1988 in poetry


Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Events

  • The first annual The Best American Poetry volume is published this year.
  • During a poetry reading in which popular Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky takes written questions from the audience, he reads out two responses: "All of you are Jews or sold out to Jews", one reads. Another only says, "We will kill you". In The Ditch: A Spiritual Trial, published in 1986, Voznesensky had written poetry and prose about a 1941 German massacre of 12,000 Russians in the Crimea, and the looting of their mass graves in the 1980s by Soviet citizens that was tolerated, he said, by officials because the victims were primarily Jews. Voznesensky reads the notes out loud and challenges the writers to identify themselves. None does.

Works published in English

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

Australia">Australian literature">Australia

Canada">Canadian literature">Canada

India">Indian poetry">India, in English">Indian poetry in English">in English

Ireland">Irish poetry">Ireland

New Zealand">New Zealand literature">New Zealand

United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

Anthologies

United States">American poetry">United States

Poets appearing in ''[The Best American Poetry 1988]''

The 75 poets included in The Best American Poetry 1988, edited by David Lehman, co-edited this year by John Ashbery:

Other works published in English

Works published in other languages

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

Arabic">Arabic poetry">Arabic language

  • Nizar Qabbani, Syrian:
  • * Three Stone-throwing Children
  • * Secret Papers of a Karmathian Lover
  • * ''Biography of an Arab Executioner''

French language

  • Michel Deguy, Comité, a book attacking French publishers for using poets they rarely publish themselves to help determine which books of poetry to accept; France
  • Abdellatif Laabi, translator, Je t'aime au gré de la mort, translated from the original Arabic of Samih al-Qâsim into French; Paris: Unesco/Éditions de Minuit
  • Jean Royer, Poèmes d'amour, 1966-1986, Montréal: l'Hexagone; Canada

India">Indian poetry">India

Listed in alphabetical order by first name:

Poland">Polish poetry">Poland

Spanish Language Poetry

Other languages

Awards and honors

Australia">Australian poetry">Australia

Canada">Canadian poetry">Canada

India">Indian poetry">India

United Kingdom">English poetry">United Kingdom

United States">American poetry">United States

Births

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding " in poetry" article: