Poetry. Anthologies. Edited by Joshua Beckman and Matthew Zapruder. William Carlos Williams wrote, "It is difficult/to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably every day/ for lack/ of what is found there." STATE OF THE UNION brings together 50 American poets whose work boldly illustrates the urgency of Williams's forewarning. Contributors Include: John Ashbery, Marvin Bell, Anselm Berrigan, Lucille Clifton, Wanda Coleman, Nick Flynn, Forrest Gander, Matthea Harvey, Fanny Howe, Tao Lin, Eileen Myles, Alberto Rios, Matthew Rohrer, Mary Ruefle, Richard Siken, Juliana Spahr, James Tate, Brian Turner, Joe Wenderoth, Rebecca Wolff, and John Yau.
Reviews and Other Links
http://www.barnowlreview.com/union.html
http://www.newpages.com/bookreviews/2009_02/february2009_book_reviews.htm#state_union
http://www.heebmagazine.com/blog/view/1155/1
http://openlettersmonthly.com/blog/microreview-state-of-the-union/
http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=7174&catid=85&volume_id=317&issue_id=397&volume_num=42&issue_num=52
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/08/political-economy/
http://www.forewordmagazine.com/state-union-50-political-poems
http://coldfrontmag.com/reviews/state-of-the-union
http://galatearesurrection11.blogspot.com/2008/12/state-of-union-50-political-poems.html