The McSweeney's Book of Poets Picking Poets

by Dominic Luxford (Editor), David Orr (Introduction)

The first McSweeney's foray into contemporary poetry brings together 100 poems by 50 poets in ten poet-chains, and making the publisher wonder why it waited so long to try this. How it Ten poets choose a poem of their own and a poem by another poet, who then does the same, and so on unto the fifth generation. Thus D. C. Berman leads to Charles Simic by way of James Tate, and other chains run through Mary Karr, Denis Johnson, C. D. Wright, Michael Ondaatje, John Ashbery, Mark Doty, C. K. Wright, Dean Young, Yusef Komunyakaa, and dozens more.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

213 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2007

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Oh, for Christ's sake, one doesn't study poets! You read them, and think, That's marvelous, how is it done, could I do it? and that's how you learn.'
-Philip Larkin (Paris Review, 1982)

The concept is brilliant: McSweeny's took a poem by 10 poets and then had these poets select another of their poems to be included. Then they picked a poem by another poet, who in turn selected a poem of their own and furthermore selected a poem from another poet. The end result is 10 poet chains, each 5 poets long with 10 poems in each. Follow? The table of contents gives a good visual:


The idea works much like spending a night surfing the links on Youtube; you find a poet you might enjoy and then before you know it you've read through other 'suggested poems for you'.

This is a fascinating little collection, and offers an excellent introduction to a wide range of modern day poets. Many of these poets I had been unfamiliar with, and even for those I've read before, it was rather interesting to see what poem they selected of themselves and of their contemporaries (I couldn't help but enjoy that James Tate picked a wonderful poem by my favorite, Charles Simic). The collection could have been made better and more insightful if the poets provided a small blurb about why they selected the poems and poets they did. The collection feels a bit cold in that regard, and though it is entertaining to try and guess for yourself why they selected what they did, it would have been more fun to get a glimpse into the gears behind the machines a bit. In fact, the book I really wish it were is a book of each poet talking about their influences. Definitely worth picking up still, as it does provide a great variety and has a very unique format.
4/5

Upon Waking
Denis Johnson

at the far edge of earth, night
is going away. another
poem begins. slumped over

the typewriter I must get this
exactly, I want to make it
clear this morning that your

face, as it opens
from its shadow, is more
perfect than yesterday; and

that the light, as it
hesitates over the approach
of your smile, has given this

aching bed more than warmth,
more than poems; someway

a generous rose, or a very
delicate arrangement of sounds,
has come to peace in this new room

Each Moment A White Bull Steps Shining Into the World
Jane Hirshfield
If the gods bring to you
a strange and frightening creature,
accept the gift
as if it were one you had chosen.

Say the accustomed prayers,
oil the hooves well,
caress the small ears with praise.

Have the new halter of woven silver
embedded with jewels.
Spare no expense, pay what is asked,
when a gift arrives from the sea.

Treat it as you yourself
would be treated, brought speechless and naked
into the court of a king.

And when the request finally comes,
do not hesitate even an instant----
stroke the white throat,
the heavy trembling dewlaps
you'd come to believe were yours,
and plunge in the knife.

Not once
did you enter the pasture
without pause,
without yourself trembling,
that you came to love it, that was the gift.

Let the envious gods take back what they can.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blew my mind. One poem particular, David Berman's 'The Charm of 5:30' is perhaps one of the best contemporary poems I've encountered. And for a simple reason. It's happy. And you expect something bad to happen but it doesn't. It speaks to how we're conditioned about a few things -- maybe either in poetry or life, to expect bad things. And it left me with a smile, feeling good, relieved. Like at the end of the day, your worries are gone.

Funny stuff in here too. A little self absorbed, like two (or maybe three) poems about a poet writing about himself. I understand the comic effect, but to keep going and keeping. Gimmie a break. In a book, two or three is okay when spaced apart. But an anthology? Zouch.

Then ya got Terrance Hayes who is just all kinds of dope. His ghazal is kinda cool. Plus Yusef who's poem depicting torture in its last stanza blew my mind. "Jawbone of an ass".

I loved this book and carried it everywhere until I left it on a payphone and someone jacked it. Yeah, its that good. People jack this book.

[Ken]

I love the idea behind this book -- pick a favorite poem by an author, then that author gets to follow it up with a favorite of his or her own poems, and finally said author gets to pick another poet's work. The cycle continues. This book has ten sets of those, and I would say I enjoyed around 60% of the poems, making it an easy 3/5 stars.

Reading an entire book of poems is challenging with any work. It's a lot of focusing, for one. You read, say, ten lines, then realize your mind wandered along about line 4. So you return to GO and start again. Sometimes this occurs multiple times.

Some of the poems I liked: Tina Chang's "Naming the Light," Tomaz Salamun's "Heated Passions," Denis Johnson's "Upon Waking," Angel Garcia's "On Nights Like These," and Mary Ruefle's "Talking to Strangers."

And now, on to something light...

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful anthology of poems. Many of my favorite poets are featured in this book and then I was delighted to find many new poets that I hadn't yet been introduced to. I love the idea for the chains because it's interesting to see how one poet might influence another or how poets read other poets themselves. There's some fun poems in here, too, which don't get enough press. I didn't read a poem in here that I didn't like.

[Sonya Feher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I didn't love all the poems in this book (or even like them all), it was so much fun to travel a path of poets' associations. The poems we write can't help but be influenced by the poems we read, especially those we read and love.

