Raised by Wolves: Fifty Poets on Fifty Poems, A Graywolf Anthology

by Carmen Giménez (Introduction), Robert Bly (Translator), Marilyn Hacker (Translator)

Raised by Wolves is a unique and vibrant gathering of poems from Graywolf Press’s fifty years. The anthology is conceived as a community fifty Graywolf poets have selected fifty poems by Graywolf poets, offering insightful prose reflections on their selections. What arises is a choral arrangement of voices and lineages across decades, languages, styles, and divergences, inspiring a shared vision for the future.

Included here are established and emerging poets, international poets and poets in translation, and many of the most significant poets of our time. There are extraordinary Tracy K. Smith on Linda Gregg; Vijay Seshadri on Tomas Tranströmer, translated by Robert Bly; Natalie Diaz on Mary Szybist; Diane Seuss on D. A. Powell; Elizabeth Alexander on Christopher Gilbert; Ilya Kaminsky on Vénus Khoury-Ghata, translated by Marilyn Hacker; Mai Der Vang on Larry Levis; Layli Long Soldier on Solmaz Sharif; Solmaz Sharif on Claudia Rankine. In these poets’ championing of others, fascinating threads Stephanie Burt writes on Monica Youn, who selects Harryette Mullen, who writes on Liu Xiaobo, translated by Jeffrey Yang, who chooses Fanny Howe, who writes on Carl Phillips, who selects Danez Smith, who chooses Donika Kelly, who writes on Natasha Trethewey.

With an introduction by Graywolf publisher Carmen Giménez, Raised by Wolves is an echoing outward of poetry’s possibilities.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

136 pages, Paperback

Published January 23, 2024

Reviews

[Ken]

Fanboy poetics from the Poetry World as Graywolf Press gives us 50 Graywolf poets choosing their favorite poems from other Graywolf poets then telling us why. Is this a commercial for Graywolf, then? A design to help us seek out Graywolf titles from the past and purchase them for some likely poesie?

Cynically-speaking, maybe, though you cannot deny there's talent in the room when you visit a salon featuring the likes of Nick Flynn, Natalie Diaz, Elizabeth Alexander, Tracy K. Smith, Claudia Rankine, Tess Gallagher, Ilya Kaminsky, Diane Seuss, Monica Youn, and even a few classical gases like Rainer Maria Rilke, Tomas Tranströmer, and Jane Kenyon.

In addition to some cool poems (among some lukewarm ones), you get some pretty cool analyses (among some more mundane ones). In many cases, the poetic comments pointed out techniques and tricks of the writing trade I completely missed (as is my wont).

Worth a walkthrough? If you like poetry as I do, I'd say yes. And don't worry about any wolves. Just channel Romulus and Remus and you'll be OK.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this anthology less than two weeks ago and it's already a bit beat up from going back through it multiple times. This book exceeded my high expectations. I knew it would be quality bc I respect Graywolf, but they truly captured the essence of poetry to share. We, the reader, get to be part of the "tangled root system" due in large part to the brevity of the essays that accompany each poem.

Giménez likens these essays to "ekphrastic poems, or odes, or elegies, or fan letters," capturing the intimate tone and revelations unfolded by the commentary. The essays are sometimes as beautiful as the poems themselves, and always a wonderful complement.

In sum, every poem and every essay was a straight up banger, and I love this anthology.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book answered many of the biggest questions i had this year that i spent hundreds of dollars and hours and hours trying to resolve (more tk)

[Yoel Isaac Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stand-outs

New Year’s Eve at the Santa Fe Hotel, Fresno, California by Larry Levis
Interrogations at Noon by Dana Gioa
Parable by Carl Phillips
Cemetery by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Miracle by Kaveh Akbar
The troubadours Etc. by Mary Szybist
Ongoing by Jennie Xie
Between strangers by Yi Lei
Hangman’s tree by Monica Youn

[Lily Poppen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Graywolf Press for bringing this anthology into existence. The commentaries themselves post-poetry are enough to write a book about and praise.

