NON-COTERIE READING (2010)

In 2010, I read at least 365 poetry books/collections, 11 poetry or poetry-related anthologies, 14 poetry/literary journals and 15 other books/publications involving poetry. The Blog's capacity as Filing Cabinet allow Moi to list them all below. For just the poetry books/collections statistic, my 2010 reading reflects a 98% jump from 2009 when I read 184 books/collections. It's probably worth repeating some concepts I first raised when I mentioned my first annual poetry reading list, which was for 2009, to wit:

The list is not a portrayal of the type of poetry I favor. In reading poems partly as a practitioner, I just want to know what's out there. I've found that POV to be more elucidating than trying to read through some defined aesthetic gate. The process is not just more educational but also makes for the fabulous moments of welcome discoveries (e.g. for 2010, Anne Gorrick, Elisa Gabbert, Kimberly Lyons, M. Nourbese Philip, Catherine Sasanov, Jose Antonio Ramos Sucre, Wislawa Szymborska, Mark Yakich, Ronaldo Wilson, Lynn Behrendt, Rebecca Foust, Ken Chen, Carrie Hunter, Tamiko Beyer, Tim Atkins, Rosa Alcala, among other poets whose works were previously unknown to Moi).

The list does reveal certain personal tendencies -- I prefer to read a body of work rather than a single poem or two by a poet. This means I don't really go out of my way to read many anthologies or journals. I prefer to read poetry collections.

My ethical desire is to read every poem, which means a lot of times, I randomly grab from a huge TO-READ pile (which includes but is not limited to THIS and THIS). I also end up reading a few books for unique reasons--like if my local library stocks a new poetry book, I check it out in order to prove there's demand for poetry...and then inevitably read it before I return it.

Did I like every book I read on this list? Nope, but that's irrelevant. Even the most banal poem has a place in this wonderland-landscape of Poetry. All poems are welcome to Moi. And contrary to would-be pundits' proclamations, THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH POEMS.

Having said that, I don't mind spicing up this post by identifying what I thought to be THE WORST BOOK OF POETRY I READ IN 2010 -- an honor that belongs to A WORKING GIRL CAN'T WIN by Deborah Garrison. (Hm. I guess it'd make sense that I have her book as a result of picking up a bunch of poetry books for cents each at a local library sale.) I don't mind sharing this opinion since you can analyze it based on my identifying the company in which I read her.

Here then is the poetic Relished W(h)ine List for 2010, complete with some brief comments on them to the extent I was moved to comment at the time I read them -- Moi is also what she reads:


Poetry Books/Collections (365):
ASHES GIFTED, poems and painting reproductions by Joshua Abelow (a witty and funny self-awareness)

THE PHILOSOPHER'S CLUB by Kim Addonizio

THE DOORS OF THE BODY by Mary Alexandra Agner

PROPERTY by Julie Agoos

DWELLING by Heather C. Akerberg

UNDOCUMENTARIES by Rosa Alcala (intelligent poems with welcome verbal flourishes; nice to see these poems by an author I first knew as a translator)

THE VEILED SUITE: THE COLLECTED POEMS OF AGA SHAHID ALI

BRIGHT FELON: AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND CITIES by Kazim Ali

THE FAR MOSQUE by Kazim Ali

THROUGH HAVING BEEN, Vol. 1 by William Allegrezza

THROUGH HAVING BEEN, Vol. 2 by William Allegrezza

PRESENT VANISHING by Dick Allen

MADE FLESH by Craig Arnold

1000 SONNETS by Tim Atkins (kewl & nifty!)

MEAN by Colette Labouff Atkinson

EASY EDEN, collaborative poems by Micah Ballard and James Patrick Dunagan (luminous and wise gems. A ravishingly glorious read)

WANT by Rick Barot

FOR THE ANIMALS WHO MISSED THE ARK by Jim Barton

I WAS THE JUKEBOX by Sandra Beasley (the muscular confidence underlying these poems are a fresh antidote to the more common self-deprecation found in contemporary poems)

THEORIES OF FALLING by Sandra Beasley

RED SUGAR by Jan Beatty

HAY(NA)KU FOR HAITI by Tom Beckett

LUMINOUS FLUX by Lynn Behrendt (wonderfully-designed chap and poem possesses wonderful musicality)

PRACTICE by Dan Bellm

32 SNAPSHOTS OF MARSEILLES by Guy Bennett

LA VISTA GANCHA by John M. Bennett

(MADE) by Cara Benson

BOUGH BREAKS by Tamiko Beyer (a moving collection, so moving that it became Meritage Press' latest accepted poetry manuscript. Await word of this publication by a talented poet!)

