The Best American Poetry 2021

by Tracy K. Smith (Editor / Introduction), David Lehman (Editor / Foreword), Henri Cole (Contributor)

The 2021 edition of the leading collection of contemporary American poetry is guest edited by the former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, providing renewed proof that this is “a ‘best’ anthology that really lives up to its title” (Chicago Tribune).

Since 1988, The Best American Poetry series has been “one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world” (Academy of American Poets). Each volume presents a choice of the year’s most memorable poems, with comments from the poets themselves lending insight into their work. The guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2021 is Tracy K. Smith, the former United States Poet Laureate, whose own poems are, Toi Derricotte’s words, “beautiful and serene” in their surfaces with an underlying “sense of an unknown vastness.” In The Best American Poetry 2021, Smith has selected a distinguished array of works both vast and beautiful by such important voices as Henri Cole, Billy Collins, Louise Erdrich, Nobel laureate Louise Glück, Terrance Hayes, and Kevin Young.

Genres: Poetry, 21st Century, Anthologies, Contemporary, Read For School

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Tracy K. Smith is the author of Wade in the Water; Life on Mars, winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Duende, winner of the James Laughlin Award; and The Body’s Question, winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. She is also the editor of an anthology, American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, and the author of a memoir, Ordinary Light, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. From 2017 to 2019, Smith served as Poet Laureate of the United States. She teaches at Princeton University.

Reviews

[Soula Kosti · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I think of all that I have inherited,
all the bodies buried for me to be here
and stay here, how I was born with grief
and gratitude in my bones"
-- Red Wine Spills by L. Ash Williams

I always enjoy reading such collections because I am introduced to so many wonderful poets but struggle to give these collections a rating because of course I won't enjoy each poem. Here is the list of my favorites (other than the ones I quoted):

- Meditations on a Photograph of Historic Rail Women by Warren C. Longmire
- Stone Love by Louise Erdrich
- Divination by Lauren K. Alleyne
- A Smiling Understanding by Stanley Moss
- love poem that ends at popeyes by Destiny O. Birdsong
- women's voting rights at one hundred (but who's counting?) by Evie Shockley

”What more could I want now beyond
everything I've ever had, all over again,
and the strength to withstand the heavens?”
-- After Tu Fu by Christopher Buckley

- The Stuff of Astounding: A Golden Shovel for Juneteenth by Patricia Smith
- Ode to the Boy Who Jumped Me by Monica Sok
- Chinese Restaurant Syndrome by Adrienne Su
- Copernicus by Paul Tran
- Blood by Margaret Ross
- Double Major by Major Jackson

"Is memory the best eternity we can make? The only?"
-- The School of Eternities by Chen Chen

[Kevin Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predominantly political poetry -- which given living/writing/reading during a global pandemic year and with Black Lives Matter, immigration, and enduring Trumpist/fascist domestic terrorism largely defining the past year makes total sense. But the thing about political poetry is that I find it is very easy to respond enthusiastically to the politics of the poem but find the poetic quality more often than not wanting. The most memorable poems I read were both formal: a triolet by Kamilah Aisha Moon and a pantoum by John Yau that is a touching elegy to the New York Poet Paul Violi.

And there were four love poems I found very moving: Destiny O. Birdson's "love poem that ends at popeyes;" Chen Chen's "The School of Eternities;" Alex Dimitrov's list poem "Love;" and (my favorite in the book) a very touching poem to the poet's father facing dementia, Kathy Fagan's "Conqueror."

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than many recent books in this series. American poetry has been particularly amazing in the last 10 years and sadly few of this series’ volumes during the last decade have really reflected what’s going on in contemporary poetry. This year’s is a vast improvement.

As usual, there are a few I didn’t connect with and one or two poems I found outright bad, but most of the book was filled with thought provoking, moving work. Poems by Chen Chen, Natalie Diaz, Rita Dove, and Patricia Smith are standouts. Oh, and Monica Youn’s as well.

[Peycho Kanev · Rating 3 out of 5]

RITA DOVE

Naji, 14. Philadelphia.

A bench, a sofa, anyplace flat—
just let me down
somewhere quiet, please,
a strange lap, a patch of grass…
What a fine cup of misery
I’ve brought you, Mama—cracked
and hissing with bees.
Is that your hand? Good, I did
good: I swear I didn’t yank or glare.
If I rest my cheek on the curb, let it drain…
They say we bring it on ourselves
and trauma is what they feel
when they rage up flashing
in their spit-shined cars
shouting Who do you think you are?
until everybody’s hoarse.
I’m better now. Pounding’s nearly stopped.
Next time I promise I’ll watch my step.
I’ll disappear before they can’t
unsee me: better gone
than one more drop in a sea of red.

