The Best American Poetry 1998 [Paperback]

The appearance ofThe Best American Poetryevery September is an eagerly awaited rite of fall -- as evidenced by soaring sales and terrific reviews. The popularity of the series is ample proof that poetry is thriving (The Orlando Sentinel),and this year's volume will dazzle and delight, instruct and inspire. Under the guiding vision of master poet John Hollander -- one of America's most erudite literary minds --The Best American Poetry 1998spotlights the imaginative power and insight of our finest poets at the fin-de-siècle. Diverse in form and method, the poems display an unwavering nobility of expression, maintaining the uncompromising artistic standards essential toThe Best American Poetrytradition as it enters its second decade. With a foreword by series editor David Lehman and with comments from the poets illuminating their work,The Best American Poetry 1998will lead you on an exhilarating and inspiring literary adventure.David Lehman, the series editor of The Best American Poetry, edited The Oxford Book of American Poetry. His books of poetry include The Morning Line, When a Woman Loves a Man, and The Daily Mirror.He has written such nonfiction books asSigns of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man.He lives in New York City and Ithaca, New York.Chapter 1

JONATHAN AARON

Mr. Moto's Confession

The famous Tokyo detective looked as if he'd taken a shower

in his linen suit and then slept in it.

He mopped his shiny forehead with a handkerchief.

Pascal was right, he said, his tenor slightly nasal.

Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to

another form of madness. What's more, he added, the cat

eying the canary, contradiction is not a sign of falsity,

nor is the want of contradiction a sign of truth -- Pascal again.