New anthology from dVerse

The dVerse online community of blogging poets, in which I sometimes participate, has just published this beautiful new anthology of 104 poets from all over the world, who also share their work in that community:

It's available from Amazon North America and Amazon Europe. And yes, I am delighted to tell you I have two of my own poems included.

We weren't invited to choose poems to submit to this anthology. Instead the editors selected from poems already shared with dVerse during a specific time period. I was surprised at which ones of mine were chosen: probably not among those I would have submitted if asked, even though I am fond of them.

But tastes differ. Though I had not considered them my best work, I'm very glad that the editors valued them more highly, so that these particular poems now get much wider exposure than I would have given them. (They are At Mariner's Café and My Home River.)

These days I usually prefer ebooks to paperbacks, but this paperback is beautifully designed and produced. It not only looks good but feels good to touch. I'm glad to say the print is clear and easy to read, and the layout of the poems on the page – the amount of white space around them – is excellent. (As a former librarian and publisher, I know how crucial these details can be to the reading experience.) Some of the poets are also photographers, and the book is illustrated by the occasional black-and-white photo.

The commendably concise Foreword tells us that, "Online poetry is characterized by immediacy and rawness of the human experience. ... It retains the original texture of thought and feeling of the poetic imagination." (Which is not to say we don't revise, I hasten to add.)

The back cover blurb says: "We selected not only the best poems but also those poems that take the reader through a journey from the darkest places to the brightest. From the deepest sorrow into happiness and love. From the darkest streets to woods in spring."

I find the contents fascinating. I'm acquainted, of course, with the work of most of these poets, and I love and admire a great deal of it. In such communities we get to know each other, and each other's writing, very well. I think online poetry is often brilliant, every bit as good as anything being published in more traditional ways. It's a treat to have so many of these pieces collected together here, and I'm very complimented to be in such good company in such a good book.