Which poetry books are selling best? Don’t know? I didn’t know either. The Poetry Foundation provides a reasonably good answer to this question.
What is the Poetry Foundation? The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
Click here to read about the best selling poetry books in America by the large and small presses, according to the Poetry Foundation.
The top five books for the week of May 6th are:
1. The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems (paperback) by Billy Collins (Random House).
2. Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins (Random House Trade Paperbacks).
3. Thirst by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press).
4. New and Selected Poems: Volume Two (paperback) by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press).
5. New and Selected Poems: Volume One by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press).
You know what is really funny? Billy Collins and Mary Oliver are two of my favorite contemporary poets. I might add that Mary Oliver hails from the Cleveland area.
Poetic Alchemist 