Bestest Poetry Books of 2011

This year over 400 No Tell Motel, Bedside Guide contributors and other poets were invited to contribute their selections for "best poetry books of 2011" (however they chose to define such a pronouncement). Of those invited, 36 responded with lists.

Titles included on multiple lists:

(6 lists) Ordinary Sun by Matthew Henriksen (Black Ocean)

(5 lists) Culture of One by Alice Notley (Penguin)

(4 lists) Either Way I'm Celebrating by Sommer Browning (Birds, LLC)

(4 lists) The Trees The Trees by Heather Christle (Octopus Books)

(4 lists) California by Jennifer Denrow (Four Way Books)

(4 lists) All the Garbage of the World, Unite! by Kim Hyesoon, translated by Don Mee Choi (Action Books)

(4 lists) Schizophrene by Bhanu Kapil (Nightboat)

(4 lists) The Hermit by Laura Solomon (Ugly Duckling Presse)

(3 lists) Notes from Irrelevance by Anselm Berrigan (Wave Books)

(3 lists) Correct Animal by Rebecca Farivar (Octopus Books)

(3 lists) The Grief Performance by Emily Kendal Frey (Cleveland State University)

(3 lists) Threshold Songs by Peter Gizzi (Wesleyan)

(3 lists) Things Come On {an amneoir} by Joseph Harrington (Wesleyan)

(3 lists) This Isa Nice Neighborhood by Farid Matuk (Letter Machine Editions)

(3 lists) Studying Hunger Journals by Bernadette Mayer (Station Hill)

(3 lists) You and Three Others are Approaching a Lake by Anna Moschovakis (Coffee House Press)

(3 lists) MOUTH: EATS COLOR Sagawa Chika Translations, Anti-Translations, & Originals by Sawako Nakayasu & Chika Sagawa (Rouge Factorial)

(3 lists) Red Missed Aches Read Missed Aches Red Mistakes Read Mistakes by Jennifer Tamayo (Switchback Books)

(3 lists) Address by Elizabeth Willis (Wesleyan University Press)

(2 lists) Money Shot by Rae Armantrout (Wesleyan)

(2 lists) People are Tiny in Paintings of China by Cynthia Arrieu-King (Octopus Books)

(2 lists) Scared Text by Eric Baus (Center for Literary Publishing)

(2 lists) Utopia Minus by Susan Briante (Ahsahta Press)

(2 lists) Words Facing East by Kimberly L. Becker (WordTech Editions)

(2 lists) The Kings of the F**king Sea by Dan Boehl (Birds, LLC)

(2 lists) not merely because of the unknown that was stalking toward them by Jenny Boully (Tarpaulin Sky)

(2 lists) Rust or Go Missing by Lily Brown (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)

(2 lists) Roseate, Points of Gold by Laynie Browne (Dusie Press)

(2 lists) Laked, Fielded, Blanked by Brooklyn Copeland (alice blue books)

(2 lists) Click and Clone by Elaine Equi (Coffee House)

(2 lists) The Many Woods of Grief by Lucas Farrell (University of Massachussetts Press)

(2 lists) FABRIC: Preludes to the Last American Book by Richard Froude (Horse Less Press)

(2 lists) Hough & Helix & Where & Here & You, You, You by Lea Graham (No Tell Books)

(2 lists) Called by Kate Greenstreet (Delete Press)

(2 lists) Little Winter Theater by Nancy Kuhl (Ugly Duckling Presse)

(2 lists) The Wide Road by Carla Harryman and Lyn Hejinian (Belladonna*)

(2 lists) Wolf Face by Matt Hart (H_NGM_N BKS)

(2 lists) Negro League Baseball by Harmony Holiday (Fence Books)

(2 lists) A Beautiful Name for a Girl by Kirsten Kaschock (Ahsahta)

(2 lists) No Eden by Sally Rosen Kindred (Mayapple Press)

(2 lists) Beauty Was the Case that They Gave Me by Mark Leidner (Factory Hollow)

(2 lists) Discipline by Dawn Lundy Martin (Nightboat)

(2 lists) White-Collar Worker: I Am A Destiny by Dan Magers (H_NGM_N)

(2 lists) Becoming Weather by Chris Martin (Coffee House Press)

(2 lists) Black Peculiar by Khadijah Queen (Noemi Press)

(2 lists) Drizzle Pocket by Tim Roberts (BlazeVOX)

(2 lists) How Phenomena Appear to Unfold by Leslie Scalapino (Litmus Press)

(2 lists) How We Saved the City by Kate Schapira (Stockport Flats)

(2 lists) O Bon by Brandon Shimoda (Litmus Press)

(2 lists) the new black by Evie Shockley (Wesleyan)

(2 lists) Well Then There Now by Juliana Spahr (Black Sparrow)

(2 lists) Applies to Oranges by Maureen Thorson (Ugly Duckling Presse)

(2 lists) I Am a Very Productive Entrepreneur by Mathias Svalina (Mud Luscious Press)