<B>Edited this year by beloved and inventive poet Denise Duhamel, the foremost annual anthology of contemporary American poetry returns.</B><p>Over the last twenty-five years, the <I>Best American Poetry</I> series has become a mainstay in the poetry world and beyond. An eagerly awaited yearly event, it is an essential guide to contemporary American verse and the poets who define it.<BR><BR>Denise Duhamel is an ardent and curious poet who has slyly tackled every conceivable style and form, every subject matter and perspective, and has solidly earned her community’s respect. Her wit and enthusiasm informs the 2013 edition of <I>The Best American Poetry. </I>The works collected here are, as Duhamel’s own work is, alive and passionate and full of imagination, reflecting the vibrant state of our country’s contemporary poetry scene. Featuring a star-studded line-up, <I>The Best American Poetry 2013</I> includes such eminences as John Ashbery, Louise Gluck, James Tate, and Richard Wilbur, as well as the fast-rising hot poets Sherman Alexie, Nin Andrews, Anna Maria Hong, Timothy Donnelly, Mary Ruefle, and Major Jackson. And as always, the anthology opens with David Lehman’s incisive look at the current state of American poetry.