The ''Best New Poets'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing fifty poems from poets without a previously published collection. The first edition of the series appeared in 2005, and was published, as all later editions have been, by Samovar Press. In 2006, the University of Virginia Press began distributing the anthology.

Selection and editors

Poems are nominated for the series by creative writing programs and literary magazines, though poets can also self-nominate through an online submission system. The poems to be included in the anthology are selected by a guest editor. Previous guest editors include George Garrett (2005),

Eric Pankey Eric Pankey (born 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American poet and artist. He is married to the poet Jennifer Atkinson (born 1955). Pankey's poetry has moved from the literal and narrative as in _Heartwood,_ towards the suggestiveness of ...

(2006),

Natasha Trethewey Natasha Trethewey (born April 26, 1966) is an American poet who was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and again in 2013. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection ''Native Guard'', and she is a former List of U ...

(2007), Mark Strand (2008),

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 ...

(2009), Claudia Emerson (2010),

D. A. Powell Douglas A. Powell (born May 16, 1963 Albany, Georgia) is an American poet. Life and career Powell lived in various places growing up, then graduated high school from Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California. He then worked in a number of ...

(2011), Matthew Dickman (2012),

Brenda Shaughnessy Brenda Shaughnessy (born 1970) is an American poet. Life Shaughnessy was born in Okinawa and grew up in Southern California. She received her BA in literature and women's studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz and MFA at Columbia Uni ...

(2013), Dorianne Laux (2014)

Tracy K. Smith Tracy K. Smith (born April 16, 1972) is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published four collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume ''Life ...

. (2015),

Mary Szybist Mary Szybist (born 20 September 1970) is an American poet. She won the National Book Award for Poetry for her collection ''Incarnadine''. Life She grew up in Pennsylvania, earned her B.A. and M.T. (Master of Teaching) from the University of Virg ...

(2016), Natalie Diaz (2017), Kyle Dargan (2018),

Cate Marvin Cate Marvin is an American poet. Life She graduated from Marlboro College, University of Houston, University of Iowa, and University of Cincinnati with a Ph.D. She has taught at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York and Columbi ...

(2019), Brian Teare (2020),

Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar (کاوه اکبر) is an Iranian-American poet and scholar. Early life and education Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1989, and grew up across the United States including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Indiana. He moved ...

(2021), Paula Bohince (2022),

Anna Journey Anna Journey (born November 1980 in Arlington, Virginia) is an American poet and essayist who was awarded a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry.

(2023), and Anders Carlson-Wee (2024).

Selected poets

The series, begun by

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

professor

Jeb Livingood Jeb Livingood is an American essayist, short story writer, editor, and academic. Life He graduated from University of Virginia, American University, George Mason University, and University of Virginia, with an M.F.A. in 2000. He exhibited at th ...

in 2005 (edited by poet

Jazzy Danziger Jazzy Danziger (born 1984) is an American poet and editor. Life and career Danziger was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Maitland, Florida. She earned her bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA in Poetry f ...

from 2011 to 2015), has published a number of notable writers since its inception, including Diana Vlavianos,

Deborah Ager Deborah Ager is an American poet, essayist, and editor. Life Deborah Ager founded the poetry magazine known as ''32 poems'' or ''32 Poems Magazine'' in 2003 with the poet John Poch. She was educated at the University of Maryland (B.A.) and the U ...

Craig Blais Craig Blais (born 1978) is an American poet and academic. He is an associate professor of English at Anna Maria College. Early life and education Blais was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He earned an Associate of Arts in liberal arts from ...

, Christina Duhig, Cynthia Lowen,

Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet (born January 31, 1968) is an American poet. Stonestreet's second book, ''The Greenhouse,'' was awarded the 2014 Frost Place Chapbook Prize and published by Bull City Press in August 2014. Her first book, ''Tulips, Water, ...

Jennifer Militello Jennifer Militello (born ) is an American poet and professor. She is author of the award-winning memoir ''Knock Wood'' which appeared from Dzanc Books in 2019, and five collections of poetry including ''The Pact'', Tupelo Press, 2021. Her first fu ...

, Kerri French,

Seth Abramson Seth Abramson (born October 31, 1976) is an American professor, attorney, author, political columnist, and poet. He is the editor of the ''Best American Experimental Writing'' series and wrote a bestselling trilogy of nonfiction works detailing t ...

