The Best American Poetry 1997

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary,The Best American Poetryis the one indispensable volume for readers eager to follow what's new in poetry today. Sales continue to grow and plaudits keep coming in for this "high-voltage testament to the vitality of American poetry"(Booklist).Selected by prizewinning guest editor James Tate, the seventy-five best poems of the year were chosen from more than three dozen magazines and range from the comic to the cosmic, from the contemplative to the sublime. In addition to showcasing our leading bards -- such as John Ashbery, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, and Mark Strand -- the collection marks an auspicious debut for eye-opening younger poets. With comments from the poets themselves offering insights into their work,The Best American Poetry 1997delivers the startling and imaginative writing that more and more people have come to expect from this prestigious series.

David Lehman, the series editor of The Best American Poetry, is also the editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry. His eleven books of poetry include Playlist, Poems in the Manner Of, New and Selected Poems, When a Woman Loves a Man, and  The Daily Mirror. The most recent of his many nonfiction books is One Hundred Autobiographies  A Memoir. He lives in New York City and Ithaca, New York.