David Lehman

Festival Appearance:

• Best American Poetry 2011 Showcase, Sunday, 3:45 at Decatur Presbyterian Sanctuary Stage

David Lehman was born in New York City. He was educated at Columbia University, spent two years in England as a Kellett Fellow at Cambridge University, and worked as Lionel Trilling’s research assistant upon his return to New York. His books of poetry include Yeshiva Boys (2009). When a Woman Loves a Man (2005), The Evening Sun (2002), The Daily Mirror (2000), and Valentine Place (1996), all from Scribner. He has edited The Oxford Book of American Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2006), The Best American Erotic Poems: From 1800 to the Present (Scribner, 2008), Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present (Scribner, 2003), among other collections. A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs (Nextbook/Schocken), the most recent of his six nonfiction books, won a 2010 Deems Taylor Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. An exhibit based on A Fine Romance is scheduled to visit fifty-five libraries in twenty-seven states from May 2011 through April 2012. Lehman initiated The Best American Poetry series in 1988. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches in the graduate writing program of the New School in New York City.

Best American Poetry 2011, 2011

Guest editor Kevin Young, the celebrated poet and distinguished Emory professor, chose the best seventy-five poems for this, the 24th volume in the Best American Poetry series.The poems are dazzling in their variety. They tap into the reality of American life today. Young contributes a vibrant introduction, Series editor David Lehman contributes his annual state-of-the-art assessment of the American poetry scene. The 75 poets were asked to comment on their poems and most have done so. Inviting and orienting the reader, the essays and notes surrounding the poems anchor this magnificent addition to an invaluable series.