PERMANENT ADDRESS by Lorna Knowles Blake

CITIES OF FLESH AND THE DEAD by Diann Blakely

2ND NOTICE OF MODIFICATIONS TO TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS, REGULATION AND POLICY MANAGEMENT BRANCH, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION, poetry by John Bloomberg-Rissman

AFTER RENE DEPESTRE’S “MY DEFINITION OF POETRY”, as translated by Edwidge Danticat, with lines at the end by Lafcadio Hearn by John Bloomberg-Rissman

FLUX, CLOT & FROTH, VOL. I (Text), book-length poem by John Bloomberg-Rissman (Poem is just under 800 pages -- Yep: I love ambition in poetry! And the covers are done marvelously with vizpo poet-artist Geof Huth!)

FLUX, CLOT & FROTH, VOL. 2 (Apparatus), book-length notes to poem by John Bloomberg-Rissman (Notes comprise a near-250 page book -- Yep: I love ambition in poetry!)

INCIDENT AT THE EDGE OF BAYONET WOODS by Paula Bohince

AIRS & VOICES by Paula Bonnell

INSTALLATIONS by Joe Bonomo

GRACE, FALLEN FROM by Marianne Boruch

THE ROMANCE OF HAPPY WORKERS by Anne Boyer

THE WORLD WAITING TO BE: POEMS ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS by Louis Daniel Brodsky

SO FORTH by Joseph Brodsky

STILL WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS: POEMS OF THE JEWISH DIASPORA by Louis Daniel Brodsky

PLEASE by Jericho Brown

DOMESTIC INTERIOR by Stephanie Brown

MODERN HISTORY: PROSE POEMS 1987-2007 by Christopher Buckley

SONG OF A LIVING ROOM by Brigitte Byrd

DUTIES OF AN ENGLISH FOREIGN SECRETARY by Macgregor Card (deft. interesting)

Delicacies in FRACTUS CORPUS by Ric Carfagna (Vol. 1), Hay(na)ku-ed Translations by Eileen Tabios

SYMPHONY NO. 1 (EN ENTROPIC CUBIST DIMENSIONALITY) by Ric Carfagna (FABULOUS updating of the 20th century's cubist experiments in poetry. Page 4 alone is worth checking out :-).

QUANTUM JITTERS by Patricia Carlin

100 NOTES ON VIOLENCE by Julie Carr (often haunting--evokes a movie I once saw--“The Secret Lives of Angels,” I think that was the title…)

THE BEAUTY OF THE HUSBAND: A FICTIONAL ESSAY IN 29 TANGOS by Anne Carson

GREEN CAMMIE by Crysta Casey

A SCRIPT by Joel Chace

BLAKE'S TREE by Joel Chace

INSIDES SHE SWALLOWED by Sasha Pimentel Chacon

SALVINIA MOLESTA by Victoria Chang

THE HEART'S TRAFFIC: A NOVEL IN POEMS by Ching-In Chen

JUVENILIA by Ken Chen (Far far above the typical poet's first book. Admirably -- and effectively -- ambitious. Sophisticated. Will make you fall in love)

THE TURNING by Maxine Chernoff

AFTER RIMBAUD'S ILLUMINATIONS by David-Baptiste Chirot (beautifully resonant)

THE MORNING NEWS IS EXCITING by Don Mee Choi

STARLIGHT AND SHADOW by Tom Clark (evocative in a lovely and loving way. And it is a free read viz this pdf: http://www.fieralingue.it/corner.php?pa=printpage&pid=3254)

SILVERONDA by Lucy Harvest Clarke

NEW & SELECTED POEMS by Jennifer Clement

WHERE SHADOWS WILL: SELECTED POEMS 1988-2008 by Norma Cole

THE LEDGE by Michael Collier

BRIEF UNDER WATER by Cyrus Console

MONDO CRAMPO by Juliet Cook (nice harmony in concept and design that supports text)

THIS TIME WE ARE BOTH, poems by Clark Coolidge

OPENING DAY by William Corbett

DRINKS AT THE STAND-UP TRAGEDY CLUB by Jim Crenner

THE KING'S QUESTION by Brian Culhane

TIMES IN RHYMES, RUINS by Jon Curley

NIGHTBIRDS by Garin Cycholl

BLONDE TOPOGRAPHY, A TERSE SET OF TERCETS by steve dalachinsky

VAUXHALL by Catherine Daly

ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE, poems by James Davies and photography by Simon Taylor (very interesting and nifty concept of poems and visuals responding to the same clues "blind" from each other)

PROVENANCE by Brandel France de Bravo

ALMOST DOROTHY by Neil de la Flor

REQUIEM FOR THE ORCHARD by Oliver de la Paz (stellar writing and moving)

ALL-AMERICAN POEM by Matthew Dickman

BURN AND DODGE by Sharon Dolin

THE SELECTED POETRY OF DONNE, Edited by Marius Bewley

LOVE ON THE STREETS: SELECTED AND NEW POEMS by Sharon Doubiago

SIMPLIFY ME WHEN I'M DEAD by Keith Douglas (breathtaking)

REALITY CHECK by Dennis O. Driscoll

HER FRIENDS DOWN AT THE FRENCH CAFE HAD NO ENGLISH WORDS FOR ME, poems by Patrick James Dunagan and visual art by Jason Grabowski (lovely intimacy)

DROP, PORTION AND ASSIGNMENT by Peg Duthie

LUCKY BREAK by Terry Ehret

FEET FIRST by Dion N. Farquhar

BEASTS FOR THE CHASE by Monica Ferrell

APPARITION POEMS by Adam Fieled (admirable. deceptively multi-layered)

THE FIRE LANDSCAPE by Gary Fincke

AUTOPSY TURVY by Thomas Fink & Maya Diablo Mason

YINGLISH STROPHES, 1-19 by Thomas Fink (stellar and often spectacular!)

