<I>The Best American Poetry 2004</I> celebrates the vitality and richness of poetry in the United States and Canada today. Guest editor Lyn Hejinian, acclaimed for her own innovative writing, has chosen seventy-five important new poems and contributed a provocative introductory essay. Through her selections, Hejinian has created an essential nexus -- a meeting place for readers to encounter an extraordinary range of poets. With illuminating comments from the writers, and series editor David Lehman's insightful foreword evaluating the current state of the art, <I>The Best American Poetry 2004</I> is an indispensable addition to a series that has established itself as the first word on what's new and noteworthy in the poetry of our times.