No poet”s bookshelf is complete without the works of other poets. This may be a truism, but it is also true. Reading and hearing the work of other poets is an inspiration, a kick in creative pants of your muse, and – if nothing else – an opportunity to shake your head in disbelief at what some folks are calling poetry. Anthologies are one of the best ways to read a wide variety of poets in a gulp. They offer the chance to pick up the book and flip through the pages to find a random poem for the day, or serve as an introduction to a poet one has never read.

The Best American Poetry 2005 is the latest 18 year old Best American Poetry anthology series, and in this anthology the series truly comes of age. Editor Paul Muldoon has selected 75 poems by widely divergent poets to fill out a collection that has something for everyone. The selected poets range from luminaries of the poetry world like Adrienne Rich and John Ashberry to rising stars Kay Ryan and Marlys West. The book includes notes from contributors about their poetry, and commentary from the editor. If you find this book for no other reason, read it for the foreword by editor David Lehman, as insightful and telling a commentary on the battle between those who believe poetry is a sacred trust to be handled only by those most annointed and those who believe that poetry belongs in the hands of everyone.

The Oxford Book of American Poetry is a must have. Published last month by Oxford University Press, the new Oxford Book of American Poetry is an updated version of the 1976 Oxford Book of American Poetry. Editor David Lehman has expanded the view of American Poetry by adding the work of dozens of American poets – some neglected, some forgotten, some having come into their own since the last edition. Among the writers whose work is represented are W. H. Auden, Charles Bukowski, Donald Justice, Carolyn Kizer, Kenneth Koch, Stanley Kunitz, Emma Lazarus, Mina Loy, Howard Moss, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, James Schuyler, Elinor Wylie, and Louis Zukosky. Also represented are a few names that are more familiar on CD labels than on chapbooks – Bob Dylan and Patti Smith to name just two. It”s not perfect – Maya Angelou is not represented, for instance, nor Alice Walker, nor Fred Chappell, but at 1200 pages and over 200 poets spanning 300 years of American poetry, it is a definitive addition to the poet”s bookshelf.