Synopses & Reviews
American Poetry Now is a comprehensive collection of the best work from the renowned Pitt Poetry Series. Since its inception in 1967, the series has been a vehicle for America's finest contemporary poets. The series list includes Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Toi Derricotte, Denise Duhamel, Lynn Emanuel, Bob Hicok, Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser, Larry Levis, Sharon Olds, Alicia Suskin Ostriker, Virgil Suárez, Afaa Michael Weaver, David Wojahn, Dean Young, and many others.
Throughout its forty-year history, the Pitt Poetry Series has provided a voice for the diversity that is American poetry, representing poets from many backgrounds without allegiance to any one school or style. American Poetry Now is a true representation of contemporary American poetry.
Ed Ochester, series editor for nearly thirty years, has assembled a quintessential selection-along with biographies and photos, an enlightening introduction, and a suggested list for further reading, all in a highly accessible format. American Poetry Now is a sweeping anthology that will delight poetry fans, students, teachers, and general readers alike.
Review
“Amazing. This collection shows a wise choice and a consistent high level of achievement-not to mention what a joy it is to read. I don't think another press could do this.”
--Gerald Stern
Review
“This is a damn good anthology, full of pleasures, unexpected discoveries, and instruction for any reader. It presents a real diversity of contemporary poetic sensibilities—the hip and the earnest, the politically urgent and the linguistically baroque. The consistent freshness and substance here show why the Pitt Poetry Series has played a key role in American poetry for the last thirty-odd years.”
—Tony Hoagland
Review
"This collection is a testament to the heroic work the Press and Ed Ochester have done on behalf of the art--a lively, vital legacy."
--Mark Doty
Synopsis
American Poetry Now is a comprehensive collection of the best work from the renowned Pitt Poetry Series. Since its inception in 1967, the series has been a vehicle for America's finest contemporary poets. The series list includes Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Toi Derricotte, Denise Duhamel, Lynn Emanuel, Bob Hicok, Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser, Larry Levis, Sharon Olds, Alicia Suskin Ostriker, Virgil Suárez, Afaa Michael Weaver, David Wojahn, Dean Young, and many others.
About the Author
Ed Ochester has been editor of the Pitt Poetry Series since 1978. He is former director of the creative writing program at the University of Pittsburgh, and is professor emeritus of English there. Currently, Ochester is a core faculty member of the Bennington College MFA Writing Seminars. He has twice served as president of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, and recently received the organization's George Garrett. Ochester is the author of over fourteen volumes of poetry, including Unreconstructed: Poems Selected and New (2007), The Land of Cockaigne, Cooking in Key West, and Changing the Name to Ochester. He is founding editor of the literary magazine 5 AM.