TELESCOPE by Sandy Florian

COLOSSEUM by Katie Ford

ALL THAT GORGEOUS PITILESS SONG by Rebecca Foust

DARK CARD by Rebecca Foust

OF FRACTURED CLOCKS, BONES AND WINDSHIELDS by Sheela Sitaram Free

MOVING PICTURES by Greg Fuchs (marvelous energy!)

PAGEANT by Joanna Fuhrman

THE FRENCH EXIT by Elisa Gabbert (such fragile-nesses are difficult to textually manifest-- a lovely achievement)

A WORKING GIRL CAN'T WIN by Deborah Garrison

THE PACKAGE INSERT OF SORROWS by Angela Genusa

AERODOME ORION & STARRY MESSENGER, by Susan Gevirtz (ethereal but embodied at the same time)

BEGIN ANYWHERE by Frank Giampietro

THE SEVEN AGES by Louise Gluck (stellar writing but made me wonder what would happen, too, if she started relying more on, say, a third-party pronoun...)

CITY OF CORNERS by John Godfrey

THE ROYAL BAKER'S DAUGHTER by Barbara Goldberg

AS IT TURNED OUT by Dmitry Golynko, Trans. by Eugene Ostashevsky with Rebecca Bella and Simona Schneider

I-FORMATION, BOOK 1 by Anne Gorrick (gorgeous!)

KYOTOLOGIC, poems by Anne Gorrick (lovely)

TERMINAL HUMMING, poems by K. Lorraine Graham (fabulously effective)

PHOTOGRAPHING EDEN, poems by Jason Gray

MEN, WOMEN, AND GHOSTS by Debora Greger

ALL OF IT SINGING: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Linda Gregg

MATTER OF FACT by Eamon Grennan

WOODSMOKE, WIND, AND THE PEREGRINE by Shaun T. Griffin

THE COLLECTED POEMS OF BARBARA GUEST, Ed. Hadley Haden Guest (OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING!)

GOTHENBURG FROM THE THREE GEOGRAPHIES: A MILKMAID'S GRIMOIRE by Arielle Guy

TOXIC FLORA by Kimiko Hahn

NOW YOU'RE THE ENEMY by James Allen Hall

THE HEADLESS SAINTS by Myronn Hardy

AMNESIAC by Duriel E. Harris

THE APPLE TREES AT OLEMA: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Robert Hass (Dude decided to relax in his newer work...)

THE LUCK OF BEING by Wendell Hawken

BECKMANN VARIATIONS & OTHER POEMS by Michael Heller (Very Inspiring.)

WINGS WITHOUT BIRDS by Brian Henry

A BOOK OF UNKNOWING by John High

AFTER MUSIC by Conrad Hilberry

BLOOD TIES & BROWN LIQUOR by Sean Hill

GIVEN SUGAR, GIVE SUGAR by Jane Hirshfield

ROUNDING THE HUMAN CORNERS by Linda Hogan

THE MS OF M Y KIN by Janet Holmes (in addition to its intelligent conceptual underpinnings, the resulting poems are really effective. Well done!)

ARCTIC POEMS by Vicente Huidobro, trans. by Nathan Hoks

A MUSICS by Carrie Hunter (wonderful wander-full wanting)

THE INCOMPOSSIBLES by Carrie Hunter (read in manuscript form as I'm providing a blurb for its forthcoming book form. Here's the unedited blurb:
Every poem in THE INCOMPOSSIBLES is "an utterly unique void." What seems consistent is a rhythm of certainty, even as the poems posit uncertainties; these are musics impossible to categorize. Read a line like "The indecipherable spoken aloud"* and you can't help but read again, then again. As you continue reading, you realize you're searching for something you might discover but will defy memory-zation if only because the context of a reading changes each time. I guess that's the (or, one, ) point of these poems--it encourages the search itself and the discovered beauties in the process make the uncertainties welcome. That's what fabulous poems can achieve: the suspension of belief into language for its own sake. Thus, do "obscurities hold hands..."
[* I first cited "The decapitated head of Lack" but apparently another blurber cited this wonderful line]

NTST: THE COLLECTED PWOERMDS OF GEOF HUTH (a freshly rolicking read)

RIFT by Barbara Helfgott Hyett

LAST WORD IS THE POET’S CALLING by Aileen Ibardaloza

TRAJE DE BODA by Aileen Ibardaloza

JUAN LUNA’S REVOLVER by Luisa A. Igloria

IF NOT METAMORPHIC by Brenda Iijima (a manifestation of paradox)

AD FINITUM by P. Inman

TALL IF by Mark Irwin

PRAYING TO THE BLACK CAT by Henry Israeli (there's a poem in there, "Creation Myth Number One", that has one of the most powerful beginnings I can remember reading in a poem...)

