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The Best American Poetry 2013 (2013)

by David Lehman(Favorite Author)

3.41 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1476708142 (ISBN13: 9781476708140)

languge

English

genre

Poetry

publisher

Scribner

review 1: I've been reading this book, off and on, since the beginning of April. I'm glad I read the whole thing, as it is very good, and all the poems are so different. I have to say, there may be a greater representation of "weird" in this collection than in other BAP collections. Some truly odd stuff.But, that said, I think there were some really great poems in this collection.I'm glad I read it and I highly recommend it.
review 2: When a book of any genre claims to be the best, and plasters its cover with a quote from the Chicago Tribune emphasizing that sentiment, it ought to live up to that expectation. And quick. However, "The Best American Poetry 2013" does the former, yet not the latter, and instead starts off, for the most part, prosaic and slow. In its opening... more pages it tries to be hip and edgy, like a father in mid life crisis who tries desperately to connect with his apathetic teenage son. It's full of poems that don't grab, but thrust in all the wrong, most painful ways. Mostly self-absorbed in its first 50 or so pages, it feels as if an ego-balloon has untethered itself from the proverbial dock and set sail into turbulent skies without a navigator. Yes, it's bloated. It's got panache, but it's misplaced. It's got gusto, but too much bravado. The poetry is too self-aware, although it tries so hard not to be. Overall, it seems to be a hop-scotch compendium that dabbles in existentialism, pop-culture, horror, philosophy, and doubt, among other things, that's full of gleeful rogues that never quite settle on one type of crime or hone in on any type of adventure. In this case, unpredictability veers into the negative.That's not to say there aren't gems hidden within these pages; as the book drones on into its third act, the lax kinetic energy that first forged it through the early quagmires begins to rocket forward and spiral into something altogether engaging. There are still hiccups in this now steam engine, but it can and it does; it moves forward with a vigor that gulps a second wind, regroups, and, if not uplifting the collection as a whole, saves it from careening into utter disaster. Much less mercurial than the preceding two-thirds, the last third settles into itself, grows a confidence anchored in the uniquely creative, and looks you in the eye, says, "Now, I've got you." My advice? Begin around page 80. Read through and be riveted before traipsing through the foggy start searching for lampposts from poets such as Billy Collins, Amy Gerstler, and Elizabeth Hazen. Your experience will be much more pleasant in that regard and, perhaps, you'll forgive this volume for its missteps more easily than I. Notable poets:Billy CollinsDorianne LauxJames TateMajor JacksonSally Wen MaoEd OchesterElizabeth HazenAmy Gerstler less

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