BAX 2020: Best American Experimental Writing

by Seth Abramson, Jesse Damiani, Carmen Maria Machado (Editor)

An anthology of dynamic, forward-thinking writing

BAX 2020, guest-edited by Joyelle McSweeney and Carmen Maria Machado, is the sixth edition of the critically acclaimed anthology series compiling an exciting mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and genre-defying work. Featuring a diverse roster of new and established authors―including Anne Boyer, Alice Notley, and Raquel Salas Rivera― BAX 2020 presents an expansive view of high-energy writing.

from Okazaki Fragments
        by Kanika Agrawal

These proceedings in nature
These proceedings in cold biology
These proceedings in chemical society
These proceedings in physical communication

We refer to the concentration of residues
We observe that one sediments
        faster than the other
We presume as fact that most of what we do
        is in growing incomplete
                short chains
We further support the conclusion
We indicate direction also
        by another method

We are grateful to Drs.

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2020

About the author

Seth Abramson is author of The Suburban Ecstasies (Ghost Road Press, 2009) and a contributing author to The Creative Writing MFA Handbook (Continuum, 2008). In 2008 he was awarded the J. Howard and Barbara M.J. Wood Prize by Poetry. His poems and prose have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Best New Poets 2008, Poetry, American Poetry Review, AGNI, Poets & Writers, and New American Writing. A graduate of Harvard Law School and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he is currently a doctoral student in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviews

[MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this selection of experiments. But there would be a small complaint. In my opinion, the choice of poetry was not radical enough. But it doesn't matter. It's great!