Poetry 76 Top Ten -- April 2002

Thanks to a great outpouring of booksellers’ recommendations, we were able to compile a fantastic Poetry 76 Top Ten. The flier will go on press this week; the pad of fliers will go into the March "white box," and they'll get to you in time for April poetry displays.

Also note that the Academy of American Poets is a BookSense.com affiliate; see www.poets.org. In addition, USA Today is likely to do a story about the Poetry 76 Top Ten in late March or early April.

Here's the list now (so you can check stock), along with the one bookseller quote chosen to represent each top votegetter:

1. WHAT DO WE KNOW: Poems, by Mary Oliver (Da Capo, $22, 030680994X; in stores March 27) "Oliver experiences the natural world with the innocent wonder of a child. Her luminous poetry conveys this wonder as she describes the pink of the sun, the blues and greens and whites of stones, a damp and mossy forest, a tree stump. Reading her lines, we feel as if we are seeing nature for the first time."—Suzy Staubach, UConn Coop, Storrs, CT

2. GIVEN SUGAR, GIVEN SALT, by Jane Hirshfield (Perennial, $13.95 paper, 0060959010; paperback in stores April 2) "Hirshfield’s poems urge reading and rereading. Ordinary objects are used as vehicles to mirror life’s struggles, and each poem has a refreshingly spare, clean quality. Give this book as a gift to any loved one."—Dave Taylor, Watermark Book Co., Anacortes, WA

3. SAILING ALONE AROUND THE ROOM: New and Selected Poems, by Billy Collins (Random House, $21.95, 0375503803; September 2001) "It’s not like I have a crush on Billy Collins. Not like my otherwise sturdy heart lurches sideways in my chest and smacks against a rib when I open his book after a long time away. Not like I can’t wait to read again about dogs and jazz, bells and books, with a sigh and a silly, lopsided smile."—Trish Keady, Christopher’s Books, San Francisco, CA

4. POETRY SPEAKS: Hear Great Poets Read Their Work, from Tennyson to Plath, edited by Elise Paschen and Rebekah Presson Mosby (Sourcebooks MediaFusion, $49.95, w/ 3 CDs, 1570717206; November 2001) "This is a great selection of poetry and a great opportunity to hear the poets express what they have written. This gem also includes insightful commentary by some of the more notable poets writing today."—Amy Hall, The Tattered Cover, Denver, CO

5. POEMS SEVEN: New and Complete Poetry, by Alan Dugan (Seven Stories, $35, 1583222650; November 2001) "Dugan is the most vital American poet since John Berryman. This is tough-minded, edgy, emotionally violent verse with a potent lyrical cast."—Mike Lindgren, Tudor Bookshop, Kingston, PA (This is the 2001 winner of the National Book Award for Poetry.)

6. MEMOIR OF THE HAWK, by James Tate (Ecco, $25, 0066210178; June 2001) "Tate is a brilliant wordsmith, and this new volume of poems displays his abilities in an extremely accessible way. The poems are short, candid pieces about odd yet everyday characters. There’s often a sense of foreboding, but Tate keeps it just a bit off the page."—Arsen Kashkashian, Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, CO

7. STAR IN MY FOREHEAD, by Else Lasker-Schuler; translated by Janine Canan (Holy Cow! Press, $12.95 paper, 0930100883; July 1999) "These poems are excavations of the soul. Her words, fragments of an internal city of experience. To read her is to feel, viscerally, an unrelievable passion. A remarkable collection, this remains a lyric testimony to the incalculable depth of the heart."—Karen Wallace, Dutton’s Brentwood Bookstore, Los Angeles, CA

8. PLUS SHIPPING, by Bob Hicok (BOA Editions, $12.50 paper, 1880238675; November 1998) "The NBCC just nominated Hicok for Animal Soul. They were a book late; he should have been nominated for Plus Shipping. Hicok is the Minnesota Fats of poetry, one who can bank a poem off sturgeon, his uncle’s funeral, and revenge, and sink it in the side pocket of your heart."—Susan Ramsey, Athena Book Shop, Kalamazoo, MI

9. THE ROADS HAVE COME TO AN END NOW: Selected and Last Poems of Rolf Jacobsen (Copper Canyon, $16 paper, 1556591659; November 2001) "How could a poet of such magnitude have been so ignored by American readers? The translations are a collaboration by Robert Bly, Roger Greenwald, and Robert Hedin. The final six poems of this collection—written of and to Jacobsen’s dying wife —constitute one of the most moving elegies I’ve ever read."—Peter Aaron, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA

10. DOMESTIC WORK, by Natasha Trethewey (Graywolf, $12.95 paper, 1555973094; August 2001) "Selected by former poet laureate Rita Dove for the 1999 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, this debut is a marvelously assured collection exploring African-American heritage, civil rights, the work of women, and the sensuous work of the spirit. These exquisite poems are full of individuals who live, hurt, jazz, love, celebrate, sing, and, of course, work with dignity."—Herman Fong, The Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA

Of note: The Everyman’s Library Pocket Poet series:
"The affordable, attractive little hardbacks in this series are beautiful and thoughtful gifts. Well-designed, with ribbon markers, the series includes collections of Auden, Frost, and many others, but also thematic books. A new favorite of ours is Comic Poems, edited by Peter Washington (Knopf, $12.50, 0375413545)."—Kelly Justice, Fountain Books, Richmond, VA

Kids should be able to enjoy National Poetry Month, too!
A bookseller favorite is Sharon Creech’s LOVE THAT DOG (Cotler Books/HarperCollins, $14.95, 0060292873; September 2001) It’s for ages 9-12, but all will enjoy. As one bookseller wrote: