The Maverick Poets: An Anthology

by Steve Kowit (Editor), Kim Addonizio (Contributor), Wanda Coleman (Contributor)

"Maverick" may be a bit much--they might be better considered a counterculture, the (mostly) non-violent resisters to the rule of academics and effetes. They're Bukowski, Carver, Corso, DiPrima, Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, Olds, Snyder and a host more--and they're mostly terrific.

An introduction
Kim Addonizio
Alta
Antler
Frank Bidart
Laurel Ann Bogen
Loverne Brown
Charles Bukowski
Raymond Carver
Marion Cohen
Wanda Coleman
Billy Collins
Gregory Corso
Jayne Cortez
Diane di Prima
Stephen Dobyns
Laurie Duesing
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Edward Field
Allen Ginsberg
Judy Grahn
Jack Grapes
Jana Harris
David Kirby
Ron Koertge
Steve Kowit
Joanne Kyger
Dorianne Laux
Naomi Lazard
Gerald Locklin
Phillip Lopate
Hank Malone
José Montoya
Harold Norse
Sharon Olds
Simon Ortiz
Dan Propper
Karen Snow
Gary Snyder
Austin Straus
Al Zolynas
Biographies. The author of her misfortune, Rain, The hat, Blood, all her life, the party, Interview, The cobweb / Raymond Carver

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

Reviews

[kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small anthology contains the work of various poets of Beat, counter-culture, and iconoclastic perspectives. The book was published in the late 1980's and some of the poets featured are reputable figures today, although I would argue that some of the poems are rather dated. At times, there appears to be an emphasis on subject matter rather than aesthetic depth; however, some of the poems are quite remarkable. All of the pieces by Raymond Carver are excellent, and encountering his poem "Hat" was a pleasurable experience.

The narrative format and the theme of nostalgia, as well as the inability to articulate one's individual experiences are currents that run through this anthology. Jana Harris's poem "Portrait of a Girl and Her Horse, 1965" is a perfect example of the cohesion of these ideas, while Dorianne Laux's poem "Teaching Poetry With Pictures" encapsulates the themes of inter-cultural and inter-generational conflict.

The book features touchstone poems by Bukowski, Ginsberg, and Snyder, but it also gives the reader many new poems and fresh poets. Like any anthology, there are bad poems, but overall it is a solid collection.

[SlapJack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm officially addicted to late 60's/early 70's drudgery and absurdist poetry. Bukowski, Ferlinghetti, Alta, Marion Cohen and Kowit...not so much Ginsberg-- maybe I just haven't come across the right stuff for good ol' Allen. Highly recommend this read, if it's your fancy, ecstatic to find it at Ken Sanders the other day. Here's one of my faves from my book, even though it's a tad macabre and ominous:

Somewhere by Wanda Coleman

there's an alley with my name on it
cold gritty pavement
crushed glass
shadows
an occasional thin stray cat
hunting through overturned garbage cans
old tin cans/beer cans/ketchup bottles
cigarette cellophanes
bits of torn paper dancing on an eddy
foot falls stumbling past
lovers in the apartment across the way fucking
argument in the mack den
kids shooting pennies behind crates in back of the liquor store
a few roaches trucking from the fumigated house to the one
across the street
drip drip of water from the drain
wind rises scattering stuff

[Jacob Butlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful companion piece to Kowit's fantastic poetry guide In the Palm of Your Hand. A decent number of poems in The Maverick Poets, unfortunately enough, seem dated and sound too prosy for my liking. That being said, there are many, many wonderful poems in The Maverick Poets. I strongly recommend the poems by Dorianne Laux.