The first annual The Best American Poetry volume is published this year.
During a poetry reading in which popular Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky took written questions from the audience, he read out two responses: "All of you are Jews or sold out to Jews", one read. Another only said, "We will kill you". In The Ditch: A Spiritual Trial, published in 1986, Voznesensky had written poetry and prose about a 1941 German massacre of 12,000 Russians in the Crimea, and the looting of their mass graves in the 1980s by Soviet citizens that was tolerated, he said, by officials because the victims were primarily Jews. Voznesensky read the notes out loud and challenged the writers to identify themselves. None did.
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Robert Gray, Piano
Jennifer Maiden, The Trust, Black Lightning, Australia
Chris Mansell, Redshift/Blueshift, Five Islands Press
Chris Wallace-Crabbe, I'm Deadly Serious, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Louis Dudek, Infinite Worlds: The Poetry of Louis Dudek. Robin Blaser ed. Monteal: Véhicule.
Elisabeth Harvor, If Only We Could Drive Like This Forever
Dorothy Livesay, Beginnings. Winnipeg: Peguis.
Roy Miki, Tracing the Paths, about bp nichol, critical study;
Raymond Souster, Asking for More. Ottawa: Oberon Press.
Jayanta Mahapatra, Burden and Fruit ( Poetry in English ), Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press
Eunice de Souza, Women in Dutch Painting, Bombay: XAL-PRAXIS
Meena Alexander, House of a Thousand Doors ( Poetry and prose in English ), Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, by an Indian writing living in and published in the United States
Sujata Bhatt, Brunizem ( Poetry in English ),Carcanet Press and New Delhi: Penguin; won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) and the Alice Hunt Bartlett Award
Robin Ngangom, Words and the Silence ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop
Ireland
Ciaran Carson, The New Estate and Other Poems, Oldcastle: New Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-032-1
Harry Clifton, The Liberal Cage, Oldcastle: New Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-026-0
Paul Durcan, Jesus and Angela, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Seamus Heaney: The Sounds of Rain, Emory University, Northern Irish poet at this time living in the United States
Valentin Iremonger, Sandymount, Dublin, including "This Houre Her Vigill", "Clear View in Summer" and "Icarus"
Thomas Kinsella:
Blood and Family, including "The Messenger" and "Out of Ireland"
One Fond Embrace: Peppercanister 13
Philippe Jaccottet, The Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet, Viking, translated from French by Derek Mahon, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Medbh McGuckian, On Ballycastle Beach Northern Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
New Zealand
Fleur Adcock, Meeting the Comet, Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe Books (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963)
Jenny Bornholdt, This Big Face
Allen Curnow, Continuum: New and Later Poems 1972–1988
Lauris Edmond, Summer Near the Arctic Circle
Michele Leggott, Like This?: Poems, Christchurch: Caxton Press, New Zealand
Cilla McQueen, Benzina winner of the 1989 New Zealand Book Award for Poetry
Ian Wedde, Tendering
Lydia Wevers, editor, Yellow Pencils: Contemporary Poetry by New Zealand Women, anthology
Fleur Adcock, Meeting the Comet, Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe Books (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963)
Patricia Beer, Collected Poems
Alison Brackenbury, Christmas Roses
Ciarán Carson: The New Estate and Other Poems, Gallery Press, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Charles Causley, A Field of Vision
Jack Clemo, Selected Poems
Wendy Cope:
Does She Like Word-Games?
