The Best American Poetry 2010

by Amy Gerstler (Editor), David Lehman (Editor)

AMY GERSTLER’S COMMITMENT TO INNOVATIVE POETRY that conveys meaning, feeling, wit, and humor informs the cross section of poems in the 2010 edition of The Best American Poetry. The works collected here represent the wealth, the breadth, and the tremendous energy of poetry in the United States today. Featuring poems from some of our country’s top bards, including John Ashbery, Anne Carson, Louise Glück, Sharon Olds, and Charles Simic, The Best American Poetry 2010 also presents poems that poignantly capture the current moment, such as the sonnets John Updike wrote to chronicle his dying weeks. And there are exciting poems from a constellation of rising stars: Bob Hicok, Terrance Hayes, Denise Duhamel, Dean Young, and Elaine Equi, to name a very few.

The anthology’s mainstays are in place: It opens with series editor David Lehman’s incisive foreword about the state of American poetry and has a marvelous introduction by Amy Gerstler. Notes from the poets, illuminating their poems and their writing processes, conclude this delightful addition to a classic series.

Dick Allen * John Ashbery * Sandra Beasley * Mark Bibbins * Todd Boss * Fleda Brown * Anne Carson * Tom Clark * David Clewell * Michael Collier * Billy Collins * Dennis Cooper * Kate Daniels * Peter Davis * Tim Dlugos * Denise Duhamel * Thomas Sayers Ellis * Lynn Emanuel * Elaine Equi * Jill Alexander Essbaum * B. H. Fairchild * Vievee Francis * Louise Glück * Albert Goldbarth * Amy Glynn Greacen * Sonia Greenfield * Kelle Groom * Gabriel Gudding * Kimiko Hahn * Barbara Hamby * Terrance Hayes * Bob Hicok * Rodney Jones * Michaela Kahn * Brigit Pegeen Kelly * Corinne Lee * Hailey Leithauser * Dolly Lemke * Maurice Manning * Adrian Matejka * Shane McCrae * Jeffrey McDaniel * W. S. Merwin * Sarah Murphy * Eileen Myles * Camille Norton * Alice Notley * Sharon Olds * Gregory Pardlo * Lucia Perillo * Carl Phillips * Adrienne Rich * James Richardson * J. Allyn Rosser * James Schuyler * Tim Seibles * David Shapiro * Charles Simic * Frank Stanford * Gerald Stern * Stephen Campbell Sutherland * James Tate * David Trinidad * Chase Twichell * John Updike * Derek Walcott * G. C. Waldrep * J. E. Wei * Dara Wier * Terence Winch * Catherine Wing * Mark Wunderlich * Matthew Yeager * Dean Young * Kevin Young

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies, American, School, Collections, 21st Century

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2010

About the author

Known for its wit and complexity, Amy Gerstler's poetry deals with themes such as redemption, suffering, and survival. Author of over a dozen poetry collections, two works of fiction, and various articles, reviews, and collaborations with visual artists, Gerstler won the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry for Bitter Angel (1990). Her early work, including White Marriage/Recovery (1984), was highly praised. Gerstler's more recent works include Nerve Storm (1993), Medicine (2000), Ghost Girl (2004), Dearest Creature (2009), which the New York Times named a Notable Book of the Year, and Scattered At Sea (2015), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Born in 1956, Gerstler is a graduate of Pitzer College and holds an M.F.A. from Bennington College. She is now a professor in the MFA writing program at the University of California, Irvine. Previously, she taught in the Bennington Writing Seminars program, at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing Program. She lives in California with her husband, the artist and author Benjamin Weissman.

Reviews

[Liz Mourant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finding an anthology which is decent, meaty, and not too reflective of the editor's biases so much as a sampling of the many and varied voices and styles available at this time is a hard hard thing to do. However the Norton Anthology of Poetry is a good bet anytime. These one off one year anthologies are hit and miss and I declare that this one is mostly miss. It is too esoteric, in-jokey, intent on portraying coolness under pressure or grace or you know what I mean if you read this which I hope I am saving you from. I declare that this won't put me off reading OTHER of the series as the fiction series tends to pluck winners from the sky and I don't think we're bereft of good judging in poetry. In fact, as difficult as I am on writers here at the poetry forum-- some of the work strikes me as more "readerly" than the bulk of the work in this edition of BAP. Readability is what this edition lacked, which is lacking a lot in my estimation. Maybe 2011? Dare I? Next paycheck my curiosity means I may just dare...

[Jules DiGregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As for my writing. I like it enough to keep going. I dislike it enough to keep going."

