March 5: a car bomb was exploded on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. This locale is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. Named after the famed 10th century classical Arab poet, Al-Mutanabbi, it was an established street for bookselling for hundreds of years and the heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community. On March 8, to remember the tragic event, Baghdad poets presented readings on the remains of the street. This was followed by various poetry readings around the United States commemorating the bombing of the historic center of the literary and intellectual community of Baghdad, many of the readings took place in the final weeks of August 2007.April 17: Nikki Giovanni, a professor of English at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US state of Virginia, both spoke and recited poetry at the campus convocation commemorating the Virginia Tech massacre of the day before. Giovanni taught the Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho in a poetry class. She had previously approached the department chair to have Cho taken out of her class. "We are the Hokies! We will prevail! We will prevail! We are Virginia Tech!" Giovanni said, bringing the audience to its feet and into a spontaneous cheer. Giovanni closed the ceremony with a chant poem, intoning, "We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech... We do not understand this tragedy... No one deserves a tragedy."August 9: Bangladeshi poet Taslima Nasreen was attacked at a book signing in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh by a crowd of protesters who shouted for her death. The attackers consisted of lawmakers and members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party who objected to her writings on religion and oppression of women. After the attack, India criminally charged Nasreen with "hurting Muslim feelings", punishable by up to three years in jail.The New Yorker magazine announced that longtime poetry editor Alice Quinn was leaving and, as of November, Paul Muldoon, an Irish native and U.S. citizen, would be taking over what The Chronicle of Higher Education called "one of the most powerful positions in American poetry".The Eagles set "An Old-Fashioned Song", a poem by John Hollander, to music (four-part harmony with guitar chords, but mostly singing it a cappella), named it "No More Walks in the Wood" after its first line. They released it on the album, "Long Road Out of Eden". The band added no words to the 21-line poem, and there are no choruses.In Russia, the expert board for the Bunin Prize for poetry dissolved itself amid reports of interference and pressure from sponsors. A new expert board was formed and the jury awarded the prize to Andrei Dementyev.Reality television contest Prince of Poets is launched in the United Arab Emirates.Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Judith Bishop, EventDavid Brooks, Urban Elegies. Sydney: Island Press (Australia)Lisa Gorton, Press ReleaseKathryn Lomer, Two Kinds of Silence, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3612-9David Malouf, Typewriter Music, winner of the 2008 Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe AwardLes Murray, Selected Poems (Black Inc.) ISBN 978-1-86395-404-4Dorothy Porter, El DoradoPeter Skrznecki, Old/New World, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3586-3Rob Walker, "phobiaphobia" (Picaro Press) ISBN 978-1-920957-35-3Petra White, The Incoming TidePeter Rose, The Best Australian Poems 2007, Black Inc., ISBN 978-1-86395-417-4Poets in Best Australian Poetry 2007
The Best Australian Poetry 2007 (ISBN 978-0-7022-3607-5), by series editors Bronwyn Lea and Martin Duwell; with 2007 guest editor John Tranter (University of Queensland Press), published work by these 40 poets:
