The Best American Poetry 1988, the first volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman

David Lehman

David Lehman is a poet and the series editor for The Best American Poetry series. He teaches at The New School in New York City.-Career:...

 and by guest editor John Ashbery

John Ashbery

John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...

, who chose one of his own poems among the group of 75.

Lehman's forward

Although Lehman would later use his forwards as a kind of "state of poetry" review of the previous year, in this first volume he concentrated on the nature of this anthology, with most of the forward given over to explaining the mechanics of the process (see The Best American Poetry series for those comments).

There seem to be plenty of creative writing programs, so it appears there will be an audience for the series, Lehman wrote, and with poetry appearing in so many different publications, an annual anthology could help readers find poetry in one place.

Poets and poems included

Poet	Poem	Where poem previously appeared
A. R. Ammons	"Motion Which Disestablishes Organizes Everything"	The Hudson Review The Hudson Review The Hudson Review is a quarterly journal of literature and the arts. It was founded in 1947 in New York by William Ayers Arrowsmith, Joseph Deericks Bennett, and George Frederick Morgan. The first issue was introduced in the spring of 1948...
Ralph Angel Ralph Angel Ralph Angel is an American poet and translator. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Angel attended inner-city public schools there, then worked on freight trains for the Union Pacific Railroad as he earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Washington. Later he received a Master of Fine Arts...	"Shadow Play"	Poetry
Rae Armantrout Rae Armantrout Rae Armantrout is an American poet generally associated with the Language Poets. Armantrout was born in Vallejo, California but grew up in San Diego. She has published ten books of poetry and has also been featured in a number of major anthologies...	"Bases"	o•blék O-blek o•blék: a journal of language arts was a small literary magazine founded by Peter Gizzi who co-edited it with Connell McGrath. The magazine published a number of poems often not in the mainstream but recognized for their excellence...
John Ash John Ash (writer) John Ash is an expatriate British poet and writer.His lifelong interest in Byzantium is a major theme which runs through his poetry, fiction and travel writing, along with family friends and the three major cities he has lived in...	"Memories of Italy"	Disbelief
John Ashbery John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...	"One Coat of Paint"	Shenandoah Shenandoah (magazine) Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review is a major literary magazine published by Washington and Lee University.- History :Originally a student-run quarterly, Shenandoah has evolved into a triannual literary journal edited by author R. T...
Ted Berrigan Ted Berrigan -Early life:Berrigan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 15, 1934. After high school, he spent a year at Providence College before joining the U.S. Army in 1954 to serve in the Korean War. After three years in the Army, he finished his college studies at the University of Tulsa in...	"My Autobiography"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge Mei-mei Berssenbrugge Mei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art...	"Chinese Space"	Conjunctions Conjunctions Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
George Bradley George Bradley (poet) George Bradley is an American poet, editor, and fiction writer whose work is characterized by formal structure, humor, and satirical narrative.-Life:He attended the Hill School, Yale University, and the University of Virginia....	"Noch Einmal, an Orpheus"	Grand Street
Stefan Brecht Stefan Brecht Stefan Brecht was a German-born American poet, critic and scholar of theater.The son of playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht and actress Helene Weigel, Stefan Brecht was born in Berlin. He chose to stay in the United States when his family, who had arrived in Santa Monica, California in 1941,...	"Momentariness"	Tyuonyi
Joseph Brodsky Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...	"To Urania"	The Paris Review
Nicholas Christopher Nicholas Christopher -Background:Christopher graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. He teaches at Columbia University. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Nation, and The New York Review of Books. His novels can be considered as magic realist...	"Miranda inReno"	The New Republic The New Republic The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
