Poet’s Corner Press Best Poetry, 2000-2004

This anthology from Poet’s Corner Press of Stockton is a sampler of the best from each of its books. The press operates on a shoestring—and its production values reflect that—but David Humphreys and his poet-colleagues have assembled a collection of some of the best that local poets are producing. I’m particularly fond of the subtle sense of humor that runs side by side with a grasp of the tragic, a pairing that seems to be a hallmark of the poets of the Central Valley. Tom Goff’s description of the blue heron as a “pterodactyl of worry” in his “American River Nightfall,” and Jane Blue’s poem “Mr. Rogers Visits Koko the Gorilla” are emblematic of that sensibility. A number of Sacramento-area poets are included, and a spoken-word CD is also available.