Joanne Arnott, Mother TimeMargaret Atwood, The DoorYvonne Blomer, A Broken Mirror, Fallen LeafNicole Brossard, Notebook of Roses and Civilization, translated by Erin Moure (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-181-6Lorna Crozier, The Blue Hour of the DayDon Domanski, All Our Wonder Unavenged (Brick Books), ISBN 978-1-894078-58-0, winner of the Governor General's Book AwardPatrick Friesen, Earth's Crude GravitiesPaul Haines, edited by Stuart Broomer, Secret Carnival Workers (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-0-9783426-0-9Brian Henderson, Nerve LanguageSarah Lang, Work of Days (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-189-2Dennis Lee:The Bard of the Universe. Kentville, NS: Gaspereau Press.Yesno. Toronto: Anansi.David McGimpsey, Sitcom (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-188-5George McWhirter, The IncorrectionGarry Thomas Morse, StreamsErin Mouré, O CadoiroGeorge Murray The Rush to Here, ISBN 978-0-88971-229-4bpNichol, edited by Lori Emerson and Darren Wershler-Henry, Alphabet Game: A bpNichol Reader (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-187-8Barbara Nickel, DomainElizabeth Philips, Torch RiverAnne Simpson Quick, ISBN 978-0-7710-8091-3Agnes Walsh, Going Around with BachelorsRob Winger, Muybridge's HorseRachel Zolf, Human Resources (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-182-3Dilip Chitre, As Is, Where Is, ( Poetry in English ), Mumbai:Poetrywala; India,Dilip Sankarreddy, Wanderings with Poetry, Peacock Books, IndiaC. P. Surendran, Portraits of the Space We Occupy ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Harper Collins, IndiaIreland
Pat Boran, New and Selected Poems Dedalus Press, IrelandPatrick Cotter general editor, Colm Breathnach and Maurice Riordan 2007 editors, The Best of Irish Poetry 2007 designed to be the first of an annual series.Paul Durcan, The Laughter of Mothers, (Harvill Secker)Peter Fallon, The Company of Horses, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-424-4Thomas McCarthy and Bríd Ní Bhóráin, editors, Best of Irish Poetry 2008, selections from 50 Irish poets published over a 12-month period, including Ciaran Carson, Harry Clifton, Kerry Hardie, Seamus Heaney, Biddy Jenkinson, Thomas Kinsella, Medbh McGuckian, Paula Meehan, John Montague, Bernard O'Donoghue, Robert Nye, Dennis O'Driscoll, Leanne O'Sullivan, Maurice Riordan, Billy Ramsell, David Wheatley, Liam Ó Muirthile, Celia de Fréine, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, William Wall, published October 2007 (Southword Editions) ISBN 978-1-905002-26-9 (anthology)Maurice Riordan, The Holy Land London: Faber and Faber, Irish poet living in and published in the United KingdomNew Zealand
Janet Charman, Cold Snack, Auckland: Auckland University PressAndrew Johnston, SolMichele Leggott, Journey to Portugal (Holloway Press) a collection of poems written during a 2004 trip to Portugal and inspired by Fernando Pessoa, Portugal's great Modernist poet. Illustrated by Gretchen Albrecht.Poets in Best New Zealand Poems
These poets wrote the 25 poems selected for Best New Zealand Poems 2006, published this year:
Simon Armitage, translator, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation, Faber and FaberW. H. Auden, Collected Poems, edited by Edward Mendelson (Modern Library) (Anglo-American poet), posthumousDale Craske Remedy The Remedy With New Improved Remedy, FaberCarol Ann Duffy:Editor, Answering Back, Picador (anthology)The Hat, Faber and Faber (children's poetry)Ian Duhig, The Speed of Dark (Picador), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeAlan Gillis, Hawks and Doves (Gallery), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeSophie Hannah, Pessimism for Beginners (Carcanet), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeSeamus Heaney: Something to Write Home About, Nicholson and BassPaul Henry, Ingrid's Husband, SerenMimi Khalvati, The Meanest Flower (Carcanet), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeNick Laird, On Purpose (Faber & Faber)Frances Leviston, Public Dream (Picador), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeSarah Maguire, The Pomegranates of Kandahar (Chatto), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeEdwin Morgan, A Book of Lives (Carcanet), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeDaljit Nagra, Look We Have Coming to Dover!, Faber and FaberSean O'Brien, The Drowned Book, Picador, winner of the T. S. Eliot PrizeMichael O'Neill, The All Sustaining Air: Romantic Legacies and Renewals in British, Irish and American Poetry Since 1900 (scholarship)Iona Opie, editor, Mother Goose's Little Treasures, a collection of nursery rhymesMaurice Riordan, The Holy Land London: Faber and Faber, Irish poet living in and published in the United KingdomFiona Sampson, Common Prayer (Carcanet), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeZoë Skoulding, Dark Wires (with Ian Davidson)Matthew Sweeney, Black Moon (Jonathan Cape), on the short list for the T. S. Eliot PrizeCriticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
Edward Dorn, Ed Dorn Live: Lectures, Interviews, and Outtakes (University of Michigan Press)Robert Faggen, editor, The Notebooks of Robert Frost, Harvard University PressSam Hamill, Avocations: On Poets and Poetry, Red HenJames Longenbach, The Art of the Poetic Line, Graywolf Press, ISBN 978-1-55597-495-4 ISBN 978-1-55597-495-4Janet Malcolm, Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice, about Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas (Yale University Press), biographyKaren Marguerite Moloney, Seamus Heaney and the Emblems of Hope, ISBN 978-0-8262-1744-8A. David Moody, Ezra Pound: Poet I: The Young Genius 1885–1920Adrienne Rich, Poetry and Commitment: An EssayMark Scroggins, The Poem of a Life: A Biography of Louis ZukofskyAllison Hedge Coke, editor – To Topos/Oregon State University Ahani: Indigenous American PoetryJulia Kasdorf and Michael Tyrell, editors, Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn, anthology (New York University)David Lehman, general editor, Heather McHugh, 2007 editor, The Best American Poetry 2007 Scribner ISBN 978-0-7432-9973-2Kei Miller, New Caribbean Poetry, including poems by Christian Campbell, Loretta Collins, Delores Gauntlett, Shara McCallum, Marilene Phipps, Jennifer Rahim, Tanya Shirley, and Ian Strachan; CarcanetClaudia Rankine and Lisa Sewell, editors, American Poets in the 21st century: The New Poetics, featuring the work of 13 poets: Joshua Clover, Stacy Doris, Peter Gizzi, Kenneth Goldsmith, Myung Mi Kim, Mark Levine, Tracie Morris, Mark Nowak, D.A. Powell, Juliana Spahr, Karen Volkman, Susan Wheeler, and Kevin Young; accompanied by an audio CD of readings from each poet; Wesleyan University Press, ISBN 978-0-8195-6728-4Daniel Tobin, editor, The Book of Irish American Poetry: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present, University of Notre Dame PressNatasha Trethewey, editor, Jeb Livingood, series editor, Best New Poets 2007: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers (Samovar Press)These poets appeared in The Best American Poetry 2007, with David Lehman, general editor, and Heather McHugh, guest editor (who selected the poetry) (Scribner ISBN 978-0-7432-9973-2):
