The Gertrude Stein Awards in Innovative American Poetr

Messerli (publisher of Sun & Moon Press and editor of From the Other Side of the Century: A New American Poetry 1960- 1990) is a staunch and passionate defender of experimental writing. Many of the nearly 100 works collected here are based more on intellect than on emotion, but they can't be easily pigeonholed or dismissed. Poems mix with straightforward prose. ""Language"" seems the operative word: not one writer here takes even the simplest preposition or conjunction for granted. Some memorable pieces are rooted in foreign cultures, e.g., Martine Bellen's ""The Tale of Murasaki"" or Myung Mi Kim's ""Primer."" More traditional writers (Susan M. Schultz, Michael Leddy, Mark Wallace and others) pave the way for non-syntactic works. Gleaned from 1993-94 publications (whose ascriptions comprise a useful bibliography of cutting-edge journals), this collection is an invigorating launch of a projected series that promises to be a much-needed companion to the annual Pushcart and Best American Poetry volumes. (July)