Review by Booklist Review
Parisi served as editor of Poetry0 magazine from 1983 to 2003, and he has edited two invaluable anthologies that chronicle the little magazine's big influence: Dear Editor: A History of Poetry in Letters 0 (2002) and The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002. 0 Reflecting now on the bewildering abundance of contemporary poetry and on how difficult it is for the common reader to know where to begin, Parisi, like Mark Strand and Robert Pinsky, has put together a recommended collection. In an introduction that will lift the spirit of every poetry lover who believes in a populist approach, Parisi explains why he created this "desert island" gathering of "indispensables" and how he was guided by "the three Ms," selecting poems that are modern, meaningful, and memorable. Preceded by wonderfully conversational and expertly appreciative biocritical essays about each poet, his choices are superb as he lingers over Yeats and Stevens and includes often-overlooked witty and satirical poets, among them Dorothy Parker, Ogden Nash, Kay Ryan, Frank O'Hara, and Billy Collins. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-Parisi's purpose was to give adults who are overwhelmed by the amount of poetry available today a good starting point, but high school literature students will also benefit from this title. His criteria for the selections were: modern, meaningful, and memorable. The poets range from William Butler Yeats to Rita Dove. Each of the 70 individuals whose work is represented receives a short, readable introduction that includes pertinent biographical information, a description of the poet's place in modern literary history, and an analysis of the writer's style. One to three representative poems follow each entry. One drawback of the book is its arrangement: the entries run from page to page without a break. However, the content is so readable and the table of contents so clear that this is minor. The work is meant to be a small companion, a desert island collection. As such it will be useful to those new to the genre, as well as to readers looking for a single portable volume.-Sheila Janega, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