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this did, as always, have a fair number of poems I did not like (I have come to realize I do not like James Richardson's "Vectors" series--at all), but the overwhelming majority were good. As an alphabetical anthology, continuity between pieces is pretty much nonexistent, but that is okay given the enormous number of great poems. This one really does live up to its title "best" in spite of its weak poems. I found some great pieces by "old friends"--James Schuyler, Billy Collins, Sharon Olds--as well as some new names: Dick Allen, David Clewell, Peter Davis, and others. Having those discoveries is great for enjoying the book.

Some of my favorite pieces were "What You Have to Get over" (one of my new discoveries), "This Poem Had Better Be about the World We Actually Live In", "Four 'Addresses'", "Play" (truly awsome piece about identity--in an unusual punctuation-less format), "The Poetic Memoirs of Lady Daibu", "Having My Say-So" and "Carrying on Like a Crow". There are more with approximately this caliber, but these are some of the very best.

On the other hand, "Vectors 2.3" was unpoetic, as was "From 'The Jar of Balloons or the Uncooked Rice'" (a twelve page list of questions). "Presidential Blackness" did not really hang together, which was the biggest problem with the weak pieces, and many of them seemed flat and inelegant as well. These poems do end up being rather few and far between, so the collection as a whole works exceedingly well.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was one of the better BAP collections, as there were definitely more hits than misses here.

This one carried a wide-range of writers, with an extremely wide scope of topics and tones, from the downright hilarious to the utterly heartbreaking works.

It definitely leans more heavily on the image-driven and narrative style poems, which is why it resonated so well with me. So if that's not your type of poetry, than this collection might be less than stellar compared to past anthologies.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. A few were good. I can't read a poem start to finish without --

Gerstler is a better editor then whoever the fuck edited the garbage I read from 2005.

Can I swear?

[B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I would give this collection a B average (technically an 86.2% avg.) as far as the quality of the poems contained. I know that attempting to quantify poetic effect/value is a ridiculous gesture, but I am simply a ridiculous person. Of course, this is purely based off of my own tastes and will not necessarily reflect your average satisfaction rate. I started a mission in October of 2016 to read the entire Best American Poetry series so that I can begin to get a better sense of A) what my taste in poetry is, and B) my own poetic voice.

BAP 2010 started out strong with a trio of A-worthy poems. Then, it moved into many unmemorable pieces. But it still had a few that, while good, were rarely formally intriguing. In some sense, I had seen many of these poems before. Nothing was overtly astounding or completely mind-blowing. But while no new ground was broken, there was still comfort to be cherished on the well-traveled roads.

Masterpieces (8)
"What You Have To Get Over" by Dick Allen
"Alcove" by John Ashbery
"Unit of Measure" by Sandra Beasley
"What's Left" by Albert Goldbarth
"At the River" by Louise Glück
"The Cunning Optimism of Language" by Bob Hicok
"North Alabama Endtime" by Rodney Jones
"The Grudge" by Jeffrey McDaniel

Masterful (10)
"Wildly Constant" by Anne Carson
"Grave" by Billy Collins
"Four Addresses" by Peter Davis
"And What, Friends, Is Called a Road?" by Gabriel Gudding
"Vectors 2.3: Fifty Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays" by James Richardson
"Children's Children Speak" by J. Allyn Rosser
"Blue Yodel of Those Who Were Always Telling Me" by Frank Stanford
"Black Telephone" by David Trinidad
"The Dark Rides" by Chase Twichell
"The Darker Soon" by Catherine Wing

Masters Candidates (9)
"Presidential Blackness" by Thomas Sayers Ellis
"I Just Want to Look" by Terrance Hayes
"A Man with a Rooster in His Dream" by Maurice Manning
"The Prison Diary of Bartlett Yancy Malone" by Camille Norton
"Allison Wolff" by Tim Seibles
"Depression" by James Tate
"21" by Derek Walcott
"Coyote, with Mange" by Mark Wunderlich
"Lime Light Blues" by Kevin Young

Overall, I would absolutely to highly recommend approx. 36% of the poems contained in this volume.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, these are probably not the 75 “Best” poems from the last year. There’s just too much that gets missed. For example, my sense of it (and I could be wrong) is that the internet journals are way too underrepresented. Given the trends in publishing, one has to wonder just what the fate of some the major print literary journals will be. Electronic journals such as Jacket, Blackbird, and amazingly rich literary portals, such as Webdelsol (which has a whole array of wonderful e-zines), at this point in time should be getting some significant annual space in the BAP. All of that said, in fairness to BAP, some of the journals in which these poems appear, could well be electronic. But you can’t tell, unless the poet mentions it in the endnotes (which are pretty cool). No urls are provided.

