The Poetry of Our World: An International Anthology of Contemporary Poetry

Originally conceived by editor Jeffrey Paine with poet Joseph Brodsky, The Poetry of Our World is framed by insightful essays from distinguished poets, scholars and critics that provide the context within which a reader can appreciate the poems selected by each expert. Their essays provide a brief overview of each region's political and cultural life, and illuminate the circumstances under which the poets were writing.aHere readers will find poems by Nobel Prize winners Pablo Neruda, Seamus Heaney and Derek Walcott alongside the lesser-known but equally brilliant work of Ugandan native Okot p'Bitek and, from Japan, the poetry of Shuntaro Tanikawa. aThe impressive and varied list of poets also includes such luminaries as Jorge Luis Borges, Robert Lowell, Anna Ahkmatova, Paul Celan, and Wole Soyinka. The end result is an anthology that includes some of the most revealing, meaningful, and beautiful poems of the second half of the 20th century, fully representing the diverse range of poetry around the globe.aaHow does THE POETRY OF OUR WORLD acompare to other anthologies?aThe Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry, edited by J.D. McClatchy, has only one editor choosing the poetry. The Poetry of Our World is a collaboration, which widens the scope of the selections. The Vintage Book does not include poets from North American, whereas our anthology includes poetry from every region of the world. Finally, the Vintage volume is not as clearly organized as The Poetry of Our World, and there is no attempt to make sense of the different regions of the world. There are no essays, and only a brief biography of each poet.aaWorld Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time, edited by Katharine Washburn & John S. Major is 2 1/2 times as long as The Poetry of Our World, and exhaustingly comprehensive and scholarly. It covers world poetry from 2200 B.C. to the present day. The Poetry of Our World focuses on contemporary poetry from the past 50 years, and is more accessible. It welcomes those who know nothing about poetry, as well as the aficionado.aaA Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry, edited by Czeslaw Milosz is organized in a highly personal and idiosyncratic way-by subject (Epiphany, Nature, The Secret of A Thing, Trave, Woman's Skin, etc.). Milosz provides a short introduction before each section, but there is no background or history, or attempt to provide a context for these poems.