[D'Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best collection of poetry I have ever read. I loved it. Though it includes some poets I already know and love (Dean Young, Jane Hirshfield), most of the poets were totally new to me and I discovered some new poets to love (Brandon Som, David Berman, Brett Eugene Ralph, Mary Stebbins and so many more). So many anthologies try so hard to include EVERYTHING, especially the academically "important" poems (Frost, Langston Hughes, etc.)while also trying to be politically correct and diverse that the collections become too huge to manage, just plain boring or both. This is a collection of poets picking other poets that they happen to like. There are 50 poets, two poems each, divided into ten sections of five poets each. The result is a truly diverse - both in terms of authors and content - and engaging collection of contemporary poetry. I highly recommend this. Plus it is published by McSweeney's, which is the greatest publishing company ever. So buy it.

[Ruth-ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an ongoing read for me as with most of my compilations of poetry. I love this one, however, because of the unique way it was put together. Basically the publishers picked a poet and one of their poems. Then asked the poet to pick one of their own poems to be published, and then one of their favourites from another poet, the last picked poet then picks one of their own and another from another poet and so on. I love how different the poems picked differ from the ones the poets pick of their own. Not all the poems are great but it's a very fun book

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. I’m glad I read it. It’s an interesting idea. Pick 10 poets and one poem from each and then have them pick a poem - and do the same for a chain of five poets with each of the 10 poets. The collections are uneven, but rich. There are several real jewels in here. I liked the beginning and the end of the collection best of all...but each collection was interesting - not only for the poetry - but for thinking about the connection between the poets who were choosing one another.

[martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first anthology I've read entirely in order -- which is ironic, since the intro points out that people never read anthologies in order. But the conceit (poet picks one of their own poems and one by someone else, then someone else does the same) made for really interesting daisy chains. It was fascinating to see how things connected. I definitely liked some sections more than others, but this was a good read.

[Geraldine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been looking for this collection forever! V. excited.

Ed. after reading: I renewed this the maximum number of times at the library and then returned it late. Choose-your-own adventure poetry.

[Johnp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is ten poets picking their favorite poets, who then pick their favorite poets. Many of the poets are new to me. The poet picked by a poet is like those wood toys that open up and contain another toy inside, which contains another toy inside. Plenty of surprises and new authors.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of a poetry chain for an anthology. For some seriously wonderful commentary on how people broadly read/compile anthologies, read the introduction found in this book.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each section made for a satisfying and beautiful lunch break read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a great way to find new contemporary Poets

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

My teacher Kaia Sand was in this collection. Perhaps one of the best anthologies I've read in a long time.

[Rupert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A so-so mix of poets picking poets. I wouldn't normally say this, but perhaps in this project there was too much democracy.

[DM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that brought me back into poetry. Absolutely stunning concept and impeccable execution. Each progression is a dream. I enjoyed every poem and found some wonderful gems.

[Mary Taitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Wonderful!!!

[W. Benson Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Patrick Lawler worth the price.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a unique poetry anthology. Ten poets are selected, along with a poem by each. Each poet in turn then chooses a poem of his/her own, and then selects another poet and one of their poems. That poet selects one poem of their own, and then another poet. And so it goes, until we have a collection of 100 modern poems. Many of the poets were new to me -- some I liked, some not. But what a wonderful way to find new poets and poems!

And my favorite quote? From an interview by Philip Larkin with the Paris Review:

Interviewer: You mention Auden, Thomas, Yeats, and Hardy.... What in particular did you learn from your study of those four?

Larkin: Oh, for Christ's sake, one doesn't study poets! You read them, and then, That's marvelous, how is it done, could I do it? and that's how you learn.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting way to discover some poets I was unfamiliar with and think about different ways that two poems might connect. Basically, 5 poems were chosen by 5 poets. Each of those poets then chose another poem they had written and one poem by another poet. These 5 paths each moved through 5 poets in this fashion. Unlike a traditional anthology, this book is a mix of editorial curation (only 5 poems/poets) and organic. Some of the progression was pleasingly smooth and some was suprising and some abrupt. I liked needing to read it differently than most collections or anthologies.

[Cal Barton]

1. How had I not read Mark Doty before this? He’s the clear standout in this book.
2. I continue to love Mary Karr’s Jesus poems. (“God had first formed me in the womb / small as a bite of burger. / Once my lungs were done / He sailed a soul like a lit arrow / to inflame me.”)
3. The last stanza of Brett Eugene Ralph’s poem “Firm Against The Pattern” (the one where he licks a screen door) is worth the six dollars I paid for this book.

[Dyson Kona · Rating 2 out of 5]

a better book to return to than read thru. lowkey 2.5, i wasnt moved by the magic that should come from poets picking poets, lowkey it was a lot of semi0famous poets picking other semifamous poets it wasnt aberaking into interpersonal netwoeks or tking as unexpected turns among accomplish like a chain may seem. not my fav but some great poems of course. of course

[Pheng Heong Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it one fewer star than the full five-star rating because I would have appreciated a warning of use of expletives and of the mention of 'date-rape drug'. (The poem "I'm over the moon")

[Cynthia Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the idea of the book was wonderful, but I couldn't get into it, although I've tried a few times. So, I quit.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved this anthology's structure of poets picking other poets, I felt that the editor/publisher missed an opportunity. The compilation would have been more rewarding if each poet had also been asked to explain why they picked that poet. Still, a nice ensemble of talented poets with plenty of poems that I plan to revisit.

[Shaniqua Lizardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite taking poetry as one of my concentration courses for school, I am far from qualified to judge whether poems are good or bad. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection from the very good to the very dense. Also, it really helped me during the mad poetry marathon of 2013 (ten poems in three days!) so it will forever have a special place in my heart.

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed this and there were a few poems that especially struck me, but nothing blew my socks clean off. more like a 3.5 than a 3 star though. an interesting way to put together an anthology, but the juxtapositions didn't imbue any particular urgency.

[Mary Louise]

Huh???

[Sarah]

So, I left this about half-finished. Some of the poems are really wonderful, and some are eh. It's a neat concept for a book of poetry, though...