Breyten Breytenbach, Windcatcher: New and Selected Poems, 1964–2006, Harcourt (South African)Chandan chowdhury- Crab of Red river. (Lal kakrar nodi); Balaka prakash, Chittagong, Bangladesh. – Bengali poetryAnnette Kure Andersen, Andetsteds ("Elsewhere")Thomas Boberg, Gæstebogen ("Guest Book")Anne-Louise Bosmans, Villa ("Villa")Duna Ghali, En have med duft af mand ("A Garden with the Scent of Man")Simon Grotrian:Din frelser bliver din klippe ("Your Savior is Your Rock"), psalmsTyve sorte kinder ("Twenty Black Cheeks")Lone Hørslev, Lige mig ("Me to a T")Niels Lyngsø, 39 digte til det brændende bibliotek ("39 Poems for a Burning Library")Henrik Nordbrandt, Besøgstid ("Visiting Hours")Palle Sigsgaard, Glitrende støv danser ("Glittering Dust Dances"), a short collectionPeter Christensen Teilmann, Friværdi ("Equity")Guillaume Apollinaire, Je pense à toi mon Lou ("I Think of You My Lou"), publisher: Textuel; writings published for the first timeSeyhmus Dagtekin, Juste un pont sans feu, publisher: Le Castor astralEmily Dickinson, Car l'adieu, c'est la nuit, translated from the original English by Claire Malroux, based on the Johnson edition; Gallimard/NRFClaude Esteban, La Mort à distance ("Death at a Distance"), published posthumously, publisher: GallimardLouise Gaggini, Les Enfants sont la mémoire des hommes ("Children Are the Memory of Men"), publisher: Multitudes, a poetic tale for the benefit of UNICEFJean Grosjean, Arpèges et paraboles, ("Arpège and parables"), publisher: GallimardAbdellatif Laabi, Mon cher double, La Différence, coll. Clepsydre, Paris, Moroccan author writing in French and published in FranceAnthologies published in France
L'Année poétique 2007 ("The Poetry Year 2007"), publisher: Seghers; 125 contemporary poems; anthologyJean Orizet, editor, Anthologie de la poésie française ("Anthology of French Poetry"), publisher: Larousse, anthologyChristian Poslianec, editor, Duos d'amour, ("Love Duets"), publisher: Seghers, anthology of love poemsJacques Allard, editor, Le Bonheur des poètes, publisher: Écrits des Forges, contemporary poetry anthologyLindita Arapi, Am Meer, nachts, Albanian poet writing in GermanChristoph Buchwald, series editor, 25. Jahrbuch der Lyrik: Die schönsten Gedichte aus 25 Jahren ("25. Yearbook of Poetry: The most beautiful poems from 25 years"); Frankfurt: Fischer (S.), 410 pages, ISBN 978-3-10-009653-1, an anthologyHendrik Jackson, Im Innern der zerbrechenden Schale. Poetik und Pastichen ("Inside the crumbling shell: Poetics and pastiche"), Kookbooks, 144 pages, ISBN 978-3-937445-24-3; GermanyMonika Rinck, with Daniela Seel (editor), and Andrew Potter (narrator), zum fernbleiben der umarmung ("to stay away from the embrace"), 78 pages, Kookbooks, ISBN 978-3-937445-23-6; GermanyRon Winkler, Fragmentierte Gewässer: Gedichte ("Fragmented Waters: Poems"), Berlin Verlag, 83 pages, ISBN 978-3-8270-0695-0Katerina Iliopoulou, Mister T., Melani editionsPatricia Kolaiti, ‘Celesteia, Nefeli Publishing; nominated for the 2008 Diavazo First Book AwardKaraoke Poetry Bar, Athens: Futura Editions, an anthologyIn each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
K. G. Sankara Pillai, KGS Kavithakal 1997–2006, Kottayam, Kerala: D C BooksRaghavan Atholi:Kanalormmakal, Calicut: Avvaiyar BooksKathunna Mazhakal, Calicut: MathrubhumiVeerankutty, Autograph, Kottayam: DC BooksGagan Gill, translator, Devadoot Ki Bajay Kuchh Bhi, poems by Zbigniew Herbert, edited and translated into Hindi from the original Polish; Remadhav Publications, New Delhi, 2007Mamta Sagar, Hiige HaaLeya Maile HaaDu, Bangalore: Abhinava Prakashana, Kannada-languageMithu Sen, Bashmati Sarir Bagan Ba Gaan, (1995–2005), Kolkata: Nandimukh; Bengali-languageRituraj, Asha Naam Nadi, Hindi-languagePoland
