Best Locally Produced Literary Anthology

Skanky Possum

Don't let the title fool you into thinking this is a joke punk cynical jackoff. Edited by Hoa Nguyen and Dale Smith, the 'Poss is one of the most lively and intensely literate anthologies produced in the world. Always smart, challenging, and never complacent, their reputation among serious, professional poets is sterling and deservedly so. Smith was included in Best American Poetry of 2002, edited by Robert Creeley, and is on the all-new Editor’s Roundtable of 2005 Poet's Market. They also bring some of the finest internationally respected poets to town for quiet, usually way underattended shows held at 12th Street Books. Don't expect slam style and don't expect one-dimensional confessionalism. As Smith said in an interview published in the Baltimore Sun in 2000, "It's great that poetry is popular, but what is it that's being recognized as poetry?" It's his contention that true poetry is neither easy nor accessible. We agree wholeheartedly. What it is is magic that is terribly dangerous. And Skanky Possum is dangerous and extraordinarily necessary for these dangerously mediocre times.

Skanky Possum
2925 Higgins
www.skankypossum.com