~ V = >, poems by Tom Jenks

TORCH LAKE & OTHER POEMS by Brian Johnson

OBRAS PUBLICAS: POEMS, STORIES, ESSAYS, ETC. by Halvard Johnson (enjoyable reading!)

THE EARTH IN THE ATTIC by Fady Joudah

FORCE FIELDS, text by Andrew Joron; art by Brian Lucas (lovely, resonant project)

TRANCE ARCHIVE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Andrew Joron (read many of these poems before but also enjoyable to see it in a Selected context.)

TIME OF SKY CASTLES IN THE AIR by Ayane Kawata, Trans. by Sawako Nakayasu

THE BLACK AUTOMATON by Douglas Kearney (loved this wonderful wonderful collection with its fabulous energy!)

ITERATION NETS by Karla Kelsey

A WITCH'S DICTIONARY by Sarah Kennedy

POISON OAK by Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (deceptively musical with the amusing help of scratch-throughs)

AS IF FREE by Burt Kimmelman

ANOTHER AMERICA / OTRA AMERICA by Barbara Kingsolver, with translations by Rebeca Cartes

THE TEMPLE GATE CALLED BEAUTIFUL by David Kirby

UNION by Ish Klein

INSTRUCTIONS TO A MAP: A SELECTION OF MY SYLLABIC VERSE by Bill Knott

QUAKER GUNS by Caroline Knox

RULES FOR DRINKING FORTIES by Rodney Koeneke (nifty & kewl!)

MAN ON EXTREMELY SMALL ISLAND by Jason Koo

IN ARTICULATE CONCISION OF APPENDICES by David C. Kopaska-Merkel

SPENT: SELECTED POEMS by Jose Kozer, translated by Mark Weiss

THE SWEETNESS OF HERBERT by Stuart Krimko

PATZCUARO by Joanne Kyger (lingers...)

ASTROMETRY ORGONON by Mark Lamoureux

EVEN NOW by Susanna Lang

TOURMALINE by Dorothea Lasky

LIVING UNDER PLASTIC by Evelyn Lau (hit her stride ... and is an absolute knock-out!)

AS I SPEED TO YOUR PLACE by Amanda Laughtland

POSTCARDS TO BOX 464 by Amanda Laughtland with art by Jen May (charming!)

(SOME OF THE) BEST LESBIAN POETRY by Amanda Laughtland

X (ANGEL CITY) by Joseph Lease

HALLELUJAH BLACKOUT by Alex Lemon

THE WORLD IN A MINUTE by Gary Lenhart (the authenticity is impressively due to the seamlessness between the social and the personal)

THE HALO RULE by Teresa Leo

MIDNIGHT MARSUPIUM, haibun poems by Michael Leong (Nicely done. And No. 5 can also be a "haybun"!)

MAY DAY by Phillis Levin

MORTAL, EVERLASTING by Jeffrey Levine

BREAKING THE MAP by Kim-An Lieberman

WIDE AWAKE IN SOMEONE ELSE'S DREAM by M.L. Liebler

ALPHA ZULU by Gary Copeland Lilley

TWIGS & KNUCKLEBONES by Sarah Lindsay

BENDING THE MIND AROUND THE DREAM'S BLOWN FUSE by Timothy Liu (simply: Magnificent!)

GOD DAMSEL by Reb Livingston (a welcome, and all-too-rare sophistication in its poetic approach)

ARCHIPELAGO DUST by Karen Llagas

STRANGE FLESH by William Logan

THE MATERIALIST by Rick London

THE PRECARIOUS RHETORIC OF ANGELS by George Looney

AT THE END OF THE DAY: SELECTED POEMS AND AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY by Phillip Lopate

GRIEF SUITE by Bobbi Lurie (a searing courage)

SALINE by Kimberly Lyons (so many poems are wondrously delicate)

MAINSTREAM by Michael Magee

ROCK VEIN SKY by Charlotte Mandel

THE STEEL VEIL by Jack Marshall

AMORISCO by Khaled Mattawa

LOVE POEMS by Karl Marx (this publication of juvenalia is a bit of a capitalist gesture...but I did enjoy reading it!)

MRS. QUAKE by Nicole Mauro

THE CONTORTIONS by Nicole Mauro

ENDARKENMENT by Jeffrey McDaniel

SALTWATER EMPIRE by Raymond McDaniel

M ENTAL TEKST by Jim McCrary (witty and rollickin'!!)

