''The Best American Poetry 2004'', a volume in ''

The Best American Poetry series ''The Best American Poetry'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems. Background The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the general ...

'', was edited by general editor

David Lehman David Lehman (born June 11, 1948David Lehman
at poets.org) is an American poet, non-fiction writer, and li ...

. The guest editor for the year was

Lyn Hejinian Lyn Hejinian (born May 17, 1941) is an American poet, essayist, translator and publisher. She is often associated with the Language poets and is known for her landmark work ''My Life'' (Sun & Moon, 1987, original version Burning Deck, 1980), a ...

. Hejinian, a "partisan of the Language School and the New York poets", according to Jacob Stockinger, editor of the culture desk at ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The ot ...

'' of Madison, Wisconsin, "seems to have gotten caught up in a poet-as-political activist or social commentator point of view ..Perhaps that's why she even seems hostile to the notion of beauty, favoring relevance instead." Stockinger found much of the poetry in the volume, a "graduate school inscrutability without either meaning or music." Some of the pleasant surprises in the volume, for Stockinger, were "Here 2" by

Bob Perelman Bob Perelman (born December 2, 1947) is an American poet, critic, editor, and teacher. He was an early exponent of the Language poets, an avant-garde movement, originating in the 1970s. He has helped shape a "formally adventurous, politically e ...

and

Jean Day' Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

s "Prose of the World Order". Ron Smith, writer-in-residence at St. Christopher's School and director of its Writers Institute, wrote in the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'' that the strong points of the collection are its "wit, humor and comedy". He added: "Ms. Hejinian's aesthetic is certainly an intellectual one, rather than an emotional one. The aim is not to move a reader, but to rev up his cognitive functions." Smith thought the volume's best poems were the contributions from

Kim Addonizio Kim Addonizio (July 31, 1954) is an American poet and novelist. Life Addonizio was born in Washington, D.C., United States. She is the daughter of tennis champion Pauline Betz and sports writer Bob Addie (born Addonizio). She briefly attended ...

Craig Arnold Craig Arnold (November 16, 1967 – April 27, 2009) was an American poet and professor. His first book of poems, ''Shells'' (1999), was selected by W. S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His many honors include the 2005 Joseph B ...

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York (retired, 2016). Collins ...

Carla Harryman Carla Harryman (born January 11, 1952) is an American poet, essayist, and playwright often associated with the Language poets. She teaches Creative Writing at Eastern Michigan University and serves on the MFA faculty of the Milton Avery School of t ...

Jane Hirshfield Jane Hirshfield (born February 24, 1953) is an American poet, essayist, and translator, known as 'one of American poetry's central spokespersons for the biosphere' and recognized as 'among the modern masters,' 'writing some of the most important ...

Danielle Pafunda Danielle Pafunda is an American writer and poet. She has taught for the University of Wyoming, University of California San Diego, and is 2018-19 Visiting Assistant Professor of Poetry and Poetics at the University of Maine. She also teaches for M ...

, James Tate,

Paul Violi Paul Randolph Violi (July 20, 1944 – April 2, 2011) was an American poet born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of eleven books of poetry, including ''Splurge'', ''Fracas'', ''The Curious Builder'', ''Likewise'', and most recently ''Ove ...

, and

David Wagoner David Russell Wagoner (June 5, 1926 – December 18, 2021) was an American poet, novelist, and educator. Biography David Russell Wagoner was born on June 5, 1926, in Massillon, Ohio. Raised in Whiting, Indiana, from the age of seven, Wagoner at ...

.
Smith, Ron, "Traditionalists will take umbrage at this new collection of poetry",

, Richmond, Virginia, September 5, 2004, accessed October 13, 2007

Poets and poems included

Notes

External links

Web page for contents of the book
with links to each publication where the poems originally appeared
Best American Poetry Web site main page

A review by Joan Houlihan in ''Boston Comment''

A review by

David Orr David Duvall Orr (born October 4, 1944) is an American Democratic politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served ...

in ''The New York Times Book Review''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Best American Poetry 2004, The Best American Poetry series 2004 poetry books

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

American poetry anthologies

Poets and poems included

See also

Notes

External links