About the Book

A comprehensive anthology that includes work by 110 important American poets including Kim Addonizio, Jimmy Santiago Baca, George Bilgere, Chana Bloch, Lucille Clifton, Billy Collins, Toi Derricotte, Stephen Dobyns, Rita Dove, Denise Duhamel, Stephen Dunn, Terrance Hayes, Bob Hicok, Jane Hirshfield, Tony Hoagland, Marie Howe, Joy Katz, Jane Kenyon, Li-Young Lee, Philip Levine, Larry Levis, William Matthews, Jeffery McDaniel, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ed Ochester, Linda Pastan, and Natasha Tretheway.

Praise for The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry

In his introduction to The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry, Michael Simms writes, ‘Poetry is just like people talking.’ He further explains the ways it goes beyond common speech, saying poetry, ‘has something special or amazing about it, something that makes us think, wonder, or marvel.’ It is this idea of everyday language, heightened and crafted to give the reader a sense of amazement, that defines the aesthetic choices made by editors Michael Simms, Giullana Certo, and Christine Stroud as they curated this collection of poems by 106 American poets. The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry offers a snapshot of the poetry landscape at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. These poems contain contemporary poetry’s celebration of American life and language as well as its concerns about inclusion and varied voices.
—Weave Magazine

Throughout this anthology the reader is confronted with the familiar—family, work, illness, war—and by that special alchemy of language put under pressure, what we call poetry, the mundane is made extraordinary.
—The Pittsburgh Post

Michael Simms has been active in politics and poetry for over 40 years as a writer, teacher, editor, and community activist. He is the founder of Autumn House Press, a nonprofit publisher of books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. He’s also the author of four collections of poetry and a college textbook about poetry — and […]

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Giuliana Certo is a poet, educator, and editor. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and son. 

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Christine Stroud is a poet living in Pittsburgh, PA and is the editor in chief of Autumn House Press. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. She has published two chapbooks, Sister Suite (Disorder Press) and The Buried Return (Finishing Line Press). Stroud’s poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Hobart, Cimarron Review, The Laurel Review, and many others.

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