Best Poetry Books of 2011 - Kim Roberts

Kim Roberts selections:

I selected six poets with strong ties to Washington, DC, who released new books in 2011, and whose books are highly recommended and deserve a wide readership.

Words Facing East by Kimberly L. Becker (WordTech Editions)
Includes a remarkable series of poems about learning Cherokee

A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos by Tim Dlugos, edited by David Trinidad (Nightboat Books)
Includes some never-before-published work, arranged chronologically by the city where he was living when he wrote the poems.

Second-Skin Rhinestone-Spangled Nude Souffle Chiffon Gown by Landon Godfrey (Cider Press)
Poems about fashion that sparkle and surprise--and never stay just on the surface.

Little Boy Blue: A Memoir in Verse by Gray Jacobik (CavanKerry Press)
A heartbreaking series of poems on parenting and self-forgiveness.

Meanwhile by Kathleen O'Toole (WordTech Editions)
Poems of quiet attentiveness that read almost like prayer.

Falling Out of Bed in a Room with No Floor by Terence Winch (Hanging Loose Press)
Poems about friendships and family, in a narrative voice that is witty, playful, and sure.

also:

If it's not too self-serving to say, my own third book of poems, Animal Magnetism, was released this year from Pearl Editions. Of course I'd like to recommend that book too! Includes poems about medical museums and the imaginary husband series.

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Kim Roberts is the author of five books, most recently Animal Magnetism, winner of the Pearl Poetry Prize (Pearl Editions, 2011), and Full Moon on K Street: Poems About Washington, DC (Plan B Press, 2010). She is a literary historian specializing in authors from Washington, DC. In November she presented a walking tour on Henry Adams at the DC Historical Studies Conference, and unveiled a new and comprehensive website, created with Dan Vera, called DC Writers' Homes. Since January 2000, she has edited the journal Beltway Poetry Quarterly.