Editor's Corner

Robert Pinsky, Jersey Rain, poems: Marking a fresh, lyrical direction in Pinsky’s work, this volume is a luminous, fugue-like meditation on the themes of a life guided by Hermes: deity of music and deception, escort of the dead, inventor of instruments, the brilliant messenger and trickster of heaven. (FSG)

Charles Simic, Jackstraws, poems: This collection of new poems paints exquisite and shattering word pictures that lend meaning to a chaotic world, uniting the solemn with the absurd. Simic continues to startle with images of the ethereal, fantastic visions of the everyday, and moments full of humor and heartache. (FSG)

Gerald Stern, Last Blue, poems: A statement from Stern himself illuminates the focus of his outstanding twelfth collection: “Light vs. darkness has always been one of my themes, but now more than ever. Not only is this the root-and metaphor-for all the major religions, but the almost biological frame of reference for humans. With me,…

Mark Strand, The Weather of Words: Poetic Invention, essays: A brilliant and witty collection of writings on the art and nature of poetry, exploring the relationship between photographs and poems, the eternal lyric, old forms, and an alphabet of influences. (Knopf)

Ellen Bryant Voigt, The Flexible Lyric, essays: These eloquent essays celebrate the art and craft of lyric poetry, passionately and astutely revisiting the work of poets from Shakespeare to Bishop. The book is an inspired argument, proving that the making of poems is not just a trade but a calling. (Georgia)

Derek Walcott, Tiepolo’s Hound, poems: Published with twenty-five full-color reproductions of Walcott’s own paintings, Tiepolo’s Hound is a stunning book-length poem that is at once the spiritual biography of Camille Pissarro, a history in verse of Impressionist painting, and a memoir of Walcott’s desire to catch the visual world in more than words. (FSG)

Robert Pinsky, Americans’ Favorite Poems: An anthology of poems that were nominated for the Favorite Poem Project, the centerpiece of Pinsky’s Poet Laureateship. Americans from all walks of life were invited to recommend their favorite poems, and thousands have responded with impassioned personal letters, some of which are excerpted here alongside the poems. This anthology…

Jane Shore, Happy Family, poems: Shore’s latest volume follows the arc of her life from childhood in a closely knit Jewish family in 1950’s New Jersey to her marriage and parenthood. In humorous, earthy verse, she bridges together experiences in the lives of women in ways both magical and profound. (Picador)

Gary Soto, A Natural Man, poems: In his new collection, Soto-who this fall was presented with the Hispanic Heritage Award-gives stirring, authentic voice to Chicano life in the San Joaquin Valley, where he was born and raised. (Chronicle)