DISMANTLING THE HILLS by Michael McGriff

THE USABLE FIELD by Jane Mead

THE SHADOW OF SIRIUS by W.S. Merwin

THE JOYFUL DARK by Michael Miller

LEMON PEELED THE MOMENT BEFORE: NEW & SELECTED POEMS 1967-2008 by Roger Mitchell

HORSE DANCE UNDERWATER by Helena Mesa

DIARY OF A WAVE OUTSIDE THE SEA by Dunya Mikhail, trans. From the Arabic by Elizabeth Winslow and Dunya Mikhail (interesting)

THE WAR WORKS HARD by Dunya Mikhail (some of the most compelling “war poems” or political poems I’ve read from contemporary poets)

SHOULDER SEASON by Ange Mlinko

TOUCH WOOD by Albert Mobilio

LETTERS TO AN ALBATROSS by Anita Mohan (a freshly auspicious debut)

A TEMPLE LOOMING by Lenard D. Moore

THE FAT SHEEP EVERYONE WANTS by Bern Mulvey

ANGELS FOR THE BURNING by David Mura

BIRD EATING BIRD by Kristin Naca

TEXTURE NOTES by Sawako Nakayasu (intelligent luminosities!)

WILD GOODS by Denise Newman

HECATE LOCHIA by Hoa Nguyen

GRAVE OF LIGHT: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS 1970-2005 by Alice Notley (yes good poems but I really wish the design didn't go for run-on poems on the pages--i.e. that each poem began on a new page--as the set-up did not make for conducive reading. In poetry, white space so matters)

THE NEXT COUNTRY by Idra Novey

HOLD TIGHT: THE TRUCK DARLING POEMS by Jeni Olin

IATROGENIC: THEIR TESTIMONIES by Danielle Pafunda

SILVER ROOF TANTRUM by Naomi Buck Palagi

FOR GOOD BEHAVIOUR by Lars Palm (a welcome kick in the head!)

WHEN THE EARTH MOVES By Lars Palm

WHOMEANSWHAT by Lars Palm

THE PEAR AS ONE EXAMPLE: NEW & SELECTED POEMS 1984-2008 by Eric Pankey

MEDITATIONS ON RISING AND FALLING by Philip Pardi

CHAMELEON HOURS by Elise Partridge

SELECTED POEMS OF OCTAVIO PAZ, Translated by Muriel Rukeyser

TWO MINUTES OF LIGHT by Nancy K. Pearson

FROM UNINCORPORATED TERRITORY [HACHA] by Craig Santos Perez

EMINENT DOMAIN by Justin Petropoulos

HEARTH by Simon Pettet

ZONG! by M. Nourbese Philip

REBIRTH by Cynthia M. Phillips

THESE INDICIUM TALES by Lance Phillips

THE TRANSLATOR'S DIARY by Jon Pineda

THE PANOPTIKON, AN ADVENTURE OF POETIC THOUGHT UPON THE MYRIAD REALMS OF OBSERVABLE SPACE, OF WALLS, AND OF HUMAN PERSPECTIVE by Steven P. Pody

EL CUERVO 7 otros poemas, Edicion bilingue CONMEMORATIVA DEL BICENTENARIO DEL NATALICIO DE Edgar Allen Poe, Traduccion de Helbardot, con ilustraciones de Gustavo Abascal

A NECKLACE OF BEES by Dannye Romine Powell

THE PRESENT DAY by Ernesto Priego (wonderful and wondrous -- and not just coz I wrote its Afterword)

KING BABY by Lia Purpura

UNTIL THE CRAZY CATCHES ME by Ellen Rachlin

BLACK TUPELO COUNTRY by Doug Ramspeck

FAULTY MOTHERING by Elaine Randell

EITHER SHE WAS by Karin Randolph

COOKING WITH ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES by Francis Raven (witty and smart)

ALL ODD AND SPLENDID by Hilda Raz

DIWATA by Barbara Jane Reyes (GORGEOUS! I simply INHALED this book. Am so happy and proud of this achievement by Barbara. One of the most stellar achievements of this book is how it ends. The choice of the last poem elevated the all of the book into strength and power(!) -- a point worth noting because much of the words are just so lushly beautiful. To be beautiful is often to be stared at -- with the last poem, the reader suddenly realizes the reader is also being witnessed. The reader is being watched .... as in, I am watching you to make sure the wrongs of history will know: Never Again.)

EASTER SUNDAY by Barbara Jane Reyes (poems viz diamond-etched metals--another ravishing read)

THE WARRIOR by Frances Richey

THE ORPHAN & ITS RELATIONS by Elizabeth Robinson

WAYFARE by Pattiann Rogers

THE SKELETON OF THE CROW by Seido Ray Ronci

THE JOURNEY by David H. Rosenthal

ALSO BORN OF THE FIRE by Patricia Ryan

VERBAL ABSTRACTIONS: POETRY OF LOVE, POWER AND DRAMA by Nubian Sage

HAD SLAVES by Catherine Sasanov (Outstanding! Not only has my highest recommendation but my deepest Respect!)

THE DIHEDRONS GAZELLE-DIHEDRALS ZOOM, poetry/sci fi fiction by Leslie Scalapino (admirable witty music and oh-so thoroughly satisfactory. And, now THAT is what I call ekphrasis!)

