I just remembered how much fun it was last year around this time to pull together a crowd-sourced list of favorite poetry books for Via Negativa. Anyone interested in helping me do the same thing for 2017? Here are the guidelines:
What was the best book of poetry you read in 2017, and what did you like about it? It doesn’t have to be a book published this year, or a book you’ve never read before, just a book that you read in its entirety this year and found exceptional. You don’t have to be a poet yourself; anyone who loves poetry and regularly reads it for pleasure is welcome to take part. Please EMAIL ME (bontasaurus at yahoo dot com) with “Best poetry book” in the subject line.
I’m asking for EMAILS RATHER THAN COMMENTS TO THIS POST because A) I think it makes people more thoughtful; B) it means respondents won’t be influencing each other; and C) the resulting list will be a fun surprise. Will certain books get more than one vote? Will old favorites prevail over new titles? Let’s find out! (Note that if you prefer to use Facebook Messenger, that’s fine, but if we’re not friends, I may not see your message.)
You can write anything from one sentence to a few paragraphs extolling the book. Only one book, please—no ties! It can be a book of any length (including chapbooks and pamphlets), with single or multiple authors, up to and including anthologies. Please disclose if you have a close relationship to the author(s). Translations are fine, as are books in languages other than English. If you include the full title and author’s name I can probably find a link on the publisher’s website, or elsewhere if it’s out of print, but if you have a blog or website that you’d like me to link to, please include that URL in your email. Let’s make the deadline next Saturday, December 23, and I’ll publish the post sometime between Christmas and New Year.