Anthologies can be a great way to discover what is happening now to poetry across the English speaking world. The ones below focus on the upsurge of writing using recognisable form, such as the sonnet. It is an honour to have work included in them - rubbing shoulders with more talented writers in the hope that some of the magic proves infectious.
Thirty outstanding sonnets by some of the best exponents of the form writing today. Personal favourites include: A Coat, a Hat and a Gun, by John Whitworth, Janet Kenny's To Franz Schubert - Nacht und Traume, and God's Secretary by R S Gwynn. It also includes one of mine, Notes from an Italian Journey.
Ed. Mary Meriam, Exot Books, New York, 2010.
ISBN 978-0-9844249-2-4
Available from Exot Books
The most prestigious literary prize for sonnet writing is probably the annual Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award organised by Measure, a leading American journal dedicated to formalism. More fun, however, is Eratosphere's annual 'Sonnet Bake-off'. Part competition, part literary bun-fight, members of the internet's foremost web-board for formalist poets argue the toss, along with a guest judge, as to who has baked the most delicious sonnet.
Contenders for the 2011 prize are gathered together in Taking Turns, a modest little anthology edited by Anna Evans and published by Maverick Duck Press. Sadly it seems to be out of print at the moment, which is a pity, because it is full of small delights.
Rick Mullin, the New Jersey based poet/painter, comments, 
Contenders for the 2011 prize are gathered together in Taking Turns, a modest little anthology edited by Anna Evans and published by Maverick Duck Press. Sadly it seems to be out of print at the moment, which is a pity, because it is full of small delights.
"All right, I'm in it. But I am honored to be in it, as it contains sonnets written by the finest contemporary writers in the form. Mary Meriam gives us a book that illustrates the boundless possibilities for expression within the tradition. Say what you want about sonnet. They live."
Mary Meriam is gifted poet with an eye for the quirky and idiosyncratic. She has conjured up an intriguing collection which exhibits the vitality, diversity and invention found in contemporary sonnet writing. This is a 'must have' book.
Ed. Mary Meriam, Headmistress Press, Sequim, WA, 2014. ISBN 13: 978-0615931517. ISBN 10: 06115931510
Available from Amazon
The current editors have brought together what they consider to be the best work featured in the journal over a recent years. It affirms that there is more to contemporary formalist poetry than the 'orthodoxies of New Formalism'. What sets these poems apart above all else is that they are engaging, dare I say, 'a good read'. No self-absorbed language games here!
Eds. Anna M. Evans, Quincy R Lehr, Jeffery W. Holt, Barefoot Muse Press, Hainsport, 2015.
Available from Barefoot Muse Press
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