A good anthology is such a joy. Toting around some of your favorites in one volume when you travel or just to pull out and open to a page for a shot of inspiration or insight. There are all kinds, with a zillion (probably not that many, really) themes. Some are done by year as in the "Best Poetry of ____" series, some are around a particular form such as haiku or sonnet, some are all women or all men or dogs or horses or for a particular area of the country or world…California, China, Russia, India. They’re a good bet for getting acquainted with a vast array of poets, picking out the ones you resonate with and reading more of that poet. The star system is in place here again with * for good and ** for favorite. To purchase any of these books go to Powell’s Books. Enjoy.

**American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets. Edited by David Walker

The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry.  Edited by J. D. McClatchy

New American Poets. Edited by Jack Myers & Roger Weingarten

*The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry. Edited by Sue Ellen Thompson

Poets of the New Century: An Anthology. Edited by Roger Weingarten & Richard Higgerson

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry: Seventy-Five Outstanding Poets. Edited by J. D. McClatchy

Doggerel: Poems About Dogs. Selected and Edited by Carmela Ciurarua

Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry. Selected by Billy Collins

**Staying Alive:Real Poems for Unreal Times. Edited by Neil Astley

*Claiming the Spirit Within: A Sourcebook of Women’s Poetry. Edited by Marilyn Sewell

Comic Poems: Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets

Committed to Memory: 100 Best Poems to Memorize. Edited by John Hollander

Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present. Edited by David Lehman

The Haiku Anthology. Edited by Cor Van Den Heuvel

*Kiss Off: Poems to Set You Free. Edited by Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Velez

Looking for Poetry: Poems by Drummond de Andrade and Rafael Alberti. Translations by Mark Strand

News of the Universe: Poems of Twofold Consciousness. Chosen and introduced by Robert Bly

One Hundred and One Famous Poems. Compiled by Roy J. Cook

The Pittsburgh Book of Contemporary American Poetry. Ed Ochester & Peter Oresick, Editors

Poems for a Small Planet: Contemporary American Nature Poetry. Edited by Robert Pack/Jay Parini

*Poetry Speaks: Great Poets Read Their Works. Elise Paschen & Rebekah Presson Mosby, Editors

**Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation. Edited by Roger Housden

The Soul is Here for Its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures. Edited by Robert Bly

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry: Seventy-Five Outstanding Poets. Edited by J. D. McClatchy

Word of Mouth: Poems Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Edited by Catherine Bowman

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry: Seventy-Five Outstanding Poets Edited by J. D. McClatchy