Assembling this special column for Connotation Press has been one of the great pleasures of my writing life. The nine poets here are among my favorite writing today, as they represent a broad cross-section of the styles and voices comprising the vast chorus of contemporary American verse.
My featured poet is Eric Anderson, whose first book, The Parable of the Room Spinning, was recently published by Kattywompus Press. It is a thrill to offer three of his latest poems alongside a witty and candid interview.
Mary Ruefle and William Hathaway follow, and I am honored to have their esteemed company, as they are both incomparable masters of the craft.
Next, Ashley Seitz Kramer, Stacy Heiney, and Kyle Dargan all share lush lyrics that interrogate themes of home, belonging, and faith.
Three discursive and politically charged poems by Steve Healey follow, and I conclude this issue with a short fable by Tiffany Midge and two haunted narratives by Casey Thayer.
I could write volumes about my appreciation for these poets: my affinity for their originality, my admiration for their artistic courage, my gratitude for their trust, friendship, and participation. Ultimately, though, I am merely the steward of their art, and would much rather the emphasis remain on their poems rather than on any supercilious blustering I could offer.
To that end, O visitor, pray read on.
---------
Adam Tavel received the 2010 Robert Frost Award, and his forthcoming collections are The Fawn Abyss (Salmon, 2014) and Red Flag Up (Kattywompus, 2013), a chapbook. His recent poems appear or will soon appear in The Massachusetts Review, West Branch, Indiana Review, Zone 3, Bayou, Cream City Review, and The Cincinnati Review, among others. Tavel edits the journal Conte and is an associate professor of English at Wor-Wic Community College on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.