breaking the jaws of silence: sixty american poets speak to the world
First published in 2013 by the University of Arkansas Press
“A deeply humane and aesthetically exhilarating collection.”
–Robert Olen Butler
“Every piece in this anthology situates the poet in a world at war with its citizens throughout history and around the globe. They seek to expose both tyranny and tarnished examples of liberty: the bloodied, ill-fitting coat of General Washington, the “stained cheeks” and “weathered plumage” of Lady Liberty who wanders the streets of New York, the ghosts of Tiananmen Square, and the protesters in white shirts “on the other side of the world.”
–-World Literature Today
Read a review of Breaking the Jaws of Silence: Sixty American Poets Speak to the World
Breaking the Jaws of Silence
“A truly miraculous collection. Sholeh Wolpe has not only brought together some of the most prominent poets in the world today, she has created a work of both truth and beauty that gives voice to the voiceless across the globe.”
—Reza Aslan
“Sholeh Wolpe provides generous service in showing readers the different ways that poets commit to their own voices as they call out The Deadly Silencer, sounding off in a world that does not listen, indifferent to their commitment. (Robert Bly’s poem, beginning the collection, speaks to this indifference and apathy.) Despite the world’s resistance, this collection affirms that what Shelley said is true: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”
–Huffington Post
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List of poets in this anthology:
NATASHA TRETHEWEY, ROBERT BLY, RITA DOVE, NAOMI SHIHAB NYE, YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA, ELOISE KLEIN HEALY, JORIE GRAHAM, MARILYN CHIN, BILLY COLLINS, JOY HARJO, CAROLYN FORCHÉ, CHRISTOPHER MERRILL, DAVID ST. JOHN, KIM ADDONIZIO, ALICIA OSTRIKER, TONY BARNSTONE, MARILYN HACKER, KIMIKO HAHN, ANDREW HUDGINS, DANA GIOIA, STUART DISCHELL, RICHARD KATROVAS, MICHAEL S. HARPER, NIKKI GIOVANNI, DAVID MASON, STANLEY MOSS, WILLIAM HEYEN, SAM HAMILL, MARY JO BANG, MARVIN BELL, DAVID WAGONER, GARRETT HONGO, BRIAN TURNER, ANNIE FINCH, CHARLES HARPER WEBB, WILLIS BARNSTONE, CHARLES BERNSTEIN, CAROL FROST, ROBERT WRIGLEY, COLEMAN BARKS, TOM SLEIGH, JEAN VALENTINE, JAMES RAGAN, NORMAN DUBIE, MAXINE KUMIN, DORIANNE LAUX, CAROL MUSKE-DUKES, MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, QUINCY TROUPE, JUAN FELIPE HERRERA, GERALD STERN, BARBARA RAS, MOLLY PEACOCK, SHARON DOUBIAGO, RALPH ANGEL, CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY, CARL DENNIS, THOMAS LUX, GALWAY KINNELL, and PHILIP LEVINE.
