The ''Best New Poets'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing fifty poems from poets without a previously published collection. The first edition of the series appeared in 2005, and was published, as all later editions have been, by Samovar Press. In 2006, the

University of Virginia Press The University of Virginia Press (or UVaP) is a university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. They are often an integral component of a large research university. They pu ...

began distributing the anthology.

Selection and editors

Poems are nominated for the series by creative writing programs and literary magazines, though poets can also self-nominate through an online submission system. The poems to be included in the anthology are selected by a guest editor. Previous guest editors include George Garrett (2005),

Eric Pankey Eric Pankey (born 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American poet and artist. He is married to the poet Jennifer Atkinson (born 1955). Pankey's poetry has moved from the literal and narrative as in _Heartwood,_ towards the suggestiveness of ...

(2006),

Natasha Trethewey Natasha Trethewey (born April 26, 1966) is an American poet who served as United States Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection ''Native Guard'', and is a former Poet Laureate of Missi ...

(2007),

Mark Strand Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...

(2008),

Kim Addonizio Kim Addonizio (born July 31, 1954) is an American poet and novelist. Life Addonizio was born in Washington, D.C., United States. She is the daughter of tennis champion Pauline Betz and sports writer Bob Addie (born Addonizio). She briefly atte ...

(2009),

Claudia Emerson Claudia Emerson (January 13, 1957 – December 4, 2014) was an American poet. She won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her collection ''Late Wife'', and was named the Poet Laureate of Virginia by Governor Tim Kaine in 2008. Early life E ...

(2010),

D. A. Powell Douglas A. Powell (born May 16, 1963) is an American poet. Life and career Powell lived in various places growing up, then graduated high school from Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California. He then worked in a number of jobs before even ...

(2011),

Matthew Dickman Matthew Dickman (born August 20, 1975) is an American poet. He and his identical twin brother, Michael Dickman, also a poet, were born in Portland, Oregon. Life The Dickman twins (Matthew is the younger and slightly taller) were raised in the Le ...

(2012),

Brenda Shaughnessy Brenda Shaughnessy (born 1970) is an Asian American poet most known for her poetry books ''Our Andromeda'' and ''So Much Synth''. Her book, ''Our Andromeda'', was named a Library Journal "Book of the Year," one of '' The New York Times's'' "100 Be ...

(2013),

Dorianne Laux Dorianne Laux (born January 10, 1952, in Augusta, Maine) is an American Poet, American poet. Biography Laux worked as a sanatorium cook, a gas station manager, and a maid before receiving a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. in English from Mills College in ...

(2014) Tracy K. Smith. (2015),

Mary Szybist Mary Szybist (born 20 September 1970) is an American poet. She won the National Book Award for Poetry for her collection ''Incarnadine''. Life She grew up in Pennsylvania, earned her Bachelor of Arts, B.A. and M.T. (Master of Teaching) from the ...

(2016),

Natalie Diaz Natalie Diaz (born September 4, 1978) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Mojave American poet, language activist, former professional basketball player, and educator. She is enrolled in the Gila River Indian Community and identifies as Akimel O'odham. ...

(2017),

Kyle Dargan Kyle Dargan is an American writer and editor. He is the author of six poetry collections. Dargan is currently an associate professor of literature and the assistant director of creative writing at American University, as well as Books Editor for ...

(2018),

Cate Marvin Cate Marvin is an American poet. Life She graduated from Marlboro College (BA, 1993), University of Houston (MFA, 1997), University of Iowa (MFA, 1999) and University of Cincinnati (Ph.D., 2003) She has taught at the College of Staten Island, Cit ...

(2019), Brian Teare (2020),

Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar (b. 15 January 1989; Persian language, Persian: کاوه اکبر) is an Iranian American poet, novelist, and editor. He is the author of the poetry collections ''Calling a Wolf a Wolf'' and ''Pilgrim Bell'' and of the novel ''Martyr ...

(2021), Paula Bohince (2022), Anna Journey (2023), and Anders Carlson-Wee (2024).

Selected poets

The series, begun by

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

professor

Jeb Livingood Jeb Livingood is an American essayist, short story writer, editor, and academic. Life He graduated from the University of Virginia, American University, George Mason University, and University of Virginia, with an M.F.A. in 2000. He exhibited ...

in 2005 (edited by poet

Jazzy Danziger Jazzy Danziger (born 1984) is an American poet and editor. Life and career Danziger was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Maitland, Florida. She earned her bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA in Poetry ...

from 2011 to 2015), has published a number of notable writers since its inception, including Diana Vlavianos,

Deborah Ager Deborah Ager is an American poet, essayist, and editor. Life Deborah Ager founded the poetry magazine known as ''32 poems'' or ''32 Poems Magazine'' in 2003 with the poet John Poch. She was educated at the University of Maryland (B.A.) and the U ...

