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.