Marc Cohen Marc Cohen Marc Cohen is a radio personality who has spent over 30 years as a prominent Southern California announcer. He has performed on both television and radio and has a long running technology show, which is not only well respected, it is one of the most listened to shows on technology in the country...	"Mecox Road"	Verse
Wanda Coleman Wanda Coleman Wanda Coleman is an American poet. She is known as "the L.A. Blueswoman," and "the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles."-Biography:...	"Essay on Language"	Heavy Daughter Blues
Clark Coolidge Clark Coolidge Clark Coolidge is an American poet born in Providence, Rhode Island.Often associated with the Language School, his experience as a Jazz drummer and interest in a wide array of subjects--- including caves, geology, bebop, weather, Salvador Dalí, Jack Kerouac, and movies--- often finds...	"A Monologue"	o•blék O-blek o•blék: a journal of language arts was a small literary magazine founded by Peter Gizzi who co-edited it with Connell McGrath. The magazine published a number of poems often not in the mainstream but recognized for their excellence...
Alfred Corn Alfred Corn - Early life :Alfred Corn was born in Bainbridge, Georgia in 1943 and raised in Valdosta, Georgia.Corn graduated from Emory University in 1965 with a B.A. in French literature. Corn earned an M.A...	"New Year"	Partisan Review Partisan Review Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
Douglas Crase Douglas Crase Douglas Crase is an American poet, essayist and critic. He was born in 1944 in Battle Creek, Michigan. His poetry collection, The Revisionist, was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award and an American Book Award. He is a former MacArthur Fellow. Crase lives in New York City and...	"Dog Star Sale"	The Paris Review
Robert Creeley Robert Creeley Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...	"The Dream"	Exquisite Corpse
Tom Disch	"In Memoriam"	Boulevard Boulevard (magazine) Boulevard magazine, published by St. Louis University, is an American literary magazine that publishes award-winning prose and poetry. Boulevard has been called "one of the half-dozen best literary journals" by Poet Laureate Daniel Hoffman in The Philadelphia Inquirer.- Overview :Richard Burgin...
Kenward Elmslie Kenward Elmslie Kenward Gray Elmslie is an American writer, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School of poetry.-Life and career:...	"Top O' Silo"	Conjunctions Conjunctions Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
Alice Fulton Alice Fulton Alice Fulton is an American author of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.- Biography :Fulton was born and raised in Troy, New York, the youngest of three daughters. Her father was the proprietor of the historic Phoenix Hotel, and her mother was a visiting nurse. She began writing poetry in high school...	"Losing It"	Epoch Epoch (magazine) Epoch is a three-times-a-year American literary magazine founded in 1947 and published by Cornell University. The widely respected magazine has published well-known authors and award-winning work including stories reprinted in The Best American Short Stories series and poems later included in The...
Amy Gerstler Amy Gerstler Amy Gerstler is an American poet. Her books of poetry include Ghost Girl ; Medicine - finalist for the Phi Beta Kappa Poetry Award; Crown of Weeds ; Nerve Storm ; Bitter Angel - winner of the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award - The True Bride and Dearest Creature, .Described by the Los...	"marriage"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
Jorie Graham Jorie Graham Jorie Graham is an American poet. The U.S. Poetry Foundation suggests "She is perhaps the most celebrated poet of the American post-war generation". She replaced poet Seamus Heaney as Boylston Professor at Harvard, becoming the first woman to be appointed to this position...	"On Difficulty"	The End of Beauty
Deborah Greger	"Snow White and Rose Red"	The New Yorker The New Yorker The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
Allen Grossman Allen Grossman Allen Grossman is a noted American poet, critic and professor.-Biography:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1932, Grossman was educated at Harvard University, graduating with an MA in 1956 after several interruptions. He went on to receive a PhD from Brandeis University in 1960, where he remained a...	"The Piano Player Explains Himself"	Grand Street
Barbara Guest Barbara Guest Barbara Guest née Barbara Ann Pinson was an American poet and prose stylist. Guest first gained recognition as a member of the first generation New York School of poetry....	"Words"	Tyuonyi
