The 2018 edition of the Best American Poetry--"a 'best' anthology
that really lives up to its title" (Chicago Tribune)--collects the
most significant poems of the year, chosen by Poet Laureate of
California Dana Gioia.
The guest editor for 2018, Dana Gioia, has an unconventional poetic
background. Gioia has published five volumes of poetry, served as the
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently sits as
the Poet Laureate of California, but he is also a graduate of Stanford
Business School and was once a Vice President at General Foods. He has
studied opera and is a published librettist, in addition to his prolific
work in critical essay writing and editing literary anthologies. Having
lived several lives, Gioia brings an insightful, varied, eclectic eye to
this year's Best American Poetry.
With his classic essay "Can Poetry Matter?", originally run in The
Atlantic in 1991, Gioia considered whether there is a place for poetry
to be a part of modern American mainstream culture. Decades later, the
debate continues, but Best American Poetry 2018 stands as evidence
that poetry is very much present, relevant, and finding new readers.