IN THIS ALONE IMPULSE by Shya Scanlon

SUBMISSIONS by Jared Schickling (beautifully intriguing)

AS WHEN, IN SEASON by Jim Schley

MEMORY CARDS : WOLSAK SERIES by Susan Schultz (she's not unknown but the more that I read Susan's poems, the more respect I feel she should get)

SPILLING THE MOON by Matt Schumacher

BLESSINGS FOR THE HANDS by Matthew Schwartz

GRACE IN A COW'S EYE: A MEMOIR by Sonja Sekula

QUINTETS by Iliassa Sequin

KING OF THE JUNGLE by Zvi Sesling (unornamented and totally effective poems)

CAUSEWAY by Elaine Sexton

HUMAN DARK WITH SUGAR by Brenda Shaughnessy

FATA MORGANA by Reginald Shepherd

BOY WITH FLOWERS by Ely Shipley

THE FLOATING BRIDGE by David Shumate

BODY CLOCK by Eleni Sikelianos

LIT by Ron Silliman (a welcome omnivorousness that I particularly welcomed during the surfeits of a holiday season. The difference between writing in silence and writing while music is playing can be how silence more easily gives access viz memory to a multiplicity of musics. From his blog, I know Ron pays attention to music and while reading through LIT I wondered whether he wrote in silence or not. Because this is a very musical work but shaded in numerous musics versus, say, a poem that can be musically writ riding a particular ebb-and-flow of a musical strain. Glad it's part of The Alphabet as I have that now to anticipate getting to.)

MERCY by Dvorah Simon

HOLDING PLACE by Michael Slosek

MUCH LIKE YOU SHARK by Logan Ryan Smith (very clever music from a fallen angel)

TRACKS by Logan Ryan Smith

WITT by Patti Smith

GUSTAF SOBIN COLLECTED POEMS, Co-Eds. Andrew Joron & Andrew Zawacki (now that's what I call a COLLECTED! This is a breathtakingly wonderful testament to a poet's rich legacy)

THINGS I MUST HAVE KNOWN by A.B. Spellman

MY VOCABULARY DID THIS TO ME: THE COLLECTED POETRY OF JACK SPICER, Eds. Peter Gizzi and Kevin Killian

AGE OF THE DEMON TOOLS by Mark Spitzer

THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES by Jane Sprague

THE BOOK OF SLEEP by Eleanor Stanford

BOOK MADE OF FOREST by Jared Stanley

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Will Staple

RED ROVER by Susan Stewart

WHAT LOVE COMES TO: NEW & SELECTED POEMS by Ruth Stone

THE COSMOPOLITAN by Donna Stonecipher

REMAINDERS FOR THE EARTH: POEMS by James Stotts

A BOOK OF HER OWN: WORDS AND IMAGES TO HONOR THE BABAYLAN, poetry, art and meditations by Leny M. Strobel

THE MAN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE by John Struloeff

SELECTIONS FROM ENAMEL SKY by Jose Antonio Ramos Sucre, Translated by Guillermo Parra (just fabulous!!!)

HOME IS HOW I LOVE YOU by Aimee Suzara (in manuscript)

DESTRUCTION MYTH by Mathias Svalina (Brilliant! Svalina is offering among the most stick-to-Memory reads in my deliberately-random poetry readings)

CREATION MYTHS by Mathias Svalina (ditto)

PARABLE OF HIDE AND SEEK by Chad Sweeney

ENTERPRISE, INC. by Charles Sweetman

GREENSWARD by Cole Swensen

THE GINKGO LIGHT by Arthur Sze

WATER THE MOON by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (had read this before in manuscript form; lovely to see it in finished book form!)

VIEW WITH A GRAIN OF SAND: SELECTED POEMS by Wislawa Szymborska (fabulous)

DOUBLE-EDGED by Susan Terris

THE HOMELESSNESS OF SELF by Susan Terris

THE WONDER BREAD YEARS by Susan Terris

BEHAVE: CALIFORNIA RANT 66 by Steve Tills (nice calibrations)

MR. MAGOO by Steve Tills (love that rhyme of "McCrary" and "Cotati")

SUM OF EVERY LOST SHIP by Allison Titus

THE TREES AROUND by Chris Tonelli (marvelous nuances--they seduce with their subtlety)

NO CHOICE BUT TO FOLLOW, "Linked poems" by Jean Yamasaki Toyama, Juliet S. Kono, Ann Inoshita and Christy Passion (A project where the sum is greater than its parts—befitting how these poems were written to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the wonderful Bamboo Ridge! And speaking of poet-discoveries (or at least poets new to me), this Christy Passion's poetics and poems are wonderful!)

