The Best American Poetry 1996

Now in its ninth year, The Best American Poetry is universally acclaimed as the best anthology in the field. The compilation includes a diverse abundance of poems published in 1995 in more than 40 publications ranging from The New Yorker to The Paris Review to Bamboo Ridge.

Adrienne Rich proves to be the most inclusive editor thus far in the Best American Poetry series, drawing from a number of writers and journals whose work had not been represented in earlier installments. Of course, established poets such as Alicia Ostriker and W.S. Merwin are present, alongside newcomers like Ray A. Young Bear and Latif Asad Abdullah. The poems range from the funny (Beth Ann Fennelly's unrhymed sonnet), to the sexy (Deborah Stein's steamy contribution), to the poignant (a posthumous inclusion from Jane Kenyon).