America's Favorite Poems, ed. Robert Pinsky | 327 pages
This anthology is a written interpretation of the multimedia Favorite Poem Project first launched in 1997. Americans ages 5+ of every description were asked to submit a video of them reading a favorite poem after a brief explanation of what it means to them. These explanations are what makes this more than just a poetry anthology. Many of these statements helped me look closer at a poem I may otherwise overlook - this is the favorite of (for example) Barbara K, 53, technical writer in MA, not just something I "should" read selected by an editor.
The drawback of this anthology is also tied to the scope - over 200 poems and even more explanations (Such as Robert Frost, submitted by many). They are arranged in alphabetical order by the poet which means there isn't a flow between the poems. By the time I got to the end, I was struggling to keep going, which means some very worthy poets didn't get my full attention.
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