FOUR LETTER WORDS by Truong Tran

NATIVE GUARD by Natasha Trethewey

VERTICAL ELEGIES: THREE WORKS by Sam Truitt

SEDIMENT by Sandy Tseng

IRRATIONAL DUDE, collaborative poetry by Nico Vassilakis & Robert Mittenthal

RADHA SAYS: LAST POEMS by Reetika Vazirani (the all of it -- poems and biography which is impossible to separate from this project -- is just plain sad)

PARTICLE AND WAVE and FROM THE CHAIR by Jean Vengua

IRRESPONSIBILITY by Chris Vitiello

RARE HIGH MEADOW OF WHICH I MIGHT DREAM by Connie Voisine

MY NEW JOB by Catherine Wagner

VIRTUOSO LITERATURE FOR TWO AND FOUR HANDS: NEW POEMS by Diane Wakoski

DOOR TO A NOISY ROOM by Peter Waldor

TRANSCENDENTAL STUDIES: A TRILOGY by Keith Waldrop

SHIMMING THE GLASS HOUSE by Helen Pruitt Wallace

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY by Ronald Wallace

SHADOW ARCHITECT by Emily Warn

GOODNIGHT VOICE by Dana Ward

NINE TEEN HOURS (RADIO EDIT) by Jim Warner (very clever conceptual underpinning: hay(na)ku written during a nineteen hour plane ride between the Philippines and U.S. Good for chapbookpublisher.com for yanking this out of the author!)

THE OPPOSITE OF CLAIRVOYANCE by Gillian Wegener

GNOMON by David Weiss

ISLE OF THE SIGNATORIES by Marjorie Welish

OVERTIME: SELECTED POEMS by Philip Whalen, Ed. Michael Rothenberg

HEATHEN by Lesley Wheeler

SELF-PORTRAIT WITH CRAYON by Allison Benis White

IGNOBLE TRUTHS by Gail White

THE GODDESS OF GOODBYE by James R. Whitley

THE BOOK OF WHISPERING IN THE PROJECTION BOOTH by Joshua Marie Wilkinson

NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF THE BROWN BOY AND THE WHITE MAN by Ronaldo V. Wilson

POEMS OF THE BLACK OBJECT by Ronaldo V. Wilson

OCCULTATIONS by David Wolach (powerful and moving)

SPARE PARTS: A NOVELLA IN VERSE by Anne Harding Woodworth

BARROW by Bryan Thao Worra

RISING, FALLING, HOVERING by C.D. Wright

THE IMPORTANCE OF PEELING POTATOES IN UKRAINE by Mark Yakich

UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS FORMING A GROUP WAITING TO CROSS by Mark Yakich

AN AQUARIUM by Jeffrey Yang

EXHIBITS by John Yau (mischievous delirium)

PRIMITIVE MENTOR by Dean Young

AT TROTSKY'S FUNERAL, poem-ficciones by Mark Young (brilliant)

GENJI MONOGATARI by Mark Young (freshly clever and musical take on intertextual reading)

SOME GEOGRAPHIES by Mark Young (there's such a wise presence of Now-ness in these poems ... dude's writing at the top of his game)

POEMS SINGKWENTA'Y CINCO by Alfred Yuson (excellent energy for an old man (wink))

THE HOUSE OF MAE RIM / LA CASA DE MAE RIM by Mariano Zaro (beautifully spare)

PETALS OF ZERO PETALS OF ONE by Andrew Zawacki


ANTHOLOGIES (11):
AMERICAN HYBRID: NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF NEW POETRY, Co-Eds. Cole Swensen and David St. John

EATING HER WEDDING DRESS: A COLLECTION OF CLOTHING POEMS, Eds. Vasiliki Katsarou, Ruth O'Toole, and Ellen Foos

ECO LANGUAGE READER, edited by Brenda Iijima (collection of essays, interviews and photographs by 17 poets weighing in on environmental concerns: Karen Leona Anderson, Jack Collom, Tina Darragh, Marcella Durand, Laura Elrick, Brenda Iijima, Peter Larkin, Jill Magi, Tracie MOrris, Catriona Mortimer-Shandilands, Julie Patton, Jed Rasula, Evelyn Reilly, Leslie Scalapino, James Sherry, Jonathan Skinner and Tyrone Williams)

GURLESQUE: THE NEW GRRRLY, GROTESQUE, BURLESQUE POETICS, edited by Lara Glenum and Arielle Greenberg

INFINITE DIFFERENCE: OTHER POETRIES BY U.K. WOMEN POETS, Ed. Carrie Etter (educational, useful, necessary)

INTWASA POETRY [anthology of 15 Zimbabwean poets] edited by Jane Morris

SPRING HAS COME: SPANISH LYRICAL POETRY FROM THE SONGBOOKS OF THE RENAISSANCE (Espanol & Ingles) by Alvaro Cardona-Hine (interestingly educational)

STARTING TODAY: 100 POEMS FOR OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS, edited by Rachel Zucker and Arielle Greenberg (it's really moving to see the Hope For Change undertones--this note of cautious optimism, much more than revelry, is also poetically refreshing)

THE CHAINED HAY(NA)KU PROJECT, curated by Ivy Alvarez, John Bloomberg-Rissman, Ernesto Priego & Eileen Tabios (very exciting to see it!)

