Sherman Alexie

The premier anthology of contemporary American poetry continues with an exceptional volume edited by award-winning novelist and poet Sherman Alexie, now with a new essay by Alexie on reactions to the 2015 publication. Since its debut in 1988, The Best American Poetry has become a mainstay for the direction and spirit of American poetry. Each volume in the series presents the year's most extraordinary new poems and writers. Guest editor Sherman Alexie's picks for The Best American Poetry 2015 highlight the depth and breadth of the American experience. Culled from electronic and print journals, the poems showcase some of our leading luminaries—Amy Gerstler, Terrance Hayes, Ron Padgett, Jane Hirshfield—and introduce a number of outstanding younger poets taking their place in the limelight. A leading figure since his breakout poetry collection The Business of Fancydancing in 1992, Sherman Alexie won the National Book Award for his novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . He describes himself as "lucky enough to be a full-time writer" and has written short stories, novels, screenplays, and essays—but he is at his core a poet. As always, series editor David Lehman's foreword assessing the state of the art kicks off the book, followed by an introductory essay in which Alexie discusses his selections. The Best American Poetry 2015 is a guide to who's who and what's happening in American poetry today. Bodhisattva -- Sarah Arvio Cedars of Lebanon -- Derrick Austin A retrograde -- Desiree Bailey WFM: Allergic to Pine-Sol, Am I the Only One -- Melissa Barrett Swallowed -- Mark Bibbins A Scatology -- Jessamyn Birrer The Joins -- Chana Bloch House is an Enigma -- Emma Bolden Prayer at 3 a.m. -- Dexter L. Booth Makeshift -- Catherine Bowman in the hall of the ruby-throated warbler -- Rachael Briggs Homeland -- Jericho Brown DOCTORS LIE, MAY HIDE MISTAKES -- Rafael Campo A fourteen-line poem on sex -- Julie Carr for i will do/undo what was done/undone to me -- Chen Chen Careful, I Just Won a Prize at the Fair -- Susanna Childress The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve -- Yi-Fen Chou Slow-Wave Sleep with a Fairy Tale -- Erica Dawson In a Black Tank Top -- Danielle DeTiberus It Was the Animals -- Natalie Diaz Fornicating -- Denise Duhamel Vernacular Owl -- Thomas Sayers Ellis In Memory of My Parents Who Are Not Dead Yet -- Emily Kendal Frey On the Sadness of Wedding Dresses -- James Galvin The Garden in August Madelyn Garner -- Rhinencephalon -- Amy Gerstler A Sharply Worded Silence -- Louise Glück Looney Tunes -- R.S. Gwynn Thumbs -- Meredith Hasemann Antebellum House Party -- Terrance Hayes My Husband -- Rebecca Hazelton A Common Cold -- Jane Hirshfield Crisis on Infinite Earths, Issues 1-12 -- Bethany Schultz Hurst Body & Kentucky Bourbon -- Saeed Jones Exhibits from the Dark Museum -- Joan Naviyuk Kane For the Young Woman I Saw Hit by a Car While Riding Her Bike -- Laura Kasischke In the End, They Were Born On TV -- Douglas Kearney Eating Walnuts -- Jennifer Keith Is Spot in Heaven? -- David Kirby Ode to the Common Housefly -- Andrew Kozma The Pickpocket Song -- Hailey Leithauser Watching the Sea Go -- Dana Levin See a Furious Waterfall Without Water -- Patricia Lockwood Party Games -- Dora Malech Anxieties -- Donna Masini If My Late Grandmother Were Gertrude Stein -- Airea D. Matthews There Are Birds Here Jamaal May -- There Were Only Dandelions Laura McCullough -- Dove -- Rajiv Mohabir Upon Hearing the News You Buried Our Dog -- Aimee Nezhukumatahil Plutonium -- D. Nurkse 54 Prince -- Tanya Olson Survivor Guilt -- Ron Padgett Candying Mint -- Alan Michael Parker Relevant Details -- Catherine Pierce The Main Event -- Donald Platt -- from Citizen -- Claudia Rankine Poem Begun on a Train -- Raphael Rubinstein Endnotes on Ciudad Juárez -- Natalie Scenters-Zapico legend -- Evie Shockley So Early in the Morning -- Charles Simic Similitude at Versailles -- Sandra Simonds The Macarena -- Ed Skoog Ajar -- A.E. Stallings Memo to the Former Child Prodigy -- Susan Terris Delicatessen -- Michael Tyrell How You Might Approach a Foal: -- Wendy Videlock The Chickasaw Trees -- Sidney Wade Trades I Would Make -- Cody Walker Goodness in Mississippi -- LaWanda Walters City of Eternal Spring -- Afaa Michael Weaver Dear Black Barbie -- Candace G. Wiley Subject to Change -- Terence Winch Thaw -- Jane Wong March of the Hanged Men -- Monica Youn. The premier anthology of contemporary American poetry continues with an exceptional volume edited by award-winning novelist and poet Sherman Alexie. Since its debut in 1988, The Best American Poetry has become a mainstay for the direction and spirit of American poetry. Each volume in the series presents the year’s most extraordinary new poems and writers. Guest editor Sherman Alexie’s picks for The Best American Poetry 2015 highlight the depth and breadth of the American experience. Culled from electronic and print journals, the poems showcase some of our leading luminaries—Amy Gerstler, Terrance Hayes, Ron Padgett, Kay Ryan—and introduce a number of outstanding younger poets taking their place in the limelight. A leading figure since his breakout poetry collection The Business of Fancydancing in 1992, Sherman Alexie won the National Book Award for his novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . He describes himself as “lucky enough to be a full-time writer” and has written short stories, novels, screenplays, and essays—but he is at his core a poet. As always, series editor David Lehman’s foreword assessing the state of the art kicks off the book, followed by an introductory essay in which Alexie discusses his selections. The Best American Poetry 2015 is a guide to who’s who and what’s happening in American poetry today. Collects poems chosen by editor Sherman Alexie as the best of 2015, featuring poets such as Sarah Arvio, Chen Chen, Andrew Kozma, and Terence Winch