Rachel Hadas Rachel Hadas Rachel Hadas is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent essay collection is Classics: Essays , and her most recent poetry collection is The Ache of Appetite . Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Ingram Merrill Foundation Grants, the O.B...	"Nourishment"	Boulevard Boulevard (magazine) Boulevard magazine, published by St. Louis University, is an American literary magazine that publishes award-winning prose and poetry. Boulevard has been called "one of the half-dozen best literary journals" by Poet Laureate Daniel Hoffman in The Philadelphia Inquirer.- Overview :Richard Burgin...
Donald Hall Donald Hall Donald Hall is an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2006.-Personal life:...	"Prophecy"	The Paris Review
Robert Hass Robert Hass Robert L. Hass is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He was awarded the 2007 National Book Award and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Time and Materials.-Life:...	"Thin Air"	Antaeus Antaeus (magazine) Antaeus was a literary quarterly founded by Daniel Halpern and Paul Bowles and edited by Daniel Halpern. It was originally published in Tangier, Morocco, but operations were later shifted to New York City. The first number appeared in the summer of 1970, the final issue in 1994...
Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...	"A Shooting Script"	American Poetry Review
Anthony Hecht Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.-Early years:Hecht was born in New York...	"Envoi"	The Yale Review Yale Review The Yale Review is the self-proclaimed oldest literary quarterly in the United States. It is published by Yale University.It was founded originally in 1819 as The Christian Spectator. At its origin it was published to support Evangelicalism, but over time began to publish more on history and...
Gerrit Henry Gerrit Henry Gerrit Henry was an American art critic, author and poet.Henry published feature and critical articles in After Dark, Art News, Art in America, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, People Magazine, Art International, The Spectator, and The New Republic...	"The Confessions of Gerrit"	Mudfish
John Hollander John Hollander John Hollander is a Jewish-American poet and literary critic. As of 2007, he is Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University...	"An Old Story is Retold"	Partisan Review Partisan Review Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
Richard Howard Richard Howard Richard Howard is an American poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied under Mark Van Doren, and where he now teaches...	"The Foreigner Remembered by a Local Man"	For Nelson Mandela
Donald Justice Donald Justice Donald Justice was an American poet and teacher of writing. In summing up Justice's career, David Orr has written, "In most ways, Justice was no different from any number of solid, quiet older writers devoted to traditional short poems. But he was different in one important sense: sometimes his...	"Nostalgia of the Lakefronts"	Antaeus Antaeus (magazine) Antaeus was a literary quarterly founded by Daniel Halpern and Paul Bowles and edited by Daniel Halpern. It was originally published in Tangier, Morocco, but operations were later shifted to New York City. The first number appeared in the summer of 1970, the final issue in 1994...
Robert Kelly Robert Kelly (poet) Robert Kelly is an American poet associated with the deep image group.-Early life and education:Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Samuel Jason and Margaret Rose Kelly née Kane, in 1935. He did his undergraduate studies at the City College of the City University of New York, graduating in 1955...	"Hercules Musarum"	Tyuonyi
Kevin Killiam	"Pasolini"	Shiny International
August Kleinzahler August Kleinzahler -Life and career:Until he was 11, he went to school in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where he grew up. He then commuted to the Horace Mann School in the Bronx, graduating in 1967. He wrote poetry from this time, inspired by Keats and Kenneth Rexroth translations, among other works...	"Soda Water with a Boyhood Friend"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
Carolina Knox	"Movement Along the Frieze"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77...	"What People Say About Paris"	Poetry
John Koethe John Koethe John Koethe is an American poet and essayist. Originally from San Diego, California, he was educated at Princeton University and Harvard University, and is currently a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee....	"Mistral"	The Paris Review
Philip Lamantia Philip Lamantia Philip Lamantia was an American poet and lecturer. Lamantia's visionary poems were ecstatic, terror-filled, and erotic which explored the subconscious world of dreams and linked it to the experience of daily life.-Biography:...	"Unachieved"	Sulfur Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Ann Lauterbach Ann Lauterbach Ann Lauterbach is an American poet, essayist, and professor. Her most recent poetry collection is Or to Begin Again , a 2009 National Book Award finalist. Her other honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, the John D. and Catherine C. MacArthur...	"Psyche's Dream"	Before Recollection