Ewa Lipska, Pomarańcza Newtona, ("Newton's Orange"); Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackieTadeusz Różewicz, nauka chodzenia, Wrocław: Biuro LiterackieTomasz Różycki, The Forgotten KeysRoberto Bolaño, La universidad desconocida, his complete poems, a collection he prepared (posthumous), ChilePablo De Santis, El enigma de Paris, ArgentinaJorge Nájar, El árbol de Sodoma, PeruDejan Stojanović, Ples vremena (Dance of Time), Konras, Beograd, 2007Qaysar Aminpur, Dastur-i zaban-i eshq (“A Grammar of Love”), the best-selling poetry book this year in IranMahmud Darwish, La uridu li-hadhi al-qasidah an tantahi ("I Do Not Want This Poem to End"), published posthumously; Arabian, EgyptSheida Mohamadi, Aks-e fowri-ye 'eshq-bazi ("A Snapshot of Love-Making"), a (Los Angeles) United States-based author published this year in Tehran, Iran; PersianSuzan 'Ulaywan, Bayt min sukkar, ("A House Made of Sugar"), ArabicNobel Prize in Literature: Doris Lessing, Great BritainGolden Wreath of Poetry: Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine)C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Judy Johnson, Jack, Pandanus PressDinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize: The Goldfinches of Baghdad by Robert AdamsonKenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry:Atlantic Poetry Prize:Griffin Poetry Prize:Canada, in the English language: Don McKay, Strike/SlipCanada, in the French language: Serge Patrice Thibodeau, Seul on estInternational, in the English Language: Charles Wright, Scar Tissue; and **"Lifetime Recognition Award" (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Tomas TranströmerInternational shortlist: Paul Farley, Tramp in Flames (Picador); Rodney Jones, Salvation Blues (Houghton Mifflin); Frederick Seidel, Ooga Booga (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)Pat Lowther Award: Sina Queyras, Lemon HoundPrix Alain-Grandbois:Shaunt Basmajian Chapbook Award: Vicki Goodfellow Duke, The Year We Quit BelievingNew Zealand
Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement: Dick Scott, Bill Manhire and Fiona FarrellMontana New Zealand Book Awards (poetry category): Janet Frame, for The Goose BathCosta Award (formerly the Whitbread Awards) for poetry: John Haynes (poet), Letter to Patience (Seren, 2006), a book-length poem; (Judges: Elaine Feinstein, Jeremy Noel-Tod and Deryn Rees-Jones)Cholmondeley Award: Judith Kazantzis, Robert Nye, Penelope ShuttleDavid Cohen Prize: Derek MahonEric Gregory Award: Rachel Curzon, Miriam Gamble, Michael McKimm, Helen Mort, Jack UnderwoodForward Poetry Prizes:Best collection: Sean O'Brien, for The Drowned BookBest first collection: Daljit Nagra, for Look We Have Coming To Dover!Best single poem: Alice Oswald, for "Dunt"Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: James FentonT. S. Eliot Prize:Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize awarded to Michael McGriff for Dismantling the HillsBollingen Prize: Frank BidartLenore Marshall Poetry Prize: Alice Notley, for Grave of Light: New and Selected Poems 1970–2005Los Angeles Times Book Prize for poetry: Stanley Plumly, Old Heart: Poems (W. W. Norton)National Book Award for Poetry: Robert Hass, for Time and MaterialsThe New Criterion Poetry Prize: J. Allyn Rosser, for Foiled AgainPulitzer Prize for Poetry (United States): Natasha Trethewey, for Native GuardWallace Stevens Award: Charles SimicWhiting Awards: Paul Guest, Cate MarvinFrost Medal: John HollanderShelley Memorial Award: Kimiko Hahn; Judges: Major Jackson, Maurya Simon, and George StanleyWriter Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award: James Richardson; Judge: Matthea HarveyCecil Hemley Memorial Award: Yerra Sugarman; Judge: Michael PalmerLyric Poetry Award: Ed Skoog; Judge: Srikanth ReddyLucille Medwick Memorial Award: Wayne Miller; Judge: Tracy K. SmithAlice Fay Di Castagnola Award: Rusty Morrison; Judge: Susan HoweLouise Louis/Emily F. Bourne Student Poetry Award: Laura Ruffino; Judge: Thomas Sayers EllisGeorge Bogin Memorial Award: Wayne Miller; Judge: Eleni SikelianosRobert H. Winner Memorial Award: Charlene Fix; finalists: Eva Heisler, Rick HillesNorma Farber First Book Award: Kate Colby, Fruitlands Litmus Press; Judge: Rosmarie WaldropWilliam Carlos Williams Award: Matthew Zapruder, The Pijamaist, Copper Canyon Press; finalists: Liam Rector, Elaine Terranova; Judge: Tony HoaglandAwards and honors given elsewhere
