The Project

The scene of young/emerging poets has reached critical mass. Thus, we (John Sakkis and Jessica Smith) are editing an anthology of young poets who are working within a certain artistic sphere. Although, as you will see, the variety of aesthetic viewpoints is wide-ranging, the authors are loosely held together by social, academic, geographic, and historic commonalities. They influence each other without necessarily sharing specific formal traits. This plurality may result from the availability of the internet to these authors from an early age--geographical proximity is not as essential as it was for the SF Renaissance or New York School poets, for instance. The "politically correct" mantra of the 1990s almost certainly encourages the aesthetic diversity as well; poets can respect and be inspired by other poets who may seem to have nothing in common with them aesthetically. This scene is so diverse, geographically and aesthetically, that it requires rethinking the "anthology" as a genre. Our anthology will be a massive collection containing critical introductions, a sample poem from each author, and author biographies. It is not intended to familiarize a reader with the depth and breadth of any single author's work, but it is rather intended to provide a detailed record of the sheer magnitude, energy, and plurality of experimental poetry at the turn of the millennium.

The anthology will be released at the turn of the New Year, 2008, by Outside Voices. Click here to email the editors and/or submit work.

Update: John Sakkis has retired as co-editor.