[Casey Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single piece in this collection is a work of art. 2021 is the sweet spot of pandemic poetry - not as dark as the early desperation of 2020 - and not quite urgent to be read. But beautiful. Every line will resonate with someone. New poets, old poets, & everyone in between will enjoy Tracy K. Smith’s curation of what can only be described as, “The Best American Poetry” of 2021.

[عدنان العبار]

There is no doubt in my mind that I might enjoy reading Tracy Smith's poetry if I acquired any of her volumes. But I now am convinced quite strongly, from her introduction to this volume, that she is a pathetic ideologue that has no integrity whatsoever nor any objectivity in her choice of the Best American Poetry. As a poet, does she not understand quality? As a poet, are the poor poems she chose, those simplistic virtue-signaling blatherings amount to readable material, as opposed to poetry that reaches to the soul?

I cannot trust such persons who choose everything based on furthering the cause of social justice. About a third of the poems here, (i.e., ~25 poems) are about systemic racism as defined by poets who wax fancy with their diction, but would be frantic deer-in-front-of-the-headlights when asked to properly defined terms. As a libertarian, I would not find any problem of recommending GB Shaw, or Arthur Miller to my friends, even if such friends had socialistic leanings. Good art is good art. I don't care what anyone says about them. If a Randian said that these works of art do not purport to have those high aesthetic values because they do not sport real moral values, I would beg to differ with them on the basis that such art can be widely interpreted and understood to mean many things, some of which are our own ideals, but not all works of art can move the soul. In this volume, you will find nothing that moves the soul.

It is often joked about that a joke that is smart but not really funny gets us to nod or to produce a 'hmf' sound from our noses. The best poems here do that only superficially, but there is no good poem in this volume. And the best poems here are the least rotten apples in the garbage heap. Is American poetry doomed to mediocrity? Is Tracy Smith so horrible at finding or choosing the poems? Is Lehmen a coward, or is he forced to choose these ideologues? I want to contact him to ask him why he talks about political correctness ruining poetry and then choosing such bad editors who don't know how to choose a good poem. It's so irritating.

I might read 2020's edition and then stop reading this series for good. That is only to finish reading '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, ..., '21. Otherwise, '16 was the ONLY good volume of poetry, the rest being mediocre beyond comparison.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 2021
By David Lehman, Guest edited by Tracy K. Smith

A fair warning—these poems don’t pull any punches. Tracy K. Smith, guest editor of THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 2021 ( Scribner, September 2021), has assembled poems that not only prove their qualifications in re: “the best”, as the chicago tribune has already pointed out, but also capture—elegantly in some places, brutally in others, expertly in all—the promised encapsulation of 2021: an emotional endurance test, born of the pressure-cooker that was 2020. THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 2021 is a blow-you-away collection; masterfully curated.

The anthology is full of emotionally resonant and structurally complex poetry. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, it is rich with vital commentary on the issues that trouble our time: assault and gendered violence, policing and the inherent violence therein, the failures of late-stage capitalism, systemic racism and xenophobia, anti-semitism, axes of privilege, climate change, and of course COVID-19. Susan Briante’s “Further Exercises”, for example, begins with “Write a 12-line rhythmically charged poem in which you slant rhyme (at least twice) the name of the last official indicted from the Trump administration.” Things do not lighten from there. It is a reminder, as David Lehman’s foreword discusses in some detail, that poetry is personal and the personal (especially in art) is inherently political.

These poems are educational—while some enlighten, placing their speakers in the realities of current events and culture, others demonstrate the truths of the world through lived experience, through attentive and intensely personal storytelling. The collection of poems that Smith has assembled are both incisive and timeless. They are a vivid capturing of the particular concerns of this hellish cluster of years, but through that exploration they are able to distill emotions and experiences that are fundamental to being human: the fullness of compassion, true peace, righteous fury, frustration and confusion, fear, genuine connection, the pure shock that is joy, and so much more.

THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 2021 publishes 9/28/2021 and is now available for pre-order.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read one of these anthologies before, but I loved Tracy K. Smith's work as editor of this year's edition. Full of poems that captivated me and challenged me. I particularly enjoyed reading about the poets and the short notes regarding their poems. This was a gift I so enjoyed to read.

