"Poetry encourages us to have dialogue through the observed, the felt, and the imaginary," writes editor Yusef Komunyakaa in his thought-provoking introduction to The Best American Poetry 2003. As a black child of the American South and a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Komunyakaa brings his singular vision to this outstanding volume. Included here is a diverse mix of senior masters, crowd-pleasing bards, rising stars, and the fresh voices of an emerging generation. With comments from the poets elucidating their work and series editor David Lehman's eloquent foreword assessing the state of the art, The Best American Poetry 2003 is a must-have for readers of contemporary poetry.
Jonathan Aaron • Beth Anderson • Nin Andrews • Wendell Berry • Frank Bidart • Diann Blakely • Bruce Bond • Catherine Bowman • Rosemary Catacalos • Joshua Clover • Billy Collins • Michael S. Collins • Carl Dennis • Susan Dickman • Rita Dove • Stephen Dunn • Stuart Dybek • Charles Fort • James Galvin • Amy Gerstler • Louise Glück • Michael Goldman • Ray Gonzalez • Linda Gregg • Mark Halliday • Michael S. Harper • Matthea Harvey • George Higgins • Edward Hirsch • Tony Hoagland • Richard Howard • Rodney Jones • Joy Katz • Brigit Pegeen Kelly • Galway Kinnell • Carolyn Kizer • Jennifer L. Knox • Kenneth Koch • John Koethe • Ted Kooser • Philip Levine • J. D. McClatchy • W. S. Merwin • Heather Moss • Stanley Moss • Paul Muldoon • Peggy Munson • Marilyn Nelson • Daniel Nester • Naomi Shihab Nye • Ishle Yi Park • Robert Pinsky • Kevin Prufer • Ed Roberson • Vijay Seshadri • Alan Shapiro • Myra Shapiro • Bruce Smith • Charlie Smith • Maura Stanton • Ruth Stone • James Tate • William Tremblay • Natasha Trethewey • David Wagoner • Ronald Wallace • Lewis Warsh • Susan Wheeler • Richard Wilbur • C. K. Williams • Terence Winch • David Wojahn Robert Wrigley • Anna Ziegler • Ahmos Zu-Bolton II

Contents

Foreword by David Lehman

Introduction by Yusef Komunyakaa

Jonathan Aaron, "The End of Out of the Past "

Beth Anderson, from "A Locked Room"

Nin Andrews, "Dedicated to the One I Love"

Wendell Berry, "Some Further Words"

Frank Bidart, "Curse"

Diann Blakely, "Rambling on My Mind"

Bruce Bond, "Art Tatum"

Catherine Bowman, from "1000 Lines"

Rosemary Catacalos, "Perfect Attendance: Short Subjects Made from the Staring Photos of Strangers"

Joshua Clover, "Aeon Flux: June"

Billy Collins, "Litany"

Michael S. Collins, "Six Sketches: When a Soul Breaks"

Carl Dennis, "World History"

Susan Dickman, "Skin"

Rita Dove, "Fox Trot Fridays"

Stephen Dunn, "Open Door Blues"

Stuart Dybek, "Journal"

Charles Fort, "The Vagrant Hours"

James Galvin, "Ponderosa"

Amy Gerstler, "An Offer Received in This Morning's Mail:"

Louise Glück, "Landscape"

Michael Goldman, "Report on Human Beings"

Ray Gonzalez, "Max Jacob's Shoes"

Linda Gregg, "Beauty"

Mark Halliday, "The Opaque"

Michael S. Harper, "Rhythmic Arrangements (on prosody)"

Matthea Harvey, "Sad Little Breathing Machine"

George Higgins, "Villanelle"

Edward Hirsch, "The Desire Manuscripts"

Tony Hoagland, "Summer Night"

Richard Howard, "Success"

Rodney Jones, "Ten Sighs from a Sabbatical"

Joy Katz, "Some Rain"

Brigit Pegeen Kelly, "The Dragon"

Galway Kinnell, "When the Towers Fell"

Carolyn Kizer, "After Horace"

Jennifer L. Knox, "Love Blooms at Chimsbury After the War"

Kenneth Koch, "Proverb"

John Koethe, "Y2K (1933)"

Ted Kooser, "In the Hall of Bones"

Philip Levine, "The Music of Time"

J. D. McClatchy, "Jihad"

W. S. Merwin, "To Zbigniew Herbert's Bicycle"

Heather Moss, "Dear Alter Ego"

Stanley Moss, "A History of Color"

Paul Muldoon, "The Loaf"

Peggy Munson, "Four Deaths That Happened Daily"

Marilyn Nelson, "Asparagus"

Daniel Nester, "Poem for the Novelist Whom I Forced to Write a Poem"

Naomi Shihab Nye, "What Happened to Everybody"

Ishle Yi Park, "Queen Min Bi"

Robert Pinsky, "Anniversary"

Kevin Prufer, "What the Paymaster Said"

Ed Roberson, "Sequoia sempervirens"

Vijay Seshadri, "The Disappearances"

Alan Shapiro, "Sleet"

Myra Shapiro, "For Nazim Hikmet in the Old Prison, Now a Four Seasons Hotel"

Bruce Smith, "Song with a Child's Pacifier in It"

Charlie Smith, "There's Trouble Everywhere"

Maura Stanton, "Translating"

Ruth Stone, "Lines"

James Tate, "The Restaurant Business"

William Tremblay, "The Lost Boy"

Natasha Trethewey, "After Your Death"

David Wagoner, "On Being Asked to Discuss Poetic Theory"

Ronald Wallace, "In a Rut"

Lewis Warsh, "Premonition"

Susan Wheeler, "In Sky"

Richard Wilbur, "Man Running"

C. K. Williams, "The World"

Terence Winch, "My Work"

David Wojahn, "Scrabble with Matthews"

Robert Wrigley, "Clemency"

Anna Ziegler, "After the Opening, 1932"

Ahmos Zu-Bolton II, "Reading the Bones: a Blackjack Moses nightmare"

Contributors' Notes and Comments

Magazines Where the Poems Were First Published

Acknowledgments

David Lehman, the series editor of The Best American Poetry, edited The Oxford Book of American Poetry. His books of poetry include The Morning Line, When a Woman Loves a Man, and The Daily Mirror. The most recent of his many nonfiction books is The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir. He lives in New York City and Ithaca, New York.