<em>The Atlantic</em> Publishes ‘The Best American Poetry of the 21st Century (So Far),’ Recognizing the Most Consequential Poetry Collections of the Past 25 Years

Today The Atlantic launches “The Best American Poetry of the 21st Century (So Far),” a new editorial project that brings together the 25 most consequential poetry collections of the past 25 years, and follows the March 2024 publication of “The Great American Novels,” The Atlantic’s list of the most consequential novels of the past 100 years. Also announced today, Atlantic Editions, imprint of The Atlantic and Zando, will publish The Singing Word: 168 Years of Atlantic Poetry, a significant collection of poems originally published in The Atlantic since its founding, in 1857. The Singing Word will be published this September, and is available for preorder now.

In an introduction to “The Best American Poetry of the 21st Century (So Far),” the project’s editors write that “a quarter of the way into this new century of cataclysmic change, we thought it was an apt time to consider how poets fit into the broader conversation—to document an emerging canon of the most significant verse of the century so far. …We were looking for poetry that had struck its readers, for whatever reasons, as unforgettable, enduring, and influential.”

The list was compiled by Daniel Halpern, National Poetry Series editor and poet, and Walt Hunter, contributing editor at The Atlantic, with input from more than 450 individuals—poets, fiction writers, publishers, editors, and informed readers from a variety of fields—which resulted in more than 400 recommended works that were distilled down to a final list of 25. The poets on the list include Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners (Louise Glück, Robert Hass, Natasha Trethewey) and poets who have just published their second or third collection (Solmaz Sharif, Layli Long Soldier, Richard Siken). From the introduction: “For all the variety that emerged in this process, the collections…have a striking amount in common. These poems share a sense of urgency that reflects the overwhelmingly stressful events swirling around them—matters of war, race, gender, politics, health, immigration, climate change, rule, and misrule.”

Edited by Walt Hunter, The Singing Word: 168 Years of Atlantic Poetry will bring together nearly 100 poems that were originally published in The Atlantic, dating from its founding in 1857 to 2024. The Atlantic has published original poetry throughout its history, with a poem occasionally even appearing as the lead story in the magazine, as with Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in February 1862.

In the book’s introduction, Hunter writes: “Atlantic poems have represented the country’s wildly divergent visions of a good life—and railed against thwarted hopes for it. This is not to say that Atlantic poetry has focused narrowly on the country, but that it has deepened our understanding of what the country is. These poems rebut the parochialism and tribalism that dog our present, even as they appeal to universal experiences and values, rendered in startling detail through the stories of particular lives.” He continues: “What emerged as I read was an optimism and realism—a sense that, however bad things are, the idea of America is worth fighting for, and worth questioning and scrutinizing in new ways. The poems here are not ancillary ornaments, but rather essential vehicles for that search. Their energy and their explosive charge come from their devotion to the truth: the hope for American improvement is indelibly wedded to the critique, sometimes blistering, sometimes mournful, of the status quo.”

“The Best American Poetry of the 21st Century (So Far)” and The Singing Word, along with the past titles published as part of the Atlantic Editions imprint, are part of The Atlantic’s robust and expanded Books section, devoted to essays, criticism, reporting, original fiction, poetry, and book recommendations, as well as The Atlantic’s weekly Books Briefing newsletter.

Related Events:
New Orleans Book Festival: This evening (March 27), The Atlantic is collaborating with the New Orleans Book Festival, at Tulane University, for the festival’s opening-night lineup. The session will feature The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, and Atlantic staff writers including Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum and award-winning, best-selling authors McKay Coppins, Elaina Plott Calabro, and Adam Serwer. On Friday, March 28, The Atlantic will also present a discussion exploring the American idea through the lens of literature, led by Atlantic senior editor Vann R. Newkirk II and featuring author Sarah M. Broom and poet Tracy K. Smith.

Press Contact:
Paul Jackson | The Atlantic
press@theatlantic.com