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in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the general editor of the series, each year contributes a foreword focusing on the state of contemporary poetry, and each year the edition's guest editor also contributes an introduction. The book titles in the series always follow the
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series has become one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world". The
Academy website called the introductions to the collection by the guest editors, as well as Lehman's "state-of-poetry" forewords, "indespensible". As a whole, the anthologies "seem to capture the zeitgeist of the current
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However, the
Academy article also noted that the series and its editors are "often criticized for their selections and assessments (common complaints include the exclusion of experimental poets, lack of diversity, and allegiance to poetry's "old guard") "
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For poems that had first appeared more than a year in the past but which had been reprinted in a magazine during the previous calendar year, Lehman decided to have no rule ("To such questions, the anthologist's ever-ready response is: you just play it by
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Poets would be asked to submit brief biographical information and, at their option, given the opportunity to write a bit about the poem chosen ("its form or its occasion or the method of composition or any other feature worth remarking
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Foreign poets residing in the United States, "especially in cases where the poet has come to seem a vital presence in a particular
American community", would be eligible to appear, and so
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1377:. In his introduction to the 1989 volume, Donald Hall noted: "The series editor declined to be included." The series editor's own poems have not appeared in subsequent volumes.
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remains one of the most popular and best-selling poetry books published each year and the series continues to provide a bird's-eye view of the breadth of
American poetry."
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Each year's anthology would have poems from the previous calendar year (the 1988 anthology, for instance, would include only poems published in 1987);
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The poems could come from magazines, including large-circulation periodicals and small presses, and in rare instances from books by individual poets;
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67:, who selected what he regarded as the seventy-five best poems from the previous ten anthologies. This was followed in 2013 by
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There would be fifty to seventy-five poems in each annual anthology (in fact, there have always been 75 poems);
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Assist the guest editor, in particular by helping find poetry for the guest editor to look over;
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In his 1988 foreword to the first edition of the series, Lehman laid out the following rules:
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Ashbery selected a poem by the series editor for inclusion in the inaugural volume of
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In Lehman's foreword to the 1992 book, he noted that translations are ineligible.
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series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems.
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The Best of the Best
American Poetry: 25th Anniversary Edition (2013)
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Each year's guest editor would make the final selection of poems;
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1421:, Academy of American Poets website. Retrieved January 21, 2006.
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The State of the Art: A Chronicle of
American Poetry, 1988–2014
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Lehman would select a poet each year to serve as guest editor;
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format of the first, changing only the year: for instance,
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According to the
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The Best of the Best
American Poetry 25th Anniversary
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455:* editors who have also been U.S. poets laureate
1419:"Great Anthology: Best American Poetry Series"
349:The Best of the Best American Poetry 1988–1997
60:The Best of the Best American Poetry 1988–1997
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75:selected 100 poems from the series' history.
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90:The guest editors of the series, by year:
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1360:Maintain continuity from year to year;
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32:The series, begun by poet and editor
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1363:Enforce "such rules as there are";
1352:all made it into the 1988 edition.
63:, guest-edited by literary critic
14:
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1384:Critical reception of the series
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1393:attitudes in American poetry."
1706:Book series introduced in 1988
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1:
1445:The Best American Poetry 1992
1432:The Best American Poetry 1989
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40:The Best American Poetry 1988
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16:Series of annual anthologies
7:
1696:American poetry anthologies
1691:Best American Poetry series
1430:Hall, Donald, Introduction
10:
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1443:Lehman, David, Foreword,
48:Academy of American Poets
1517:The Best American Poetry
1375:The Best American Poetry
71:, in which guest editor
21:The Best American Poetry
1369:Pick the guest editor.
1274:Literature portal
1478:Best American Poetry
1470:Best American Poetry
1462:Best American Poetry
1390:Best American Poetry
1048:Groups and movements
52:Best American Poetry
1434:, 1989, page xxiii.
