Poetry encourages us to have dialogue through the observed, the felt, and the imaginary, writes editor Yusef Komunyakaa in his thought-provoking introduction to The Best American Poetry 2003. As a black child of the American South and a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Komunyakaa brings his singular vision to this outstanding volume. Included here is a diverse mix of senior masters, crowd-pleasing bards, rising stars, and the fresh voices of an emerging generation. With comments from the poets elucidating their work and series editor David Lehman’s eloquent foreword assessing the state of the art, The Best American Poetry 2003 is a must-have for readers of contemporary poetry.

Jonathan Aaron
Beth Anderson
Nin Andrews
Wendell Berry
Frank Bidart
Diann Blakely
Bruce Bond
Catherine Bowman
Rosemary Catacalos
Joshua Clover
Billy Collins
Michael S. Collins
Carl Dennis
Susan Dickman
Rita Dove
Stephen Dunn
Stuart Dybek
Charles Fort
James Galvin
Amy Gerstler
Louise Gluck
Michael Goldman
Ray Gonzalez
Linda Gregg
Mark Halliday
Michael S. Harper
Matthea Harvey
George Higgins
Edward Hirsch
Tony Hoagland
Richard Howard
Rodney Jones
Joy Katz
Brigit Pegeen Kelly
Galway Kinnell
Carolyn Kizer
Jennifer L. Knox
Kenneth Koch
John Koethe
Ted Kooser
Philip Levine
J. D. McClatchy
W. S. Merwin
Heather Moss
Stanley Moss
Paul Muldoon
Peggy Munson
Marilyn Nelson
Daniel Nester
Naomi Shihab Nye
Ishle Yi Park
Robert Pinsky
Kevin Prufer
Ed Roberson
Vijay Seshadri
Alan Shapiro
Myra Shapiro
Bruce Smith
Charlie Smith
Maura Stanton
Ruth Stone
James Tate
William Tremblay
Natasha Trethewey
David Wagoner
Ronald Wallace
Lewis Warsh
Susan Wheeler
Richard Wilbur
C. K. Williams
Terence Winch
David Wojahn Robert Wrigley
Anna Ziegler
Ahmos Zu-Bolton II