VESTIGES OF WAR: THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR AND THE AFTERMATH OF AN IMPERIAL DREAM, 1899-1999, multi-genre anthology co-edited by Luis Francia and Angel Velasco Shaw.

WALANG HIYA: LITERATURE TAKING RISKS TOWARD LIBERATORY PRACTICE, Eds. Lolan Buhain Sevilla and Roseli Ilano (nice to see younger generation of poet-editors come up)


POETRY-RELATED JOURNALS (14):
ARCA: Revista De Literatura Y Filosofia, literary journal out of Mexico, Ed.Edgar Omar Aviles (mi Espanol es muy malo, pero I tried...)

BLACK SPRING: THE LAWRENCE ISSUE (Winter 2005), literary journal featuring David Baptiste-Chirot, Lee Chapman, Stephen Ellis, Robert Grenier, Hawkman, Kenneth Irby, Maryrose Larkin, Jonathan Mayhew, Jim McCrary, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, John Moritz, Susan Smith Nash, Monica Peck, Judith Roitman, Dale Smith, Steve Tills

HOUSE ORGAN, No. 69, literary journal edited by Kenneth Warren

HOUSE ORGAN, Summer 2010, literary review edited by Kenneth Warren

LANTERN REVIEW: A JOURNAL OF ASIAN AMERICAN POETRY, Ed. Iris A. Law (is it me or there seems to be a resurgence of new Asian American literary journals...?)

LIVE MAG, literary/arts journal edited by Jeffrey Cyphers Wright (fabulous!) – 2 issues

MiPOesias, Summer 2010, literary/arts journal, Ed.Didi Menendez

NIGHT PALACE, 2005 poetry journal-collaboration between Auguste Press and Ugly Duckling Presse, Eds. Micah Ballard and Julien Poirier

THE ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY REVIEW, Spring 2010, Eds. Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis and Gerard Maa (kewl. And, just accepted invite to serve on its Advisory Board)

THE ENIGMATIST, Dec. 2009, poetry journal edited by Mike & Joyce Gullickson

ST. PETERSBURG REVIEW, literary journal edited by Elizabeth Hodges (got this copy from one of its associate editors and my cousin (Go Cousin!), Resa Alboher)

TINFISH 20, literary/arts journal edited by Susan Schultz

VANITAS 5, literary/arts journal edited by Vincent Katz


OTHER FORMS CREATED BY OR INVOLVING POETS/POETRY (15):
DEAR SANDY, HELLO: LETTERS FROM TED TO SANDY BERRIGAN, Eds. Sandy Berrigan and Ron Padgett (fascinating. compulsive reading--I meant to flip through the book when it first arrived and instead ended up reading it all in one sitting)

KAPWA: THE SELF IN THE OTHER—WORLDVIEWS AND LIFESTYLES OF FILIPINO CULTURE-BEARERS, study and meditations by Katrin De Guia

STILL LIFE WITH OYSTERS AND LEMON, a meditation by Mark Doty (astonishingly and stunningly dazzling--a book I wish I wrote)

NOTES ON CONCEPTUALISMS by Vanessa Place and Robert Fitterman

AGAINST THE FORGETTING: FRANCES FROST & PAUL BLACKBURN, biography by Robert Buckeye

TIE ONE ON 1 and TIE ONE ON 2, conceptual art by Alex Gildzen (very entertaining)

THE OTHER BLUEBOOK: ON THE HIGH SEAS OF DISCOVERY, novel by Quill Berenkoff "As told to Reme Grefalda"

"WISHING YOU A GREEN CHRISTMAS" holiday chap featuring "Wind Farm" by Mark Lamoreaux

SIMON J. ORTIZ: A POETIC LEGACY OF INDIGENOUS CONTINUANCE, Edited by Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez and Evelina Zuni Lucero

THE SHARED VOICE: CHANTED AND SPOKEN NARRATIVES FORM THE PHILIPPINES by Grace Nono, with Mendung Sabal,Henio Estakio, Baryus Gawid, Salvador Placido, Sarah Mandegan, Gadu Ugal, Florencia Havana, Sindao Banisil, Elena Rivera-Mirano

THE IT-DOESN'T-MATTER SUIT, children's story by Sylvia Plath, Illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner

GIVING THEIR WORLD: CONVERSATIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY POETS, interviews of William Stafford, Mary Oliver, John Montague, Charles Simic, Seamus Heaney, Donald Hall, Maxine Kumin, Carolyn Forche, Martin Espada, Marge Piercy, Rita Dove, Bei Dao, edited by Steven Ratiner

BABAYLAN: FILIPINOS AND THE CALL OF THE INDIGENOUS, edited by Leny M. Strobel

POETS ON TEACHING: A SOURCEBOOK, Ed. Joshua Marie Wilkinson

POEMCRAZY: FREEING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS, essays by Susan G. Wooldridge