Still, whether print or electronic, I think part of the problem is that it’s too much for one “guest” editor to handle. It may be time to get a panel of 3 or more poets that sits permanently or for a few years at least. Don’t get me wrong, I think Amy Gerstler (small letters) did a good job (I loved her Introduction) with her stint. She took some chances with some long poems (with mixed results), but overall there are some fine selections. (However, it’s getting increasingly improbable that John Ashberry and Adrienne Rich, no matter who is editing, are always able to get slots in the BAP. Is there some sort of direction that these two must appear?) In contrast, Series Editor, DAVID LEHMAN (big letters), while dialing things back a bit from last year’s dark extravaganza of an Intro, nevertheless still comes off as a windbag who can’t get out of the way of his guest editor. Why does he even write an Intro?

Rant over. Poems worth reading (and re-reading):

Mark Bibbins, “The Devil You Don’t” (Really good. Long poem choice by Gerstler that worked.)

Fleda Brown “The Dead”

Jill Alexander Essbaum, “Apologia”* (Maybe the best poem, IMHO, in this year’s effort.)

Albert Goldbarth, “What’s Left” (I need to read more of this guy.)

Kelle Groom, “Oh dont”

Brigit Pegeen Kelly, “Rome”* (My other favorite for best poem)

Charles Simic, “Carrying on the Crow”

David Trinidad, “Black Telephone”

Chase Twichell, “The Dark Rides” (Wow!)

John Updike, “Peggy Lutz, Fred Muth 12/13/08” (I’ve not really read Updike (fiction or poetry), but I found this moving. A writer’s goodbye, and a good poem.)

Catherine Wing, “The Darker Sooner”

Mark Wunderlich, “Coyote with Mange”

[Tony Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess I picked at this book like I used to pick the chicken out a pot pie. If a poem didn't taste good after a few lines, I spit it out.

In spite of this process, I found much meat to chew on in this collection. Mark Bibbins' fiery "The Devil You Don't." The sweet simplicity of Tom Clark's Fidelity." Michael Collier's psychcologically haunting "An Individual History," Elaine Equi's beautifully surreal "What is it About Hands?". The dialogue between optimism and apocalypse in Rodney Jones' "North Alabama Endtime." The confessional allure of Dolly Lemke's "I never went to that movie at 12:45." The quizzical taunt of Charles Simic's "Carrying on Like a Crow." And, the philosophical precision of Terence Winch's "Objects of Spiritual Significance."

The collection served as a good appetizer for the beginning of what I hope will be a poetry feast in 2016.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this collection as much as I liked last year's (2009). There were poems by all the regulars (Carson, Walcott, Rich and Merwin among others, which I suppose goes with the territory. There were more prose poems than I usually like to see. Two of my favorites were Anne Carson's "Wildly Constant" (which I was not expecting to like as Anne Carson is usually too much for me) and Sandra Beasly's "Unit of Measure," which was fun, engaging and clever. I did not find myself drawn to finish the collection as I did the 2009 one but felt it was a decent representation of where poetry is at today. Worth reading.

[Melanie Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I've purchased several of the Best American Poetry annual anthologies, this year's captured my imagination. Each year there's a different guest editor, and perhaps it shouldn't surprise me that I enjoyed the chosen offerings this go-'round, as I just read Amy Gerstler's wonderfully quirky book of poems, Dearest Creature, a few weeks ago. There are more language experiments and prose poems than usual in this year's selections. My favorite selection so far is Gabriel Gooding's prose poem, "And What, Friends, Is Called a Road?"

[Luz · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read The Grudge, A Walk In Victoria's Secret, and I never went to that movie at 12:45 in my Creative Writing class. We got to pick any piece off here or "The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009" for a critical review. I ended up doing Carrying on like a Crow by Charles Simic because it was probably my favorite poem in this compilation. My other favorites include: The Grudge,Letter to the Past after Long Silence, What's Left, Namaskar, Oh dont, and Grave.

Overall I enjoyed it, and I loved reading some of the pieces contemporary poets were writing.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't too enthused about this one, having had the inexplicable feeling it might not be the best installment in this series. As usual, however, it drew me in. There's a lot to love in this very in-the-moment collection, including more than a few poems of real emotional resonance (which is what the Best American collections are most known for.) I was also surprised to find as many long poems in here as I did, which is something of a relief. At least there's one poetry forum in this world that isn't all about catering to the short attention spans of our modern audience.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

a couple of duds, but a pretty brilliant collection overall. Favorites:

"Wildly Constant" - Anne Carson
"Come in from the Rain" - Tim Dlugos
"This Poem Had Better Be about the World We Actually Live In" - David Clewell
"At the River"- Louise Glück
"And What, Friends, Is Called a Road?" - Gabriel Gudding
"Q" - Sharon Olds
"Their Faces Shall Be as Flames" - G.C. Waldrep
"Apologia" - Jill Alexander Essbaum
"Blue Yodel of Those Who Were Always Telling Me" - Frank Stanford
"The Perfect Faceless Fish"- Eileen Myles

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Operation "catch up with BAP" is nearly complete at long last.

Unfortunately, this was another volume that I found disappointing despite being a fan of the guest editor.

Very few pages folded over. Let's see... Favorites from Louise Gluck, B.H. Fairchild (big surprise), Dolly Lemke, Sarah Murphy, and J. Allyn Rosser.

Humor in poetry, for me, is hit or miss. I understand Gerstler's desire to have more humor in her volume, but most of the humor in this volume was a big miss by my sensibilities. I imagine that is a large part of why this volume just didn't hit for me.

[Cornelio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. Every year this annual anthology never fails to inspire, to touch, to think, make me hold my breath, let out a sigh, or just find myself still. It always demonstrates how alive poetry is, how powerful words are. And it's a book that will beg for re-reading, and it will just keelp getting better. Sure, there are poems I love more than others, but I always seem to take something for each of them. And that's something.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As expected, this was a mixed bag. Some made no sense, others seemed too narrow to warrant inclusion in a Best of series, and some I connected with.

Among my favorites were Sandra Beasley's "Unit of Measure", Jeffery McDaniel's "The Grudge", Camille Norton's "The Prison Diary of Bartlett Yancy Malone", Jeffrey Richardson's "Vector 2.3: Fifty Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays", David Trinidad's "Black Telephone", and Mark Wunderlich's "Coyote, with Mange".

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked several of the poems in this book, but ultimately I looked at it the same way I do most contemporary poetry: "Huh?" I still prefer my "elders", like Yeats and Pound. Not a bad book, and definitely accessible to people who aren't poetry enthusiasts, but something I will likely be selling back to the bookstore at the end of the semester.

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the huge range of experimental styles made this volume feel a bit disjointed, and after a while I ended up skipping a few, which is quite unlike me. Every now and then I found a gem and I'd think, "I wish there were more poems like *that* in here." I don't think most of these poems will leave a lasting impression on my literary landscape.

[Steven Tomcavage · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quality of poetry anthologies largely depends on the choices of the editor. Amy Gerstler, the editor for The Best American Poetry 2010, obviously loves prose poetry, and if she has to choose verse, she goes for very wordy verse. These are not my favorite types of poetry, so I found this collection a bit tiresome, but if page after page of dense text is your thing, this might be for you.

[Tiffany Hickox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a splendid anthology of poetry from both established and emerging writers. I found myself highlighting and dog-earring my way through the entire book. Highly recommended for all fans of contemporary poetry, especially those who want a taste of what is being published in the literary journals but don't have the means to subscribe.

[Rynell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry is very subjective. I read a lot of poetry and I wouldn't say that the poems in this book are the BEST of 2010. There are many great poems included, but I wouldn't say that they are the very best. Who can agree on the best anyway?

[Deni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been trying to read all of the new poetry that we order at the library and so it was a pleasant surprise to discover that I was already familiar with several of these poems! Great validation that we've been picking some good titles.

[graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthologies are so hard -- I loved some bits (Fleda Brown's "The Dead" is a standout), liked some others, disliked many and plain just didn't get a fair swath -- so I'll go middle of the road on this one.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad collection, though there were a few poems that I didn't care for (or I thought were too long). They feel like they are in a particular style. Perhaps it is just the format, but I feel like I am missing the context of a longer collection with many of these.

[Amy Christine Lesher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally, I love the mix of poetry in the Best American series. In this edition though it was heavy in prose poetry, not something I particularly like. Really happy when I finished it and was able to put it back on the shelf.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most anthologies, hit or miss. I found some of these poems incredibly insightful and poignant, tugging at my heartstrings - impelling me to write like I'm a poet. And others dropped me cold. But, that's the way of things, and I thought overall they were pretty good.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some real magic mixed with a little ho hum. It is worth it for the great ones, especially the few poets I am just discovering!

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the foreword and the guest editor's intro. Gerstler likes prose poems and there are several in this edition.

[Woody Chandler]

This year's iteration is MUCH better than last year's, IMHO. B/C the editor changes year-to-year, that will be the case, but I am really digging some of the lines and stanzas this time!

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much prose for my liking. Also, too many "known" poets who are past their ripe age and I would have liked to see more emerging poets