schendler, Robert Creeley, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and everyone else in the anthology for their excellent works. It is nice to know that I can still find good poetry, even though it may be few.

Harold Bloom woke this series up!

Bloom's scathing, right-on-the-mark intro to 1997's Best of the Best seems to have breathed new life into this series. John Hollander has followed in the footsteps of Bloom by choosing poems that represent a wide range of styles, talents, and persuasions, but share one thing- poetic excellence. Though I'd like to see more selections from smaller presses, I'm delighted to have a book of 1998 poetry that doesn't advance a political agenda or look beyond the poems themselves to find meaning and value. Craig Arnold's "Hot" is worth the cover pirce alone- a poem that resonates, haunts, and changes on every re-reading. Selections by Ammons, Bly, Ashbery, and Strand show these masters at their finest. Bloom revitalized this once-sleepy series last year, and Hollander follows with a selection of poems that is even better than the Best of the Best. If you fear that we have lost our poetic magic in the late 20th century, this book will give you cause to reconsider.