Cervantes Prize (Spain): Juan Gelman (Argentina)Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 13 – Diké Omeje, English, cancerJanuary 19 – Fiama Hasse Pais Brandão (born 1938), PortugalFebruary 13 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-born, Australian author, poet and scriptwriterFebruary 14 – Emmett Williams, 81, American poet, known for among other reasons, his collaborations with Daniel Spoerri and Claus Bremer in the Darmstadt circle of concrete poetry, dynamic theater, etc., from 1957 to 1959February 24 – Julia Casterton, EnglishMarch 19:Shimon Tzabar, 80, Israeli artist, author, poet and former Haaretz columnist, pneumoniaRobert Dickson, 62, Canadian professor, award-winning Franco-Ontarian writer and poet, cancerMarch 20 – Rita Joe, 75, Canadian Mi'kmaq poet, of Parkinson's disease.May 25 – Len Roberts, 60, American poet, professorMay 30 – William M. Meredith, 88, American, poet, professorMay 31 – Sarah Hannah, 40, American poet, professorJune 2 – John Moriarty, 69, Irish poet and philosopherJune 7 –; Michael Hamburger, 83, German poet, translatorJune 20 – Nazik al-Mala'ika, 85, Iraqi poetJune 21 – Mary Ellen Solt, 86, American poet, criticJune 11 – Mercer Simpson, 81, Welsh poet, critic and academic writing in EnglishJune 25 – Rahim al-Maliki, 39, Iraqi poetJune 27 – Dragutin Tadijanović, 102, Croatian poetJuly 1 – Mộng Tuyết, 93, Vietnamese poetJuly 2:Philip Booth, 81, American poet, professorSandy Crimmins, 55, American poet, performance artistJuly 11 – Noel Rowe (born 1951), Australian, poet, writer, academic and Roman Catholic priest in the Marist orderJuly 16 – Dmitri Prigov, 66, Russian poet, artistJuly 18 – Sekou Sundiata, 58, American poet, performance artistJuly 31 – Margaret Avison, 89, Canadian poetAugust 15:Liam Rector, 57, American poet, professor, criticKhalid Alig, 82, Indian poet, journalistAugust 22 – Grace Paley, 84, American poet, short story writer, activistAugust 24 – Robbie Benoit, Canadian cowboy poet and writerAugust 25 – Tarapada Roy (born 1936) Bengali poet, essayist and short-story writer known for his satirical sense of humourAugust 27 – Alberto de Lacerda 78, Portuguese poetSeptember 13 – Bill Griffiths, 59, English poet and writerOctober 21 – R. B. Kitaj, 74, American-born artist, a friend of poets, via his portraits of poets Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, Charles Olson & othersOctober 30:James Michie (poet), 80 (born 1927), English poet, translator and publisherPaul Roche, 91 (born 1916), English poet, translator and academic once associated with the Bloomsbury GroupNovember 16 – Vernon Scannell, 85 (born 1922), English poet, novelist and biographerNovember 17? – Landis Everson, 81, American poet, had a loose affiliation with the Berkeley Renaissance via his association with Jack Spicer's circle of poets. Everson's work was "rediscovered" only a few years before his death.November 17:Siv Cedering, 68, Swedish-American poet, painter, sculptor, illustrator, and author, of pancreatic cancerMeg Campbell (born 1937), New Zealand poet and wife of Alistair CampbellNovember 29 – Jaleh Esfahani, 86 (born 1921), in London, Iranian, a womanDecember 16 – Diane Wood Middlebrook, nee Helen Diane Wood, 68, (born 1939), American poet, academic and biographerDecember 30 – Rosemary C. Wilkinson, American poet and Honorary President of the World Academy of Arts and Culture (WAAC)Also:Edith Hannah Campion, New Zealand poet and actressAlberto da Cunha Melo, Brazil 