, Craig Blais, Christina Duhig, Cynthia Lowen,

Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet (born January 31, 1968) is an American poet. Stonestreet's second book, ''The Greenhouse,'' was awarded the 2014 Frost Place Chapbook Prize and published by Bull City Press in August 2014. Her first book, ''Tulips, Water ...

, Jennifer Militello, Kerri French, Seth Abramson, Stephanie Rogers, Rhett Iseman Trull, Anna Journey (2008

National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program. Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and c ...

winner), Zach Savich (2008

Iowa Poetry Prize Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

winner), Michael McGriff (2007

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major United States, American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Penn ...

winner), Julie Larios (2006

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

winner), Alysia Nicole Harris, recent

Stegner Fellows Stegner is a German name; as a surname, it may refer to: * Jansson Stegner (born 1972), artist based in New York * Julia Stegner (born 1984), German model * Page Stegner (1937–2017), writer and historian specializing in the American old west *Ral ...

Keith Ekiss, Robin Ekiss, Kai Carlson-Wee, Edgar Kunz, Chelsea Bunn, Martha Greenwald, Dina Hardy, Sara Michas-Martin, Peter Kline, and Kimberly Grey, as well as

Tarfia Faizullah Tarfia Faizullah is a Bangladeshi American poet. Born in 1980, she was raised in West Texas. She traveled to Bangladesh in 2010 to interview survivors of rape by Pakistani soldiers during the 1971 Liberation War, the birangona. ''Seam'' (SIU, 20 ...

Ocean Vuong Ocean Vuong (born , ; born October 14, 1988) is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, and novelist. He is the recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, 2016 Whiting Award, an ...

Sam Sax Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, Leila Chatti, Phillip B. Williams, Tiana Clark, Peter LaBerge, Jameson Fitzpatrick,

Fatimah Asghar Fatimah Asghar is a South Asian American poet, director and screenwriter. Co-creator and writer for the Emmy-nominated webseries '' Brown Girls'', their work has appeared in ''Poetry'', ''Gulf Coast'', ''BuzzFeed Reader'', ''The Margins'', ''The ...

, Anders Carlson-Wee, and

. To date, the youngest poets to be included in the series are Lachlan Chu (2024), Aidan Forster (2017), Christina Im (2017), and Lily Zhou (2017), who were all included as high school seniors.

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * Tracey K Smith, Jazzy Danziger, eds. (2015) ''Best New Poets 2015: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Mary Szybist, Jeb Livingood and Angie Hogan, eds. (2016) ''Best New Poets 2016: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Natalie Diaz, Jeb Livingood eds. (2017) ''Best New Poets 2017: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Kyle Dargan, Jeb Livingood eds. (2018) ''Best New Poets 2018: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Cate Marvin, Jeb Livingood eds. (2019) ''Best New Poets 2019: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Brian Teare, Jeb Livingood eds. (2020) ''Best New Poets 2020: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Kaveh Akbar, Jeb Livingood eds. (2021) ''Best New Poets 2021: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Paula Bohince, Jeb Livingood eds. (2022) ''Best New Poets 2022: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Anna Journey, Jeb Livingood eds. (2023) ''Best New Poets 2023: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. . * Anders Carlson-Wee, Jeb Livingood eds. (2024) ''Best New Poets 2024: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers.'' Samovar Press. Forthcoming.

Critical response

Of the 2013 edition, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote:

The work, much of it nominated by university writing programs and literary journals, is diverse in voice and subject matter, providing an effective barometer of contemporary American poetry...The poems seem to owe as much to 20th-century traditions as to the spirit of invention, and, as such, are a reminder that contemporary poetry is not only alive and well but continuing to evolve.

According to ''

The Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussio ...

'':

The youthfulness of the anthology, combined with the wide scope of its contents, is apparent in the poems, which are edgy and daring. Emerging, whether intentionally or not, as a younger sibling to the Best American Poetry anthologies, this series breaks new ground and provides fresh treasures.

Poet and critic David Wojahn has said of the series,

It's a nervy thing for an anthology to label itself ''Best New Poets'', but...this collection lives up to its name. It's a rich and readable selection, reflecting no party-line aesthetic, and attesting to the formidable promise of the emerging generation."

Of the 2006 edition, ''ForeWord'' Magazine wrote,

With an alert ear for new voices, this anthology offers a different kind of validation: that of being well-heard. The result is a vibrant smorgasbord..."

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Best New Poets'' website
American poetry anthologies University of Virginia 2005 establishments in Virginia Anthology series