a quick note on the new best american poetry--which, like any survey is mostly a disappointment of qualities. the best two poems are the entries by the perennial john ashbery ('alcove') and budding gabriel gudding ('and what, friends, is called a road'). anyone who's been following the online literary review, THE CRITICAL FLAME, will realize how presciently it has realized the scene of the true best and reflected the truest landscape of our scene--to wit, see henry gould's review of gabriel gudding's notebook two issues back, which was well-received by many, though not by gudding himself; and my own reviews which tackle the looming spectre of ashbery over the entire american poetry. nota bene: gudding's poem was publ'd at action, yes, who's newest edition features a chunk of my translations. so, good going, folks at BAP for having your finger on the fresh journals of note.
also, in posthumities, there was a decent poem by the good poet, the late great william stanford, and a better poem by the lesser poet, the late james schuyler.
