Preface: How to use this book

Between practice, 1984

Reflections and foresight upon a century of poetry, 2016

The nine muses of a poetry enthusiast's view of history or the nine multi-faced, multifaceted muses of American poetic production? (Twentieth century examination, key I)

Twentieth century examination, part I: Where would you begin?

My Gwendolyn Brooks

William Waring Cuney, born 1906

Margaret Danner, born 1915

Mari Evans, born 1919

Wallace Stevens Key

Twentieth century examination, part II: Did modernism begin at the same time as American poetry, or vice versa?

Poetry Foundation journal days, 2006

Bob Kaufman, born 1925

Russell Atkins, born 1926

Raymond Patterson, born 1929

Twentieth century examination, part III: Why so few poems concerning the atomic bomb?

A Lucille Clifton-inspired Sterling Brown teaching fable

Sonia Sanchez, born 1934

Michael S. Harper, born 1938

Barbara Chase-Riboud, born 1939

Intro: SOS: Poems 1961-2013, works by Amiri Baraka

Twentieth century examination, part IV: How should we go about awarding Gwendolyn Brooks a posthumous Novel Prize in literature?

Toi Derricotte, born 1941

Lorenzo Thomas, born 1944

Ai, born 1947

Yusef Komunyakaa, born 1947

Everyday mojo letters to Yusef

Twentieth century examination, part V: How old is contemporary poetry?

James Baldwin Cave Canem keynote, 2017

Afaa M. Weaver, born 1951

Tony Hoagland, born 1953

Lynda Hull, born 1954

Patricia Smith, born 1955

Lucie Brock-Broido, born 1956

Essex Hemphill, born 1957

Twentieth century examination, part VI: What happened to the last of the last poets?

Reginald Shepherd, born 1963

David Cloud Berman, born 1967

A Frank Stanford lyric speech act test with visions

"Folk stone"

Twentieth century examination, part VII: Where do poets come from?

Introduction to Wicked enchantment: selected poems

Cornelius Eady reading introduction, 2003

Toi Tribute, 2012

Twentieth century examination, part VIII: How many of your muses rest in peace?

The Tim Seibles bookbioboardgame

The renegade poetic fortune-telling machine

Brigit Pegeen Kelly and the case of the missing manuscript! (1951-2016)

Guan Guan, 1929-2021

Twentieth century examination, part IX: What grows harder to see as you get closer to it?

The African rainbow lizard

A poetics of practice keynote.