Best American Poetry 2010

I couldn't ask for better news to kick off a year: I've learned that my poem "Unit of Measure" has been selected by guest editor Amy Gerstler for inclusion in the 2010 Best American Poetry anthology, which will be published in the fall.

I'm really honored. Frankly, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I've been a faithful reader of the series for years.

Congratulations, too, to Hailey Leithauser, an incredible poet whose poem "The Old Woman Gets Drunk with the Moon" (first published in Pleiades) will also be included. Hailey and I were first page-neighbors in the 2005 Best New Poets, so there is a lovely symmetry in experiencing this together.

Thank you, BAP folks (not just Amy Gerstler, but series editor David Lehman, Mark Bibbins, and all at Scribner who produce such a beautiful book)--

Thank you, editors at Poetry (where the poem first appeared, in the July/August '09 issue)--

& most of all:

Thank you, capybaras!

In Praise of Public Libraries

Over at Norton's Poems Out Loud blog, I have a new essay up, "In Praise of Public Libraries." I wanted to tease out some of the ways that libraries serve a vital purpose to a community's readers and writers, even in this age of Amazon.com and the internet.

Here's a brief excerpt, from a section on what I call "the rule of thumbs":

"...I mean actual thumbs, the thumbs of readers who came before you. In libraries we recognize the judgment of touch; the best books are usually in the shabbiest shape. Every dog-eared corner marks a moment worth returning to. Every splotch of soy sauce is a medal of honor. Every creased binding proves hours spent using one hand to Xerox, or iron, or whatever the day required, while clutching in the other hand a story that could not be put down. When I first began browsing my way through the science fiction stacks, I didn’t choose books that looked like pristine runway models. I chose the grizzled field veterans. That’s how I came to Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Arthur C. Clarke.

Would I have found them at Borders? I don’t think so. In stores you stand before a sea of untouched editions. You drift toward volumes with striking designs, perfect trim sizes, showy end-of-aisle displays; that’s the tidal pull of good marketing. There’s nothing to judge by but cover after cover. I once picked up Fahrenheit 451 in a store, only to put it down again. The book was too small and tightly bound, the ink too fresh and smelly. The plot looked interesting, but lots of plots look interesting. The copy lacked the magnetism of a library’s dozen broken-in paperbacks, each loved into near oblivion."

Please check out the rest of the essay here. And if your local library (or librarian) has been feeling down, maybe you can send them a link? They need to know how deeply they are appreciated.

New Year, New Anthology

Tonight I'm headed to Baltimore for a celebration of the i.e. reader, just out from Narrow House. I read in the i.e. series in April 2008 with Les Wade and Kristi Maxwell--great crowd, dramatic space, lovely evening.

My work lands a little more on the narrative side than most of the i.e. poets, which means I'm particularly grateful for the opportunity to be included. If poets constantly draw toward the extremes of their aesthetic, then we end up with perfect--and isolated--aesthetic spheres. I'd rather work along the messy edges, where there can be exchanges of overlap and inspiration.

With poems from...

Elena Alexander, Bruce Andrews, Michael Ball, Sandra Beasley, Lauren Bender, Bill Berkson, Charles Bernstein, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Miles Champion, Norma Cole, CA Conrad, Bruce Covey, Tina Darragh, Ben Doller, Sandra Doller, Buck Downs, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, kari edwards, Cathy Eisenhower, Graham Foust, Heather Fuller, Peter Gizzi, Adam Good, Jamie Gaughran-Perez, K. Lorraine Graham, Jessica Grim, P. Inman, Lisa Jarnot, Bonnie Jones, Beth Joselow, Michael Kelleher, Amy King, Doug Lang, Katy Lederer, Reb Livingston, M. Magnus, Tom Mandel, Chris Mason, Kristi Mexwell, Megan McShea, Anna Moschovakis, Gina Myers , Chris Nealon, Mel Nichols, Aldon Nielsen, Tom Orange, Bob Perelman, Simon Pettet, Tom Raworth, Adam Robinson, Phyllis Rosenzweig, Ric Royer, Ken Rumble, Justin Sirois, Rod Smith, Cole Swensen, Maureen Thorson, Chris Toll, Edwin Torres, Les Wade, Rosemarie Waldrop, Ryan Walker, Mark Wallace, Terence Winch, Rupert Wondolowski, John Yau, & Geoffrey Young.

Alexandra Stevens over at Radar Redux posted an article on the anthology that includes a mention of my poem "Cast of Thousands" (which will also be in I Was the Jukebox). Thanks, Radar Redux! Mark Wallace had some good words for the collection as well.

If you're in B'more, please joins us for tonight's reading and celebration:

Saturday, January 2, 2010
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
LOF/t (Load of Fun Theater)
120 W. North Ave
Baltimore, MD