, Stephanie Rogers, Rhett Iseman Trull,

Anna Journey Anna Journey (born November 1980 in Arlington, Virginia) is an American poet and essayist who was awarded a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry.

(2008 National Poetry Series winner), Zach Savich (2008 Iowa Poetry Prize winner),

Michael McGriff Michael McGriff is an American poet. Life McGriff was born and raised in Coos Bay, Oregon. His work has appeared in ''Slate'', ''Field'', ''AGNI'', ''The Believer'', ''Missouri Review'', and ''Poetry''. He is the founding editor of Tavern Books, ...

(2007

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated by ...

winner), Julie Larios (2006

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

winner), Alysia Nicole Harris, recent Stegner Fellows Keith Ekiss, Robin Ekiss, Kai Carlson-Wee, Edgar Kunz, Chelsea Bunn, Martha Greenwald, Dina Hardy, Sara Michas-Martin, Peter Kline, and Kimberly Grey, as well as Tarfia Faizullah, Ocean Vuong, Sam Sax, Leila Chatti, Phillip B. Williams,

Tiana Clark Tiana Clark is an American poet. Clark is the author of ''Equilibrium'' and ''I Can't Talk About The Trees Without The Blood.'' Her work has been recognized with a Rattle Poetry Prize and a Pushcart Prize. Biography Clark received her B.A in A ...

, Peter LaBerge, Jameson Fitzpatrick,

Fatimah Asghar Fatimah Asghar is a South Asian American poet, director and screenwriter. Co-creator and writer for the Emmy-nominated webseries '' Brown Girls'', their work has appeared in ''Poetry'', ''Gulf Coast'', ''BuzzFeed Reader'', ''The Margins'', ''The O ...

, Anders Carlson-Wee, and

. To date, the youngest poets to be included in the series are Aidan Forster,

Christina Im Christina may refer to: People * Christina (given name), shared by several people * Christina (surname), shared by several people Places * Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States * Christina, British Columbia, Canada * Christ ...

, and

Lily Zhou Two 2022 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California. There were two ballot items for the same Class 3 seat: a speci ...

, who were all included in the 2017 edition as high school seniors.

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * Tracey K Smith, Jazzy Danziger, eds. (2015) ''Best New Poets 2015: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Mary Szybist, Jeb Livingood and Angie Hogan, eds. (2016) ''Best New Poets 2016: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Natalie Diaz, Jeb Livingood eds. (2017) ''Best New Poets 2017: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Kyle Dargan, Jeb Livingood eds. (2018) ''Best New Poets 2018: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Cate Marvin, Jeb Livingood eds. (2019) ''Best New Poets 2019: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Brian Teare, Jeb Livingood eds. (2020) ''Best New Poets 2020: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Kaveh Akbar, Jeb Livingood eds. (2021) ''Best New Poets 2021: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Paula Bohince, Jeb Livingood eds. (2022) ''Best New Poets 2022: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Anna Journey, Jeb Livingood eds. (2023) ''Best New Poets 2023: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Anders Carlson-Wee, Jeb Livingood eds. (2024) ''Best New Poets 2024: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. Forthcoming.

Critical response

Of the 2013 edition, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' wrote:

The work, much of it nominated by university writing programs and literary journals, is diverse in voice and subject matter, providing an effective barometer of contemporary American poetry...The poems seem to owe as much to 20th-century traditions as to the spirit of invention, and, as such, are a reminder that contemporary poetry is not only alive and well but continuing to evolve.

According to ''

The Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'':

The youthfulness of the anthology, combined with the wide scope of its contents, is apparent in the poems, which are edgy and daring. Emerging, whether intentionally or not, as a younger sibling to the Best American Poetry anthologies, this series breaks new ground and provides fresh treasures.

Poet and critic

David Wojahn David Wojahn (born 1953, St. Paul, Minnesota) is a contemporary American poet who teaches poetry in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, and in the low residency MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts ...

has said of the series,

It's a nervy thing for an anthology to label itself ''Best New Poets'', but...this collection lives up to its name. It's a rich and readable selection, reflecting no party-line aesthetic, and attesting to the formidable promise of the emerging generation."

Of the 2006 edition, ''ForeWord'' Magazine wrote,

With an alert ear for new voices, this anthology offers a different kind of validation: that of being well-heard. The result is a vibrant smorgasbord..."

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Best New Poets'' website
American poetry anthologies University of Virginia 2005 establishments in Virginia Anthology series