[Antoinette Van Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

this had so many beautiful essays and poems in it. i love when good writers tell me what they like about other good writers' work. borrowed from the library, but want to buy so I can reread some of these later.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many good poems!

[Todd Saukko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one.

[Elijah Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essayettes are hit-or-miss, but if there is a better collection of poems in one place please tell me.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse collection of poetry throughout time. The authors who commented on each poem had such reflection in their responses that you gain an even further admiration for these poems and authors. The translations being located right after the poem really help solidify the messages presented, the relevance of their works, and their influence on the author themselves.

[Debbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graywolf Press, renowned for its commitment to publishing a rich array of high-quality literature spanning essays, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, is marking its 50th anniversary this year. In celebration of this significant milestone, the press has meticulously curated a compelling anthology, Raised by Wolves, featuring 50 poems authored by 50 poets across the past five decades. This landmark collection embodies the press's dedication to fostering dialogue across cultures, traditions, languages, and generations, and so it is received as a cherished and momentous addition to the literary landscape.

Readers will expect to see award-winners and favorites. They’re easily found within the volume’s pages, including many of the most significant poets of our time: Robert Bly, Carl Phillips, Tess Gallagher, Mark Doty, Christopher Gilbert, William Stafford, Linda Gregg, Jane Kenyon, and James L. White. There’s also a lot of what writers like to see: poems by emerging writers among the more established, foundational poets who’ve graced Graywolf’s shelves for many years.

Every single poem in the anthology is, of course, exemplary. Culled from 50 years of Graywolf Press’ hundreds of volumes, each poem is accompanied by a short essay written by another Graywolf poet. If we’re going with a lupine theme, the essays are the fat in the meat, enhancing each poem’s flavor with a marbling of inquiry and elucidation.

As an anthology, it will appeal to readers within literary circles—poets who read other poets. Raised by Wolves is also perfectly suited for a more expansive habitat. As Graywolf’s director and publisher Carmen Giménez writes in the book’s introduction, “Publishing significant and influential volumes of poetry that span a range of styles and visions remains at the heart of [our] mission.” Poetry and poetic voice have no defined territory as is evident in the more than 400 books written by hundreds of poets published by Graywolf since 1974.

In Natalie Diaz’s essay response to Mary Szybist’s “The Troubadours, Etc.” she describes the work of a poet as not unlike the work of troubadours, an observation that seems apropos to the entire collection:

“It is a durational labor, looking closely, intentionally and attentively, until what we knew becomes unknown, and we become curious again, afraid again, and therefore sensually alert and capable of relearning the world with self-tenderness and in consequence to one another.”

Raised by Wolves, as a consequence, is the effect of a particular action to foster the artistry of voices drawn from a global community of writers. Reading it, we may begin to detect the howling of a pack of troubadours, singing through the pages as Giménez describes it, “through global crises, police and state violence, inequities, atrocities at the border, Native dispossession, mental illness, military aggression, disability justice, poverty and many more of the most pressing issues of our time.”

We’ve had ten U.S. presidents since the press’s inception. The first Graywolf titles emerged at the end of the Vietnam War. It is staggering to consider the trajectory of the poems in Raised by Wolves. For decades, poets—the most sensitive, attentive, socially minded creatures—have listened and watched, even hunted for meaning and purpose. Graywolf has grown a stealthy pack. If you are reading this book you, too, have been raised by wolves.