Men and their Boring Arguments
Helen Dunmore, The Raw Garden
Douglas Dunn, Northlight
Paul Durcan, Jesus and Angela, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Elaine Feinstein, Mother's Girl: Hutchinson
David Gascoyne, Collected Poems
Lee Harwood, Crossing the frozen river: selected poems
Ian Hamilton, Fifty Poems
Seamus Heaney: The Sounds of Rain, Emory University, Northern Ireland native at this time living in the United States
John Heath-Stubbs:
Collected Poems 1942-1987, Carcanet Press
A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Poems for the Twelve Days of Christmas
Time Pieces, Hearing Eye. ISBN 1-870841-02-6
Selima Hill, My Darling Camel
Libby Houston, Necessity
Ted Hughes, Moon-Whales, first British edition; published originally in the United States, 1976
Mick Imlah, Birthmarks (Chatto Windus, 1988), ISBN 978-0-7011-3358-0
Philippe Jaccottet, The Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet, translated from French by Derek Mahon, Viking
Philip Larkin, Collected Poems
Alan Jenkins, In the Hot-House
Philip Larkin, Collected Poems, edited by Anthony Thwaite; posthumously published
George MacBeth, Anatomy of a Divorce
Norman MacCaig, Voice-Over
Medbh McGuckian, On Ballycastle Beach Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
Edwin Morgan, Themes on a Variation
Grace Nichols, editor, Black Poetry, illustrated by Michael Lewis, Blackie (London, England), published as Poetry Jump-Up, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), in 1989
Brian Patten, Storm Damage
Kathleen Raine, To the Sun
Peter Reading, Final Demands
Jeremy Reed, Engaging Form
Carol Rumens, The Greening of the Snow Beach
E. J. Scovell, Collected Poems
Peter Scupham, The Air Show
Jo Shapcott, Electroplating the Baby
Lemn Sissay, Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist
R.S. Thomas, The Echoes Return Slow
Nika Turbina, First Draft: Poems by Nika Turbina, translated by Elaine Feinstein and Antonina W. Bouis, Marion Boyars
Heathcote Williams, Whale Nation
The New British Poetry, a poetry anthology, jointly edited by Gillian Allnutt, Fred D'Aguiar, Ken Edwards and Eric Mottram, respectively concerned with feminist, Afro-Caribbean, younger and British poetry revival poets, all writing from 1968 to 1988
Elaine Feinstein, editor, PEN New Poetry II, Quartet
Meena Alexander, House of a Thousand Doors, poetry and prose, Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, by an Indian writing living in and published in the United States
Ted Berrigan, A Certain Slant of Sunlight
Joseph Brodsky: To Urania : Selected Poems, 1965-1985, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Russian-American
Gwendolyn Brooks, Winnie
Raymond Carver, In a Marine Light: Selected Poems
Maxine Chernoff, Japan (Avenue B Press)
Billy Collins, The Apple That Astonished Paris
Seamus Heaney: The Sounds of Rain, Emory University, Northern Ireland native at this time living in the United States
Jane Hirshfield, Of Gravity & Angels
John Hollander:
Melodious Guile: Fictive Pattern in Poetic Language
Harp Lake
Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan (posthumous), translated by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani
Federico García Lorca, Poeta en Nueva York first translation into English as "Poet in New York" this year (written in 1930, first published posthumously in 1940)
William Logan, Sullen Weedy Lakes
James Merrill, The Inner Room
W. S. Merwin:
The Rain in the Trees, New York: Knopf
Selected Poems, New York: Atheneum
Michael Palmer, Sun
Marie Ponsot, The Green Dark
Rosmarie Waldrop, Shorter American Memory (Paradigm Press)
The 75 poets included in The Best American Poetry 1988, edited by David Lehman, co-edited this year by John Ashbery:
Frank Birbalsingh, Jahaji Bhai: An Anthology of Indo–Caribbean Literature
Breyten Breytenbach, Judas Eye: 63 prison poems of an indefinite colour, South African
Jayanta Mahapatra, Burden of Waves & Fruit, India
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Nizar Qabbani, Syrian:
Three Stone-throwing Children
Secret Papers of a Karmathian Lover
Biography of an Arab Executioner
Michel Deguy, Comité ("Committee"), a book attacking French publishers for using poets they rarely publish themselves to help determine which books of poetry to accept; France
Abdellatif Laabi, translator, Je t'aime au gré de la mort, translated from the original Arabic of Samih al-Qâsim into French; Paris: Unesco/Éditions de Minuit
Jean Royer, Poèmes d'amour, 1966-1986, Montréal: l'Hexagone; Canada
Listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Debarati Mitra, Bhutera O Khuki, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; Bengali-language
K. Satchidanandan, Veedumattam, ("Changing House"); Malayalam-language
K. Siva Reddy, Mohana! Oh Mohana!, Hyderabad: Jhari Poetry Circle, Telugu-language
Kedarnath Singh, Akal Mein Saras, Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan; Hindi
Mallika Sengupta, Ami Sindhur Meye, Kolkata: Prativas Publication; Bengali-language
Nitin Mehta, Nirvan, Ahmedabad: Chandramauli Prakashan; Gujarati-language
Panna Nayak, ' 'Nisbat' '; Gujarati-language
Rajendra Kishore Panda, Anya, Cuttack: Friends Publishers, Oraya-language
Prathibha Nandakumar, Itanaka ("Until Now"), Bangalore: Kannada Sangha, Christ College; Kannada-language
Tulasibahadur Chetri, nicknamed "Apatan", Karna-Kunti; Nepali-language
Poland
Stanisław Barańczak, Widokowka z tego swiata ("A Postcard from the Other World"), Paris: Zeszyty Literackie
Ryszard Krynicki, Niepodlegli nicosci (wybrane i poprawione wiersze i przekłady) ("Independent Nothingness (Selected and Revised Poems and Translations)"); Warsaw: NOWA
Piotr Sommer, Czynnik liryczny i inne wiersze
Mario Benedetti, Yesterday y mañana ("Yesterday and Tomorrow"), Uruguay
Giannina Braschi, El imperio de los sueños ("Empire of Dreams"), Puerto Rican writer published in Spain (Barcelona)
Justo Jorge Padrón
Antología poética, 1971-1988
Los dones de la tierra
"Biblioteca de autores contemporaneos / Mario Benedetti - El autor" (in Spanish), retrieved May 27, 2009. Archived 2009-05-30.
Dieter Breuer, editor, Deutsche Lyrik nach 1945, Frankfurt: Suhrkamp (scholarship) West Germany
Christoph Buchwald, general editor, and Friederike Roth, guest editor, Luchterhand Jahrbuch der Lyrik 1988/89 ("Luchterhand Poetry Yearbook 1988/89"), publisher: Luchterhand; anthology; West Germany
Niels Frank, Genfortryllelsen, Denmark
Haim Gouri, Heshbon Over ("Current Account, Selected Poems"), Israeli writing in Hebrew
Klaus Høeck, Lukas O'Kech, publisher: Brøndum; Denmark
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Selected Poems: Rogha Danta, Gaelic-language, Ireland
Rami Saari, Hinne, Matzati Et Beyti ("Behold, I Found My Home"), Israeli writing in Hebrew
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Judith Beveridge, The Domesticity of Giraffes
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Judith Beveridge, The Domesticity of Giraffes
Mary Gilmore Prize: Judith Beveridge, The Domesticity of Giraffes
Gerald Lampert Award
Archibald Lampman Award
See 1988 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Pat Lowther Award
Prix Alain-Grandbois
Cholmondeley Award: John Heath-Stubbs, Sean O'Brien, John Whitworth
Eric Gregory Award: Michael Symmons Roberts, Gwyneth Lewis, Adrian Blackledge, Simon Armitage, Robert Crawford
Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Derek Walcott
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Maxine Scates, Toluca Street
Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry: Richard Wilbur
AML Award for poetry to Dennis Marden Clark for Tinder: answer might be. With an almost Augustinian Dry Poems
Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry: David Lehman, "Mythologies"
Frost Medal: Carolyn Kizer
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress appointed: Howard Nemerov (also served 1963-64 in the same position, then named "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress")
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: William Meredith: Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize: Anthony Hecht
Whiting Awards: Michael Burkard, Li-Young Lee, Sylvia Moss
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Donald Justice
19 June – Sarah Kay, American poet
1 October – Michaela Coel, English poet, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, actress and playwright
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 3 – Rose Ausländer, 86 (born 1901)
February 3 – Robert Duncan, 69 (born 1919), heart attack
March 19 – Máirtín Ó Direáin, 77 (born 1910), Irish poet writing in the Irish language
March 26 – Henri Coulette, 60 (born 1927), American poet
March 30 – John Clellon Holmes, 62 (born 1926), cancer
May 3 – Premendra Mitra (born 1904) Bengali poet, novelist, short-story writer, including thrillers and science fiction
June 16 – Miguel Pinero, 41, cirrhosis of the liver
June 27 – Léonie Adams, 88 (born 1899), American poet
October 1 – Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 90, English writer
November 2 – Stewart Parker, 47 (born 1941), Northern Irish poet and playwright
