Tangled Rope

This month Chris and I are going to review The Best American Poetry 2009, edited this year by David Wagoner and series editor David Lehman. I avoid poetry anthologies in the same way I avoid CD anthologies such as Now That’s What I Call Music! Unlike albums, which I view as much as a whole work as a collection of distinguishable parts, I don’t necessarily believe that an individual poem is best served in context of its siblings (though that’s certainly true at times), but I do distrust editors and anything that claims to be "the best".

Indeed, the few reading experiences I have had with The Best American Poetry series have left me underwhelmed if not more cynical than I began, and so I thought it best to leave the anthologies as a sort of in-poetry-crowd A-list (or, an out-poetry-crowd X-list) and indulge in poems either singly as they are recommended to me, or in collections, or in periodicals.

It is my habit to read more canonical poetry than modern poetry–especially so in the last few years, as I have realized large historical holes in my aesthetic education and have sought to cover them, albeit with sticks and torn grass and leaves which I stand in danger of breaking an ankle in during some future conversation. It’s no surprise then that I have felt sometimes inadequate to have the sort of conversations about contemporary poetry with friends as I would like. I decided what better place to start than with the latest, best year’s latest, best anthology of American poetry?

In a beautiful stroke of synchronicity, as I was examining and preparing to purchase The Best American Poetry 2009 in, a hand-written letter was on its way from Alaska, including an invitation from Chris to finish the year by reading and discussing that very anthology, definitely through our blogs, perhaps with audio podcasts, maybe even live audio exchanges.

I am easily excitable, and I agreed.

I am also quickly distracted, irresolute, and moody, and so rather than commit to a post a day (as we’ve done in the past), Chris and I have agreed to make a minimum of 2-3 posts each week. So far that’s the only "rule", but I had to break it down to give myself a more digestible set of objectives. The anthology consists of 151 pages, approximately 75 poems, or 2-3 poems a day: a perfect measure.

I’ve been pushing myself to write by hand more, and so I intend to make notes in a notebook, rather than sit down at the computer and collect my thoughts as I type (as is my habit). This, I hope, will encourage slothfulness in my response to the poems, but not in my reflections on them. Indeed, the portability of a notebook will encourage me to reflect whenever I’m bored, which is more often than you might think.

The anthology won’t be all I’m reading this month. I have a wall of boxes of unpacked books in my study, and every month I like to look through them, rearrange them, and pull books to the top. There are several books (e.g. Lanham’s A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms, Pound’s ABC of Reading, etc.) I’ve set on my night stand to help me warm back up to the topic, if they ever get opened.

This is starting to sound like a New Year’s Resolution list, and it ain’t even December yet! But why not? We start tomorrow. Join us if you wish. I don’t think we talked about a common tag, so I’m using bestampo09bap09.