[Mallory Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a beautiful collection! i loved the variety of culture and experience pulled into this collection, and the biting nature of each of these poems. there were several pieces that i highlighted and that i'm excited to return to one day.

thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley!

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having a little collection of poetry in my bag at all times was wonderful, and I plan on doing it more often. The poems collected here were all wonderful, though I had no doubt I was in good hands with guest editor Tracy K. Smith! It’s good to remind yourself sometimes of the beauty contained in our world and our languages and this did that!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this anthology. I read many poems that I wouldn't have otherwise, and I respect the editor and was curious what she thought was memorable from this year. Some things I loved, some I didn't, and that's the nature of anthologies.

[Alyssa]

still don't like poetry lool

[Haley Direnzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up!

[Casi ! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these collections, started reading a poem or two every morning as part of my routine

[Dani DeAngelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

i question the organization of this collection being in alphabetical order author name, but there's no denying that 10+ of these poems will stick with me for a very long time. im glad i only read a couple poems a week to really absorb everything because going back through it to mark my favorites, i remembered where i was reading every single one.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selection of 75 poems published over the past year. A mixed set, but overall enjoyable.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s such a treat every year to encounter so many good poets, those I’ve admired for ages—Louise Gluck, Kevin Young—and those whom I’ve come to know in the past few years: Chen Chen, Victoria Chang, Alex Dimitrov. And then there are those I encounter for the first time—Adam Davis, for instance, whose “Interstate Highway System” in this collection is a stunning, haunted poem.

Other favorites:
Ada Limon’s “The End of Poetry” 💯.
Billy Collins, “On the Death of Friends”
Chen Chen, “The School of Eternities”
Jericho Brown, “Work”
Destiny Birdsong, “love poem that ends at popeyes”
Paul Tran, “Copernicus”
John Yau, “Overnight”
Monica Youn, “Caution”

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites:
—AMA Codjoe, “After the Apocalypse”
—Camille T. Dungy, “This’ll hurt me more”
—Nikky Finney, “I Feel Good”
—Rachel Eliza Griffiths, “Hunger”
—Terrance Hayes, “George Floyd”
—Major Jackson, “Double Major”
—Amaud Jamaul Johnson, “So Much for America“
—Patricia Smith, “The Stuff of Astounding”
—L. Ash Williams, “Red Wine Spills”

[TimetoFangirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one was hard to rate, but I think 3 stars is pretty fair. For those who might not know, the Best American Poetry collection has been published every year since 1988, so I was super excited to read this year's anthology.

There were poems in this collection that I absolutely LOVED, such as "Love" by Alexander Dimitrov. I tend to relate best to poetry that drills down really specifically into a moment or feeling, so it's not surprising that the approximately 50% of poems in this anthology that didn't speak of political or social issues were my favorite.

That said, about 50% of the poems included spoke to social and political issues, so I'd be doing a disservice to the review if I just ignored them. Without giving my personal opinions -because they don't matter- a lot of these style poems had a very similar voice and view. I would've loved to see some opposing voices on these issues, as I WANT to read poetry that I disagree with, poetry that challenges me for better or worse. That said, this is personal preference so I didn't take a star off for that. I DID take a star off simply because the topics felt kind of repetitive.

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition is that rarest of volumes: one in which every poem is genuinely excellent. It has the right mix of styles, voices, and images, but also a good balance between challenge and accessibility. Guest editor Tracy K. Smith has chosen a nearly perfect batch of poems. If the book has a flaw, it's that there are no surprises. Possibly a result of the pandemic, the list of included literary journals is the shortest in memory at just under a page and a half. None of those are the occasional fluke appearance like Can We Have Our Ball Back? or Fruita Pulp--those magazines (especially online) that one normally wouldn't expect to see. That means there probably are excellent poems that could've been in here. That said, it doesn't detract from the poems that ARE in here. This book is exceptional from beginning to end. Probably my second-favorite volume after 2008, which remains at the top.


After reading again (1/14/22), I stand by the above. This is one of the best volumes in years. A real gem.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tracy K Smith seems like a wonderful, passionate author, but by-golly, she has no clue what she’s doing with this anthology. For starters, it’s a POLITICAL anthology, not a POETRY anthology. Not to say political poetry cannot be good, by Jesus! No use in indoctrinating someone who is also a believer—there are some poems in here (very, very, very few) which are not political. Some of those poems are good. Even fewer are both political AND good (cf. Before the Riot, Naji. 14 Philadelphia, and George Floyd.)