[Troy Tradup · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of these poems were a bit too poetic for my tastes, but I did quite like these lines:

"A copper-faced man once called me beautiful. Stupid, stupid man." (Eduardo C. Corral)

"One day these years will be known as the space between silence & enough. I still have trouble being alone in either, which is why the radio is always on." (Nick Flynn)

'What is created by humans is almost always alien." (Fanny Howe)

"What I heard & saw were a hundred sparrows gathering in one small tree, their throats full of some ridiculous joy or misery at being sparrows, winged, striped, & handicapped for life." (Larry Levis)

"Sleep, Bee, deep and easy. Hive, heave, give, grieve. Then rise when you're ready from your soul's hard floor to sweet work or some war." (Tracy K. Smith)

And this, from my favorite poem in the collection:

"The nurse went with him through the sliding door. Without having to speak of it we left the suitcase with his streetclothes in the car." (Jane Kenyon)

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this anthology, Graywolf poets choose a poem from a fellow Graywolf poet, and side-by-side, they explain its brilliance.

I love the format and idea behind this book. I actually picked it up at a bookstore because I found the structure so compelling and immediately began dreaming up how I could incorporate it in the classroom. I enjoy poetry but often “don’t get it,” and as you can imagine in a collection of poems selected by professional poets, there were plenty of complex ones. If I had loved more of the poems, I think this would have been even better, but I did feel a strong appreciation for the craft by reading other poets’ admiration for their peers’ work. Definitely worth picking this anthology up if you’re info that sort is thing.

[B Sarv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much reading this book. Any lover of poetry should read this book.

My favorite poems in this collection were:

Trace in Unison by Tess Gallagher

Faring by Saskia Hamilton

To Live by Ilya Kaminsky

Sea Sonnet by Alice Oswald

Cemetery by Rainer Maria Rilke

Vita by William Stafford

The Forest by Susan Stewart

The Troubadours Etc. by Mary Szybist

Ongoing by Jenny Xie

Between Strangers by Yi Lei, trans by Tracy K. Smith and

Hangman's Tree by Monica Youn

[Lucky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I know I will go back to it again and again. I discovered new poets to read and was reminded of others I haven't read in a while. It was interesting to see the perspectives of other poets and sometimes what the chosen poem meant to them. It's a great idea for a book and the number of poems is perfect.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed discovering poets like Christopher Gilbert and Cecilia Woloch, it felt like most of these poems were chosen solely because they were originally published by Graywolf Press. Was that a stipulation? I was excited to see who poets like Ilya Kaminsky admired, but I can't tell if he was given carte blanche or told to restrict his selection.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poets are often accused of talking to themselves. Here they include us in the conversation. The fifty Graywolf-published selections are wonderful, and each page of selection justification is more wonderful. A great tribute to a great press.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really blown away by a few of these—the Haines, Harvey, White especially. Most were pretty good and all had moments. But as one expects from an anthology, some will enrapture, some won’t. But it’s a good place to get some new names to look up!

[Sawyer Tennant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful anthology. Favorite poems include "No More" by Mary Jo Bang, "Ceremonial" by Eduardo C. Corral, "I once fought the idea of the body as artifact" by Diane Seuss, "Lent" by Mark Wunderlich, and "Ongoing" by Jenny Xie.

[ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

for class🤗

[Josie Lozano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have come back to this book so many times when I need something to fill time on the go and I love it more every time! Some gems in this one. Highly recommend this anthology.

[Mathilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“it seems Gallagher was given not one but two imaginations at birth, that’s how innate the unfurling feels. A simile, for her, is more like a quest than a likeness, and when she sets out in these ways, I often feel like I’m in the poem’s small boat, and she is both gust and sail at once, and then when I turn to look, there she is, sitting beside me. Companioned and transformed, I arrive on the other side, having traveled a miniature distance of words the soul’s metric deems enormous.”

“the poet stands in the presence of nature and awe sends them inward.”

“the possibilities dwelling inside language.”

“Then there are days when I flail for poems like they’re footholds in the abyss.”

I just adored all of these people I didn’t know

[Zoe Przystas · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★

[Will Florentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit disjointed as far as anthologies go but helped me find some of my new favorite poems

[Teri Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the poetry in this book and also learned a lot from the writers that reviewed and explained each poem. It helped me to better understand how to read and appreciate poetry.