Every book lover knows the feeling when you come across a book that you didn’t know you needed until you saw it and/or read it. American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time was one such find for me. The poems in this book, published by Graywolf Press in 2018, were selected by Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. poet laureate. Of writers that have emerged in this fledgling century, Tracy K. Smith is my top pick. And to find a selection of some of her favorite work was pure delight.

I’d like to call out my three favorite poems in this book as a sampling.

First, there is “My Brother at 3 AM” by Natalie Diaz. I have been very interested in the pantoum form lately, and this poem is a superbly haunting execution of it. The line “Stars had closed their eyes or sheaved their knives” was so powerfully poignant in the context of the poem. Diaz uses the repetitive nature of this form to great effect.

On the very next page is Matt Rasmussen’s “Reverse Suicide.” In this poem, Rasmussen experiments with a time reversal mechanic. And he uses that technique very effectively here. I think those last four lines, which create an image of hope and rebirth, give a heartbreaking lens into the processing of grief.

Lastly, I’ll call out Kevin Young’s “Crowning.” This poem is just a brilliant, sensory depiction of birth that is sheer joy to read.

So thank you Tracy K. Smith for providing the world with yet another book to challenge and delight us.