Other poems I found bearable include:

Divination
Love Poem That Ends at Popeyes
After the Apocalypse
Interstate Highway System
Conquerer
Hunger
Elegy With Table Saw & Cobwebs
Pages 5-8

But really, do yourself a favor and CHOOSE A DIFFERENT ANTHOLOGY. Modern poetry isn’t incredible, but it’s not THIS bad!

[Kerfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I always note, every collection of poetry is uneven, but I always hope for more good than bad. I had high hopes for Tracy K Smith as guest editor, but only 40% of these struck me as good, or very good. 60% were just "eh", with only a few being ones I considered just pointless or bad. Smith is an excellent poet, but I clearly do not have the same taste in verse as she does.

I read a lot of poets online who seem to me to be equal to if not better than most of the ones represented here. But they were not educated in MFA programs by well-known poets and they have not been published in elite Poetry Magazines. They do not have connections. It would be nice if the editors of these books would expand their horizons a bit.

Two poems stood out in particular in this collection. Louise Gluck's "Night School" follows an interaction between teacher and pupil, giving both of them poignancy and depth.

The work will come, he said.
***
Start small, he said. And patted my shoulder.

In his poem "In the Village", James Longenbach contemplates death, his death, and the mystery of living.

A book is the future.
You dream
of reading it, and once you've finished, it's a miracle, you know the past.

Other standouts included Ada Limon's "The End of Poetry", Jorie Graham's "I Won't Live Long", Camille T Dungy's "This'll hurt me more", Louise Erdich's "Stone Love", Chen Chen's "The School of Eternities", Christopher Buckley's "After Tu Fu", Arthur Sze's "Acequia del Llano", and Jay Deshpande's "A Child's Guide to Grasses".

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the project of the Best American Poetry series but I went into reading this (after many many years of not reading one) knowing that it's a mixed bag. Smith's bag leaned on the side of being consciously inclusive in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and subject matter. Since I haven't read a BAP in a long time, I don't know to what extent her emphasis in this regard was corrective.

A very large part of the reason I decided to return to reading BAP was because I was feeling out of touch with the variety of people publishing currently. Though there are many familiar names in this volume, there were more that I'm not familiar with, so mission accomplished in that regard.

The first 60 pages were promising. Of those 26 poems, I marked 6 as impressive enough to want to re-read and to look up the poet. But then--not another until page 144. It's not that there weren't any poems I liked or appreciated over that stretch of the book but none of them excited me. So out of 75 poems in the book a total of 8 impressed me enough to put the poet on my radar. That's okay. I'm feeling more in touch and my wish list has been rejuvenated.

I'll likely keep this volume for the time being to compare it to the 2023 volume over the next year. I'm curious to see how many people show up repeatedly and I want to have their poems to refer back to. Will this result in collecting BAPs going forward? Maybe. I'm getting old and might succumb to some hoarding that allows me to track the poetry zietgeist. It's not the worst way to become dotty.

[Natalie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection of poetry culled from the year 2020, marked by the emergence of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests stemming from George Floyd's murder. Guest editor Tracy K. Smith has done a masterful job representing this tumultuous year with poems that address all its sorrow and surprises, all its regret and its heroism, and all the tenderness that keeps us human in the midst of calamity. So many of these poems are about love--but not just one-to-one romance, but love for our world, the trees and the shorelines, the gathering places and grocery stores, and the dear but vanished past of our cherished memories. Many brilliant young poets are heard here, joining familiar names.

Particular thanks to Tracy K. Smith for the extensive Contributors' Notes and Comments section which begins on page 171; she has invited the poets to comment, if they wish, on their writing process and/or the origin of their poem. Not every poet does so, but for those who do, a reader learns so much to enhance their understanding of the work! It's like a private conversation with the poet at a reading. Many thanks, too, to the poets who spoke about their work--especially those who explained intricate forms and rhyme schemes I would never have uncovered on my own. Wow. I salute you all.

Definitely one of the best books I read in 2021. Great to end the year on such a high note!

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2021 edition of this annual publication. I'm tempted to say that if you read only one poetry book a year this is the one you should read, but I feel sorry with anyone so malnourished with only one poetry boo ka year. I think the poems in this series are chosen in a rahte arbitrary manner seeing as they come from only about 35 of the hundreds of poetry magazines published.

But the selections in this series are consistently excellent, and no one can read all the poetry publications. For example, Alex Dimitrov's poem "Love," a nine-page poem in which every line starts with the words "I love.." is easily, by it self worth the price of the book. There is a section in the back of the book where each poet describes where his/her poem came from. Dimitrov says of "love" that he wrote this poem, one live a day, throughout the Trump presidency, because he wanted to remember what he loved about life and to give people hope in the midst of so much negativity. His poem may be the best thing to, indirectly, come out of the Trump Administration. But there is much more interesting and exciting reading in this collection.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly superb collection. Such an incredible range of wonderful poetry!

