BAP 2004, Soon

November 27, 2004

The last time I thought about the Best American Poetry series was in mid-September, when I wondered out loud whether or not all the usual suspects would still condemn the series now that Kasey Mohammed (and one of his students) are appearing there. That was actually around the time I stopped reading any poetry blogs. I was busy working and when I could read, I’d rather read poems than talk about poems.

At the bookstore today I came across the BAP 2004 volume. Ron Silliman is in there too (though, to be fair, I think he’s made at least one previous appearance)! And a host of other “avant” poets who don’t happen to be bloggers. I haven’t read any of the poems yet, but given that the volume is edited by Lyn Hejinian, it’s no surprise that the Table of Contents looks a bit different than previous years. I imagine that this volume has seen a lot of discussion in poetry blogland… and I hope that at least some of the folks who have read through and commented on all the poems will do so again this year. I can just imagine the wet ripping sound of the Collins and Rita Dove entries being trashed by the NewPoetic elite. But I’m not going to look until I’ve had a chance to read and digest the volume on my own…

Tags: Poetry and Poetics, Publishing