667:Short prose fiction
570:Major written forms
1161:Lists and outlines
637:Long prose fiction
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155:Natasha Trethewey
46:According to the
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1473:series archive
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73:Robert Pinsky
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833:Encyclopedic
811:supernatural
727:Prose genres
583:closet drama
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448:John Ashbery
429:Jorie Graham
399:Louise Glück
390:A. R. Ammons
354:Harold Bloom
347:
287:Lyn Hejinian
278:Paul Muldoon
231:Amy Gerstler
187:
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65:Harold Bloom
58:
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38:
34:David Lehman
31:
20:
19:
18:
1238:Composition
1115:Tragicomedy
954:Verse novel
842:Non-fiction
746:Speculative
685:Short story
555:spoken word
545:Performance
518:heroic epic
438:Donald Hall
419:Mark Strand
314:Robert Hass
222:Kevin Young
100:Elaine Equi
1685:Categories
1401:References
1153:Postmodern
1088:historical
1027:Villanelle
908:Travelogue
903:Persuasive
883:Journalism
861:philosophy
828:Historical
796:paranormal
756:Children's
629:Electronic
503:fairy tale
468:Literature
363:James Tate
334:Robert Bly
146:Dana Gioia
50:website, "
28:Background
1580:1988–1997
1248:Narrative
1233:Magazines
1228:Sociology
1219:criticism
1189:Movements
1148:Modernist
1138:Classical
930:Narrative
766:adventure
710:Religious
680:Novelette
645:Anthology
600:narrative
550:audiobook
508:folk play
324:Rita Dove
213:Mark Doty
1342:John Ash
1243:Language
1174:Glossary
1143:Medieval
1078:Libretto
1007:Limerick
959:National
949:Dramatic
939:Children
868:Anecdote
851:Academic
791:military
612:Nonsense
513:folksong
493:Folklore
1184:Writers
1169:Outline
1133:Ancient
1124:History
1110:Tragedy
987:Epigram
873:Epistle
856:history
816:western
801:romance
786:fantasy
751:Realist
737:Fiction
705:Parable
690:Drabble
675:Novella
659:romance
624:Ergodic
540:Oration
533:proverb
1519:series
1348:, and
1337:ear");
1258:Estate
1215:Theory
1204:poetry
1194:Cycles
1105:Script
1100:Satire
1073:Comedy
1022:Sonnet
1017:Qasida
992:Ghazal
977:Ballad
898:Nature
888:Letter
821:horror
781:erotic
715:Wisdom
695:Sketch
650:Serial
590:Poetry
562:Saying
523:legend
1481:blog]
1330:on");
1179:Books
1093:moral
1053:Poets
1035:Lists
997:Haiku
982:Elegy
968:Lyric
878:Essay
776:crime
761:Genre
655:Novel
617:verse
607:Prose
595:lyric
578:Drama
498:fable
1670:2015
1665:2014
1660:2013
1655:2012
1650:2011
1645:2010
1640:2009
1635:2008
1630:2007
1625:2006
1620:2005
1615:2004
1610:2003
1605:2002
1600:2001
1595:2000
1590:1999
1585:1998
1575:1997
1570:1996
1565:1995
1560:1994
1555:1993
1550:1992
1545:1991
1540:1990
1535:1989
1530:1988
1253:Feud
1217:and
1083:Play
1043:Epic
1002:Hymn
944:Epic
893:Life
528:myth
444:1988
434:1989
425:1990
415:1991
405:1992
395:1993
386:1994
377:1995
368:1996
359:1997
339:1998
330:1999
320:2000
310:2001
301:2002
292:2003
283:2004
274:2005
264:2006
255:2007
245:2008
236:2009
227:2010
218:2011
209:2012
200:2013
179:2014
170:2015
161:2016
151:2017
142:2018
133:2019
124:2020
114:2021
105:2022
96:2023
1012:Ode
1687::
1409:^
1344:,
446::
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82:.
43:.
1508:e
1501:t
1494:v
1299:e
1292:t
1285:v
657:/
440:*
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