Billy Collins, one of our most beloved poets, has chosen poems of wit, humor, imagination, and surprise, in a range of styles and forms, for The Best American Poetry 2006. The result is a celebration of the pleasures of poetry.
In his charming and candid introduction Collins explains how he chose seventy-five poems from among the thousands he considered. With insightful comments from the poets illuminating their work, and series editor David Lehman's thought-provoking foreword, The Best American Poetry 2006 is a brilliant addition to a series that links the most noteworthy verse and prose poems of our time to a readership as discerning as it is devoted to the art of poetry.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
a friendly introduction to what the best means:
Collins' poetry is one of "accessibility"--a term he expands upon greatly in his introductory remarks, and there, his voice is firm and assured about the kind of poetry he favors versus drivel passing for verse in contemporary American poetry. Sure, Collins' poetics might not gel very well with the crap being published today, but that is his singular stance and vision of what American poetry is like in 2006, one filled with "Laughter in the Dark" (to borrow a scintillating title by Nabokov).
the best I've read in the series:
There is no doubt in my mind that 06's collection is the best I've read (and I've been reading them for some time now), though to be fair, somehow I missed 2005--though I'm not much for Hejimen's taste. I'm not surprised how good this one is though, after all, Billy Collins selected them, and he is a phenomenal poet with great taste. He picked poems that covered all schools but were told in language and images that we can all appreciate and understand. Keep picking poets like this (hey, consider Gioia, Dave... more info
A wonderful sampling of contemporary poetry:
Since a great many contemporary poems leave me confused or disappointed, I was delighted to connect positively with so many of the seventy-five poems selected by guest editor, Billy Collins. The editor's Introduction brought insights that contributed to my enjoyment, as well as providing guidance to would-be poets. Of course, the guest editor makes a huge contribution to the success of this annual series, and Billy Collins has ferreted out some treasures for 2006.
Good to keep up with current poetry:
It is good for those who are not inclined to keep up with currently published poets to see the choices of a poet laureate.
Privacy policy: we don't collect information
about visitors except for the standard technical server logs. We don't send unsolicited emails. We don't
sell the information that we don't collect about you to anyone. When you follow
links to other sites, their privacy policies apply. Thanks for visiting!