David Lehman David Lehman David Lehman is a poet and the series editor for The Best American Poetry series. He teaches at The New School in New York City.-Career:...	"Operation Memory"	Shenandoah Shenandoah (magazine) Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review is a major literary magazine published by Washington and Lee University.- History :Originally a student-run quarterly, Shenandoah has evolved into a triannual literary journal edited by author R. T...
Philip Levine Philip Levine (poet) Philip Levine is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for over thirty years at the English Department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well...	"A Walk with Tom Jefferson"	The Paris Review
Nathaniel Mackey Nathaniel Mackey Nathaniel Mackey is an American poet, novelist, anthologist, literary critic, editor and Professor of Literature at UC Santa Cruz. Mackey is a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. Mackey is currently teaching a poetry workshop at Duke University....	"Degree Four"	Conjunctions Conjunctions Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
Michael Malinowitz	"Funeral March for a Papagallo"	Aerial Aerial (magazine) Aerial is an influential poetry magazine edited by Rod Smith and published by Aerial/Edge based in Washington, D.C.. Along with the magazine, "Aerial/Edge" publishes Edge Books. The first issue of Aerial appeared in 1984...
Tom Mandel Tom Mandel (poet) Thomas Poeller Mandel is a contemporary American poet whose work is often associated with the Language poets.-Biography:...	"Hungry and Waiting"	Sulfur Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Harry Matthews	"Histoire"	Armenian Papers
Bernadette Mayer Bernadette Mayer Bernadette Mayer is a poet and prose writer. In 1967 she received a BA from New School for Social Research. She has since edited the journal 0 TO 9 with Vito Acconci and the United Artists Press with Lewis Warsh...	"Holding the Thought of Love"	Exquisite Corpse
James Merrill James Merrill James Ingram Merrill was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Divine Comedies...	"Farewell Performance"	Grand Street
Eileen Myles Eileen Myles Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...	"Public Television"	Shiny International
A. L. Nielson	"Route E"	Aerial Aerial (magazine) Aerial is an influential poetry magazine edited by Rod Smith and published by Aerial/Edge based in Washington, D.C.. Along with the magazine, "Aerial/Edge" publishes Edge Books. The first issue of Aerial appeared in 1984...
Ron Padgett Ron Padgett Ron Padgett is an American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator, and a member of the New York School. Bean Spasms, Padget's first collection of poems, was published in 1967 and written with Ted Berrigan...	"Light As Air"	Boulevard Boulevard (magazine) Boulevard magazine, published by St. Louis University, is an American literary magazine that publishes award-winning prose and poetry. Boulevard has been called "one of the half-dozen best literary journals" by Poet Laureate Daniel Hoffman in The Philadelphia Inquirer.- Overview :Richard Burgin...
Michael Palmer Michael Palmer Michael Palmer is an American poet and translator. He attended Harvard University where he earned a BA in French and a MA in Comparative Literature. He has worked extensively with Contemporary dance for over thirty years and has collaborated with many composers and visual artists...	"From C"	o•blék O-blek o•blék: a journal of language arts was a small literary magazine founded by Peter Gizzi who co-edited it with Connell McGrath. The magazine published a number of poems often not in the mainstream but recognized for their excellence...
Bob Perelman Bob Perelman Bob Perelman is an American poet, critic, editor and teacher. He is often associated with the Language School group of poets. Perelman is Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.-Life and work:...	"Politics"	o•blék O-blek o•blék: a journal of language arts was a small literary magazine founded by Peter Gizzi who co-edited it with Connell McGrath. The magazine published a number of poems often not in the mainstream but recognized for their excellence...
Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...	"The Hearts"	The New Republic The New Republic The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
Donald Revell Donald Revell Donald Revell is an American poet, essayist, translator and professor.Revell has won numerous honors and awards for his work, beginning with his first book, From the Abandoned Cities, which was a National Poetry Series winner. More recently, he won the 2004 Lenore Marshall Award and is a two-time...	"St. Lucy's Day"	Poetry
