This book brings together 50 contemporary poets to unpack 50 different poems, offering insights that range from deeply personal to brilliantly analytical. It’s like eavesdropping on a lively conversation between poets, where every page reveals something new.

Edited by Al Filreis and Anna Strong Safford (the minds behind the popular ModPo online course), this anthology celebrates poetry as a living, breathing thing—not just words on a page, but an exchange between writer and reader. The selected poems span from classics (Whitman, Dickinson) to modern experimental works, and each one gets a fresh take from a fellow poet. Some responses are tender tributes, others are playful riffs, and a few dive deep into craft and technique.

I loved that no two commentaries are alike. Some poets geek out over form, while others share personal connections to the work. But understandably, this isn’t always a breezy read—some essays lean academic, and a few poems are challenging, despite the commentary. But that’s the point: poetry challenges you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the temporary digital ARC!

The Difference is Spreading: Fifty Contemporary Poets on Fifty Poems is a volume edited by Al Filreis and Anna Strong Safford, inspired by the Modern Poetry (ModPo) MOOC, a popular free online course in the appreciation of modern and contemporary poetry, focusing on the American tradition. The concept of getting fifty poets to comment on fifty works of other poets underlines the fact that the interpretation of a work of literature is in itself a creative enterprise. This is particularly true of poetry which, as a form, often tends to rely on symbols and metaphors pregnant with personal meaning. As a book this feels quite academic, with the critiques of the poems often delving into the formal techniques used in the chosen pieces. Yet this never eschews the sense of a “personal” reading. This is an eye-opening, mind-expanding book, whether for students of poetry, lovers of the genre or readers who would like to explore beyond narrative and prose.

This is a very academic book that accompanies that popular free online ModPo course on poetry. Each poem is discussed by a modern poet. I wasn't a big fan of many of the poems and the discussions were often very intellectual and focused quite a bit on the mechanics of the poems. I did find a few new favorite poems and poets and I did enjoy some of the essays, while others weren't very interesting to me. It is written for a college level course and very much feels like it, for the good and bad. You'll learn a lot about reading poetry, but not necessarily as much about feeling poetry. Still a great resource and quite interesting at times.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.