Sarah Manguso was born Newton, Massachusetts in 1974. She earned her BA at Harvard University and an MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has won the Rome Prize form the American Academy of Arts and Letter, a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University, and a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. She also…
Tom Clark is an American editor, biographer and poet. He was born in Chicago in 1941 and attended the University of Michigan. Clark won the Hopwood Award for Poetry in 1968. His poem Fidelity appears in the 2010 version of the BAP. Fidelity describes the loyalty he has to past friends that he won’t see…
After browsing through the 2002 volume of BAP, I came across one specific poem that stuck out to me more than others. “Reunion,” By Louise Gluck displayed a simple message that I could relate to on multiple occasions, and expressed these ideas through writing that required thought and time to understand. While growing up, I…
I chose the poem “A House is Not a Home” by Terrance Hayes. This poem was published in the Fall of 2007. Terrance Hayes has received a Whiting Writers Award and many other awards as well as appearing in two Best American poetry anthologies. The awards really do add up in Terence’s writing. He’s very…
In New York City, 1941, arguably the most popular poet in America to this date was born. That man was the infamous Billy Collins. After having a successful career in teaching, Collins shifted his focus to the world of poetry. He went on from then to compose numerous amounts of successful poems; many of which…
Forrest Gander is an award winning poet, essayist, novelist, critic, and translator. Born in the Mojave Desert to a single mother, Gander’s childhood was financially difficult. Gander developed his love for travel, language, and culture when he and his family would tour extensively across the United States on summer road trips. He is known for…
I find that it is necessary for a poem to address a topic that all readers can connect to in a negative or positive way. I call topics that can do this timeless topics. Jericho Brown is renowned for addressing such topics, some which are race, sexuality, and judgement; All of these topics are brought…
James Galvin’s “On the Sadness of Wedding Dresses” is featured in the 2015 volume of The Best American Poetry, first published in The Iowa Review. The poem revolves around the tragic stories of wedding dresses after “their one heroic day in the limelight”. It creates a depressing mood around the concept of a wedding dress…
“The Art of Drinking Tea” by Nin Andrews was published in February of 2013 and appeared in The Best American Poetry’s 2013 volume. The poem is about a man who has been alone for a long time and feels he is just a shell of what he once was. I guess because of loneliness He…
Tony Hoagland’s “In a Quiet Town by the Sea,” an astonishing writing on humankind’s greatest and most infamous sin, provides excellent resource for epitomizing what a modern poem should be. More testimonial than literary, Hoagland is intent on keeping the focus as clear and precise as need be, determining the desires of man come directly…