Joe Ross Joe Ross Joe Ross may refer to:* Joe E. Ross , American actor born in New York City* Joe Ross , referee in the Football League* Joe Ross , trader, trading educator, and author of several books on trading...	"From Act I, Scene II of Guards of the Heart"	Aerial Aerial (magazine) Aerial is an influential poetry magazine edited by Rod Smith and published by Aerial/Edge based in Washington, D.C.. Along with the magazine, "Aerial/Edge" publishes Edge Books. The first issue of Aerial appeared in 1984...
Leslie Scalapino Leslie Scalapino Leslie Scalapino was a United States poet, experimental prose writer, playwright, essayist, and editor, sometimes grouped in with the Language poets, though she felt closely tied to the Beat poets. A longtime resident of California's Bay Area, she earned an M.A. in English from the University of...	"Jumping-jack flash"	Conjunctions Conjunctions Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
James Schuyler James Schuyler James Marcus Schuyler was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1980 collection The Morning of the Poem...	"Let's All Hear It for Mildred Bailey!"	Poetry
David Shapiro David Shapiro (poet) David Shapiro is an American poet, literary critic, and art historian. He has written some twenty volumes of poetry, literary, and art criticism...	"Empathy for David Winfield"	Diamonds are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball
Charles Simic Charles Simic Dušan "Charles" Simić is a Serbian-American poet, and was co-Poetry Editor of the Paris Review. He was appointed the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2007.-Early years:...	"St Thomas Aquinas"	Antaeus Antaeus Antaeus in Greek and Berber mythology was a half-giant, the son of Poseidon and Gaia, whose wife was Tinjis. Antaeus had a daughter named Alceis or Barce.-Mythology:...
Gary Snyder Gary Snyder Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...	"Walking the New York Bedrock Alive in the Sea of Information"	Sulfer Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Ruth Stone Ruth Stone Ruth Stone was an American poet, author, and teacher.-Life and career:In 1959, after her husband, professor Walter Stone, committed suicide, she was forced to raise three daughters alone...	"The Latest Hotel Guest Walks Over Particles That Revolve in Seven Other Dimensions Controlling Latticed Space"	American Poetry Review
May Swenson May Swenson Anna Thilda May "May" Swenson was an American poet and playwright...	"Dummy, 51, to Go to Museum. Ventriloquist Dead at 75"	In Other Words
James Tate James Tate (writer) James Tate is an American poet whose work has earned him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. He is a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters...	"Neighbors"	Sonora Review
Lydia Tomkiw Lydia Tomkiw Lydia Tomkiw was an American poet singer and songwriter, best known for her work with the New Wave musical group Algebra Suicide, along with her husband Don Hedeker.-Early life:...	"Six of Ox Is"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
Derek Walcott Derek Walcott Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...	"Elsewhere"	The Arkansas Testament
Rosanne Wasserman	"Inuit and Seal"	Sulfur Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Majorie Welish	"Respected, Feared, and Somehow Loved"	o•blék O-blek o•blék: a journal of language arts was a small literary magazine founded by Peter Gizzi who co-edited it with Connell McGrath. The magazine published a number of poems often not in the mainstream but recognized for their excellence...
Susan Wheeler Susan Wheeler Susan Wheeler is an educator and award-winning poet whose poems have frequently appeared in anthologies. She currently teaches creative writing at Princeton University.Her published works include:...	"What Memory Reveals"	Sulfur Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Richard Wilbur Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur is an American poet and literary translator. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987, and twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1957 and again in 1989....	"Trolling for Blues"	Poetry
Alan Williamson	"Recitation for Dismantling the Hydrogen Bomb"	American Poetry Review
John Yau John Yau John Yau is an American poet and critic who lives in New York City. He received his B.A. from Bard College in 1972 and his M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 1978...	"Genghis Chan: Private Eye"	Sulfur Sulfur (magazine) Sulfur magazine was an influential, small literary magazine founded in 1981 by poet and award-winning translator Clayton Eshleman and ran for 46 issues until the spring of 2000...
Geoffrey Young	"Drive, It Said"	New American Writing New American Writing New American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...

External links

• Web page for contents of the book, with links to each publication where the poems originally appeared