The End of Poetry by Ada Limón

Enough of osseous and chickadee and sunflower
and snowshoes, maple and seeds, samara and shoot,
enough chiaroscuro, enough of thus and prophecy
and the stoic farmer and faith and our father and tis
of thee, enough of bosom and bud, skin and god
not forgetting and star bodies and frozen birds,
enough of the will to go on and not go on or how
a certain light does a certain thing, enough
of the kneeling and the rising and the looking
inward and the looking up, enough of the gun,
the drama, and the acquaintance’s suicide, the long-lost
letter on the dresser, enough of the longing and
the ego and the obliteration of ego, enough
of the mother and the child and the father and the child
and enough of the pointing to the world, weary
and desperate, enough of the brutal and the border,
enough of can you see me, can you hear me, enough
I am human, enough I am alone and I am desperate,
enough of the animal saving me, enough of the high
water, enough sorrow, enough of the air and its ease,
I am asking you to touch me.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best American Poetry 2021
by David Lehman
Pub Date 01 Dec 2021
Scribner
Poetry



I am reviewing a copy of The Best American Poetry 2021 through Scribner and NetGalley:



The Best American Poetry collection has been “one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world” (Academy of American Poets) since 1988. Every volume presents a choice of the year’s most memorable poems, with comments from the poets themselves lending insight into their work. The guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2021 is Tracy K. Smith, the former United States Poet Laureate, whose own poems are, Toi Derricotte’s words, “beautiful and serene” in their surfaces with an underlying “sense of an unknown vastness.”






Smith has selected a distinguished array of works both vast and beautiful by such important voices as Henri Cole, Billy Collins, Louise Erdrich, Nobel laureate Louise Glück, Terrance Hayes, and Kevin Young for The Best American Poetry 2021.



I give The Best American Poetry 2021 five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Dana DesJardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the best collection of American poetry I've read in some time, and I think that is due to editor and (fabulous) poet Tracy K. Smith. Skip series editor David Lehman's introduction, rife with such vague pronouncements as, "For poets who teach or work at universities, the pandemic will have profound consequences." Do tell!
I dog-eared 15 poems in this volume, many with arch titles like Ada Limon's "The End of Poetry" and Major Jackson's "Double Major." I do wish there were more technically accomplished work; for example, black-out poetry is more middle-school innovation than avant-garde. Notably, Terrance Hayes' brilliant "George Floyd" shows how line breaks and classical tropes can be deployed to devastating effect, concluding: "Emmett/ till the break of day Emmett till/ the river runs dry your face/ the music of the spheres/ Emmett till the end of time". Though overtly political and topical poetry dominates this volume, that is not a flaw. As June Jordan wrote, "Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth."

[Randy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry is so many things; a whiff of ancient dust, a perfectly crafted stanza, the hum of the collective consciousness. These annual collections are time capsules that reflect the feel and grit of a moment, the cry and shout of a Greek chorus.

This collection pulled from poetry published during 2020 is particularly and perfectly of that moment. And that moment was a policeman dressed in his finest blue uniform pressing his knee against a black man’s neck for nearly ten minutes. This murder was excruciatingly captured on video showing the placid face of a cop fully ensconced in the safety of his community terror machine. It was also the first full year of Covid and the global panic that ensued.

There were many great poems in this collection that reflect this raw, ragged time but the one that captured both of these events so perfectly is, ‘a brief meditation on breath.’ Here are the last two lines:

‘they say it’s so contagious it could be quite breathtaking. so persistent it might as well be breathing down your neck –.’

[Alana]

Tracy K. Smith selecting an array of poetry comprised of Billy Collins, Ada Limón, Louise Glück, Victoria Chang, Chen Chen, Jericho Brown, Natalie Diaz, and more? Sign me up.

Smith delivers in showcasing the incredible breadth of poetry published this year. There's so much variety in this collection, which I really appreciate. Even familiar ideas are given new imagery, new life.

The language. The structures. The punctuation. Whew, what artistry! It reminds me of how much there is to love and explore between these carefully crafted lines.

Also, I've been introduced to some new magazines & poets that I now need to keep up with.

"I love October when the veil between worlds is the thinnest"
- Alex Dimitrov, Love

I love this anthology.