Best New Poets 2021: 50 Poems from Emerging Writers

Entering its seventeenth year, Best New Poets has established itself as a crucial venue for rising poets and a valuable resource for poetry lovers.

The only publication of its kind, this annual anthology is made up exclusively of work by writers who have not yet published a full-length book. The poems included in this eclectic sampling represent the best from the many that have been nominated by the country’s top literary magazines and writing programs, as well as some two thousand additional poems submitted through an open online competition. The work of the fifty writers represented here provides the best perspective available on the continuing vitality of poetry as it is being practiced today.

Praise for earlier editions:

"[A] reminder that contemporary poetry is not only alive and well but continuing to grow."— Publishers Weekly

"This collection stands out among the crowd claiming to represent emergent poets. Much of the editing and preliminary reading was done by emerging poets themselves, which results in an anthology that’s fresh and eclectic, and may actually represent a significant portion of the best new poetry being written by the next generation."— Virginia Quarterly Review