The Best American Poetry 2014 (The Best American Poetry series)

Edited by the National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes, the foremost annual anthology of contemporary American poetry returns: “A ‘best’ anthology that really lives up to its title” (Chicago Tribune). The first book of poetry that Terrance Hayes ever bought was the 1990 edition of The Best American Poetry, edited by Jorie Graham. Hayes was then an undergrad at a small South Carolina college. He has since published four highly honored books of poetry, is a professor of poetry at the University of Pittsburgh, has appeared multiple times in the series, and is one of today’s most decorated poets. His brazen, restless poems capture the diversity of American culture with singular artistry, grappling with facile assumptions about identity and the complex repercussions of race history in this country. Always eagerly anticipated, the 2014 volume of The Best American Poetry begins with David Lehman’s “state-of-the-art” foreword followed by an inspired introduction from Terrance Hayes on his picks for the best American poems of the past year. Following the poems is the apparatus for which the series has won acclaim: notes from the poets about the writing of their poems. National Book Award–winning poet Terrance Hayes selects the poems for the 2014 edition of The Best American Poetry , "a 'best' anthology that really lives up to its title" ( Chicago Tribune ). The first book of poetry that Terrance Hayes ever bought was the 1990 edition of The Best American Poetry , edited by Jorie Graham. Hayes was then an undergrad at a small South Carolina college. He has since published four highly honored books of poetry, is a professor of poetry at the University of Pittsburgh, has appeared multiple times in the series, and is one of today's most decorated poets. His brazen, restless poems capture the diversity of American culture with singular artistry, grappling with facile assumptions about identity and the complex repercussions of race history in this country. Always eagerly anticipated, the 2014 volume of The Best American Poetry begins with David Lehman's "state-of-the-art" foreword followed by an inspired introduction from Terrance Hayes on his picks for the best American poems of the past year. Following the poems is the apparatus for which the series has won acclaim: notes from the poets about the writing of their poems. Celebrates contemporary American verse with poems that explore high moral earnestness, humor, and composition boundary testing from popular and less-well-known poets Collects poems chosen by editor Terrance Hayes as the best of 2014, featuring 75 poets including John Ashbery, Anne Carson, Mary Ruefle and Frederick Seidel Collects poems chosen by the editors as the best of 2014, featuring works by John Ashbery, Anne Carson, Mary Ruefle, Frederick Seidel, and others