"Just as Sappho helped defined the genre when it debuted it ancient Greece as a brief, personal song accompanied by the lyre, so the poets selected here-among them Rae Aramatrout, Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Jorie Graham, Barbara Guest, Susan Howe, and Harryette Mullen-force us to redefine lyric poetry. In particular, their use of modernist techniques such as fragmentation, disjunction, parataxis, and run-ons and their rejection of confessional techniques and the personal singular voice allow these poets to create a new structure. Many of the resulting images are startling and unique. . ."–Nedra C. Evers, Library Journal
"American Women Poets in the 21st Century helps to reframe the debate about experiment versus tradition in women's contemporary poetry. . . [and] reveals how very distinctive are 21st century American women poets."–Laura Hinton, How2
"A provocative read for those interested in contemporary poetry . . ."–B. Wallenstein, Choice
"Just as Sappho helped defined the genre when it debuted it ancient Greece as a brief, personal song accompanied by the lyre, so the poets selected here-among them Rae Aramatrout, Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Jorie Graham, Barbara Guest, Susan Howe, and Harryette Mullen-force us to redefine lyric poetry. In particular, their use of modernist techniques such as fragmentation, disjunction, parataxis, and run-ons and their rejection of confessional techniques and the personal singular voice allow these poets to create a new structure. Many of the resulting images are startling and unique. . ."–Nedra C. Evers, Library Journal
". . . an ideal teaching anthology for an upper-level course on contemporary women poets, or for that "general reader" interested in this particular site of poetic activity . . . Spahr's introduction is necessary reading."–Linda Russo, Jacket
