An excellent anthology featuring a wide array of poets and poems. Each poem choice is explained in a way that deepens your appreciation and understanding.

I’ve long found that high school students can find joy, insight, and love for even the most seemingly esoteric of poems. All they need to is find a point of entry. Maybe that’s personally connecting with the voice or subject of the poem, perhaps rejoicing in the feeling of solidarity that comes from learning that someone else has found the words to describe their own experiences.

One of the best ways, however, to help students find joy in poetry is to hear how important poems are to others—and having someone who is truly passionate about a poem walk them through it. Often I find myself to be in that position; others times my students are. What I found so wonderful about this varied, unexpected, and far-reaching anthology is that it was a collection of love letters to particular poems written by poets themselves who speak with an energy, warmth, and joy that is infectious. Each personal reflection about a particular poem is unique, but each of them leaves the reader with a sense of awe for what language in poetry can accomplish. This will be a wonderful resource for teachers but also for anyone who wants to feel that sense of exhilaration for how language can connect us with others and our immense universe.

What a triumph. I was so excited when this anthology was first announced, and I have been crawling my way through it as I simply didn’t want it to end. What an incredible collection of poems and what a joy to read my favorite poet’s thoughts on poems that have touched me so deeply. Graywolf has changed the landscape of contemporary poetry and I (and all poetry lovers) are better for it. Cannot wait to revisit this anthology again and again.