Best American Poetry 2018 (The Best American Poetry series)

The 2018 edition of the Best American Poetry —"a 'best' anthology that really lives up to its title" ( Chicago Tribune )—collects the most significant poems of the year, chosen by Poet Laureate of California Dana Gioia. The guest editor for 2018, Dana Gioia, has an unconventional poetic background. Gioia has published five volumes of poetry, served as the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently sits as the Poet Laureate of California, but he is also a graduate of Stanford Business School and was once a Vice President at General Foods. He has studied opera and is a published librettist, in addition to his prolific work in critical essay writing and editing literary anthologies. Having lived several lives, Gioia brings an insightful, varied, eclectic eye to this year's Best American Poetry . With his classic essay "Can Poetry Matter?", originally run in The Atlantic in 1991, Gioia considered whether there is a place for poetry to be a part of modern American mainstream culture. Decades later, the debate continues, but Best American Poetry 2018 stands as evidence that poetry is very much present, relevant, and finding new readers. Miscarriage -- Allison Aair Against dying -- Kaveh Akbar American dreams -- Jula Alvarez Finishing up -- A. R. Ammons Sherpa song -- David Barber Translator's note -- Andrew Bertaina Mourning what we thought we were -- Frank Bidart Anthem -- Bruce Bond Those were the days -- George Bradley Birds punctuate the days -- Joyce Clement Opposites game -- Brendan Constantine Prayer concerning the new more 'accurate' translation of certain prayers -- Maryann Corbett Toast to my dead parents -- Robert Cording Artuad -- Cynthia Cruz Personal sonnet -- Dick Davis Today's special -- Warren Decker Wives of the poets -- Susan de Sola Reading Dostoyevsky at seventeen -- Dante Di Stefano Pied beauty -- Nausheen Eusuf Orient epithalamion -- Jonathan Galassi Test -- Jessica Goodfellow Ghost ship -- Sonia Greenfield American sunrise -- Joy Harjo American sonnet for my past and future assassin -- Terrance Hayes Mars Ultor -- Ernest Hilbert View from the bar -- R. Nemo Hill Into the mystery -- Tony Hoagland Yonder, a rental -- Anna Maria Hong I am the size of what I see -- Paul Hoover Walking home -- Marie Howe Ives -- Mandy Kahn We lived happily during the war -- Ilya Kaminsky Quiet boy -- Stephen Kampa Love poem : chimera -- Donika Kelly Sono -- Suji Kwock Kim Palazzo Maldura -- Karl Kirchwey Aconite -- Nate Klug Using black to paint light -- Robin Coste Lewis First Christmas in the village -- David Mason Window -- Robert Morgan Invitation -- Aimee Nezhukumatathil B.F.F. -- Hieu Minh Nguyen. Addendum -- Alfred Nicol Skin deep -- Nkosi Nkululeko Hands -- Sheana Ochoa Silver spoon ode -- Sharon Olds Tilia cordata -- Jacqueline Osherow Sad math -- Mike Owens Week before she died -- Elise Paschen Bells' knells -- Jessica Piazza Happy Birthday, Herod -- Aaron Poochigian Angels in the sun -- Ruben Quesada La Mano -- Alexandra Lytton Regalado Philomela -- Paisley Rekdal Walkman -- Michael Robbins Personae who got loose -- J. Allyn Rosser Genesis -- Mary Ruefle Some transcendent addiction to the useless -- Kay Ryan We'll always have parents -- Mary Jo Salter Voxel -- Jason Schneiderman Violence -- Nicole Sealey Advent -- Micahel Shewmaker Disptch from midlife -- Carmen Gimenez Smith Old story -- Tracy K. Smith Why California will never be like Tuscany -- Gary Snyder Pencil -- A. E. Stallings How poems arrive -- Anne Stevenson Substitutions -- Adrienne Su Shooting wild -- Natasha Trethewey. Grief runs untamed -- Agnieszka Tworek Dear office in which I must account for tears -- G. C. Waldrep Lao Jia -- Wang Ping On a palm -- James Matthew Wilson Face it -- Ryan Wilson Assembly -- Christian Wiman. In a review of Best American Poetry 2017, The Washington Post said, "The poems, ordered alphabetically by author, have a wonderful cohesion and flow, as if each contributes to a larger narrative about life today." The guest editor for 2018, Dana Gioia, has an unconventional poetic background. Gioia has published five volumes of poetry, served as the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently sits as the Poet Laureate of California, but he is also a graduate of Stanford Business School and was once a Vice President at General Foods. He has studied opera and is a published librettist, in addition to his prolific work in critical essay writing and editing literary anthologies. Having lived several lives, Gioia brings an insightful, varied, eclectic eye to this year's Best American Poetry