Best of the Best American Poetry: 25th Anniversary Edition (The Best of the Best) Paperback – April 9, 2013

Fertile soil is "marble-heavy, a bag full of God," (Sylvia Plath) and dirty like the poems of the Best of the Best American Poetry, guest edited by Robert Pinsky and series edited by David Lehman. I admire the selections of the editors and wish the book well. I have fifteen favorites, in no particular order.Many poems stand out. Some are more musical than others. Some have images I find particularly favorable, and all are worthy of inclusion. My fifteen favorites lean towards my sensibilities as a translator and some of my favorites have a bilingual emphasis or tendency. That said, my favorites follow."Terminal Nostalgia" by Sherman Alexie, "Injunction" by Frank Bidart, "Skin" by Susan Dickman, "How It Will End" by Denise Duhamel, "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa, "The Autobiography of Khwaja Mustasin" by Amit Majmudar, "The Window at Arles" by Meghan O'Rourke (my favorite favorite), "Fretwork" by Carl Philips, "Outsider Art" by Kay Ryan, "Country Fair" by Charles Simic, "Asphodel" by A.E. Stallings, "Forty" by Pamela Sutton, "Bounden Duty" by James Tate, "Elegy" by Nastasha Trethewey and "Necrophilaic" by Rosanna Warren.As many are already aware, my preferences tend towards the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, and his symbolic images and musical prose. I seek to support images that support him. The Best of the Best American Poetry attempts to share ideas about a bilingual world where we share what is dear as the goal.Yours truly,Allen Hagar

I liked reading Best of the Best American Poetry but not all of the poems were touching to me. Some that were, though, were the following.- Stephen Dobyns, "Desire"- Denise Duhamel, "How It Will End"- Carol Muske-Dukes, "Hate Mail"- Stephen Dunn, "The Imagined"- John Hollander, "The See-Saw"- W.S. Merwin, "The Stranger"- Charles Simic, "Country Fair"- A.E. Stallings, "Asphodel"- Franz Wright, "A Happy Thought"- Kevin Young, "Lime Light Blues"Here are a few that stood out to me. Dobyns' "Desire" is an apology for male desire. Duhamel's "How It Will End" is a couple's projection of relationship troubles on another couple's argument. Merwin's "Stranger" is a parable. These were very touching. I imagine I'll go back over the book eventually and re-read some of the poems I highlighted.

One of the dilemmas and quagmires of an editor who composes an anthology of anthologies of poetry should be imaginable in light of the possible insomniac episodes he must have traversed.Tens of thousands of poems he would have eye-scanned,The self-inflicted judge's syndrome he self-treatedFor there are no panacea in the cornucopia of pharmacopoeiaLo! he puddles through the sea of discretionary depths!I would reread GARBAGE and other poems!Dr. Joy T. Kunjappu, D.Sc., Ph.D.Author of"A Sojourner's Rhapsodies In Alphabetical Order," (POEMS)And"Links and Connectivity: From Blog To Book," (ESSAYS)

I own every issue of the American Poetry series since 1988. But I still appreciate the collection of the Best of the Best in this new volume. The selection is excellent and demonstrates that American poetry is not only alive and well, it can produce masterpieces of the written word.

As stated earlier, I have the whole series, and besides to my delight. It was edited by Robert Pinsky, one of my favorite poets. An extra bonus I was not expecting. I love the idea of changing editors every year. Only one year of the twenty five was disappointing. I wont mention which one at this time..

A nice collection of poems, from slice of life to the absurd to the slightly political. A good collection here.

This is a staple in my poetry library. One I have come to wish there were two editions every year. Since I couldn't buy the entire run for my friend, this was well timed. It keeps quality over quantity and has blurbs by the poets in the back. To me, always a good value.

Robert Pinksy and Robert Lehman have put together an anthology of stunning, impactful poetry, of assonance and dissonance and unstoppable rhythm, of connection, fun and tears. My favorite was Stephen Dobyns, Desire. . . . "The body hungers / for closure, for the completion of the circle . . ."

A wonderful collection of poetry. Bright lights in American culture. Every once in a while you must read poetry and this book is a good one to turn to.

Wonderful!