| Table of Contents |
| | Stand Up Poetry: An Update / Charles Harper Webb | |
| | For Desire / Kim Addonizio | 1 |
| | What the Dead Fear / Kim Addonizio | 2 |
| | Going to Norway / Jack Anderson | 3 |
| | The Housewife / Ginger Andrews | 5 |
| | O That Summer / Ginger Andrews | 6 |
| | Evidently, She Says / Ginger Andrews | 7 |
| | Prayer / Ginger Andrews | 8 |
| | At 4:00 A.M. Asleep / John Balaban | 9 |
| | Words for My Daughter / John Balaban | 9 |
| | Bad Joke / Dorothy Barresi | 12 |
| | Glass Dress / Dorothy Barresi | 14 |
| | Blazon / Dinah Berland | 16 |
| | I Eat Lunch with a Schizophrenic / Laurel Ann Bogen | 17 |
| | Pygmy Headhunters and Killer Apes, My Lover and Me / Laurel Ann Bogen | 18 |
| | Havana / Laurel Ann Bogen | 19 |
| | English Flavors / Laure-Anne Bosselaar | 22 |
| | No Sorry / Catherine Bowman | 23 |
| | Demographics / Catherine Bowman | 25 |
| | Money As Water / Kurt Brown | 27 |
| | Return of the Prodigals / Kurt Brown | 28 |
| | Chapter One / Stephanie Brown | 30 |
| | Allegory of the Supermarket / Stephanie Brown | 32 |
| | Agape / Stephanie Brown | 34 |
| | His Toys / Michael Dennis Browne | 36 |
| | Knock Knock / Michael Dennis Browne | 36 |
| | Sleep Walk / Christopher Buckley | 37 |
| | the tragedy of the leaves / Charles Bukowski | 39 |
| | trouble with spain / Charles Bukowski | 40 |
| | Some Terms in Real Estate Defined / Richard Cecil | 42 |
| | Miss Congeniality / Maxine Chernoff | 44 |
| | The Dead Letter Office / Maxine Chernoff | 44 |
| | Toothache / Maxine Chernoff | 45 |
| | Vanity, Wisconsin / Maxine Chernoff | 45 |
| | How Lies Grow / Maxine Chernoff | 46 |
| | white lady / Lucille Clifton | 47 |
| | wishes for sons / Lucille Clifton | 48 |
| | I Live for My Car / Wanda Coleman | 49 |
| | Chuck Man / Wanda Coleman | 50 |
| | Embrace / Billy Collins | 51 |
| | Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House / Billy Collins | 52 |
| | The History Teacher / Billy Collins | 53 |
| | Litany / Billy Collins | 54 |
| | Nightclub / Billy Collins | 55 |
| | Things My Grandfather Must Have Said / Mark Cox | 57 |
| | The Garglers / Mark Cox | 59 |
| | Style / Mark Cox | 60 |
| | Form Rejection Letter / Philip Dacey | 61 |
| | Coke / Philip Dacey | 63 |
| | Squeak / Philip Dacey | 65 |
| | The Rules / Philip Dacey | 67 |
| | The Hoagie Scam / Jim Daniels | 68 |
| | Blessing the House / Jim Daniels | 70 |
| | Pony Express / Stephen Dobyns | 72 |
| | Confession / Stephen Dobyns | 73 |
| | How to Like It / Stephen Dobyns | 74 |
| | Ego / Denise Duhamel | 76 |
| | I'm Dealing with My Pain / Denise Duhamel | 77 |
| | Why, on a Bad Day, I Can Relate to the Manatee / Denise Duhamel | 78 |
| | Buddhist Barbie / Denise Duhamel | 79 |
| | On Hearing the Airlines Will Use a Psychological Profile to Catch Potential Skyjackers / Stephen Dunn | 80 |
| | At the Smithville Methodist Church / Stephen Dunn | 82 |
| | The Shame Place / Stephen Dunn | 84 |
| | The Retirement of the Elephant / Russell Edson | 85 |
| | The Automobile / Russell Edson | 86 |
| | Counting Sheep / Russell Edson | 87 |
| | The Categories / Russell Edson | 87 |
| | Good Son Jim / Russell Edson | 88 |
| | Ape / Russell Edson | 89 |
| | Elephant Tears / Russell Edson | 90 |
| | The Crumble-Knees / Russell Edson | 91 |
| | The White Dress / Lynn Emanuel | 92 |
| | The Politics of Narrative: Why I Am a Poet / Lynn Emanuel | 93 |
| | Body and Soul / B. H. Fairchild | 96 |
| | The Bride of Frankenstein / Edward Field | 99 |
| | The Dirty Floor / Edward Field | 101 |
| | Open Sesame / Edward Field | 102 |
| | Graffiti / Edward Field | 102 |
| | Marvel Mystery Oil / Elliot Fried | 103 |
| | Why I Want to Be the Next Poet Laureate / Elliot Fried | 104 |
| | Wordsworth's Socks / Elliot Fried | 105 |
| | Chain Mail / Elliot Fried | 106 |
| | Deb at the Ham Slicer / Cynthia Gallaher | 107 |
| | Why I Left the Church / Richard Garcia | 109 |
| | Chickens Everywhere / Richard Garcia | 110 |
| | Vernon / Richard Garcia | 111 |
| | Mi Mama, the Playgirl / Richard Garcia | 112 |
| | Dear Boy George / Amy Gerstler | 113 |
| | Slowly I Open My Eyes (gangster soliloquy) / Amy Gerstler | 114 |
| | An Unexpected Adventure / Amy Gerstler | 115 |
| | Ars Poetica / John Gilgun | 116 |
| | Talking about Boys / Lisa Glatt | 118 |
| | The World in My Mother's Hair / Lisa Glatt | 119 |
| | Leash / Lisa Glatt | 120 |
| | Life Is Happy / Albert Goldbarth | 121 |
| | The Sciences Sing a Lullabye / Albert Goldbarth | 122 |
| | My Rodeo / Jack Grapes | 123 |
| | Listen / Jack Grapes | 124 |
| | I Like My Own Poems / Jack Grapes | 127 |
| | The Case against Mist / Mark Halliday | 129 |
| | Credentials / Mark Halliday | 131 |
| | My Moral Life / Mark Halliday | 132 |
| | Invention / Barbara Hamby | 134 |
| | Mr. Pillow / Barbara Hamby | 136 |
| | Beriberi / Barbara Hamby | 138 |
| | The Intelligence Quotient / Deborah Harding | 140 |
| | Don't Cheapen Yourself / Jana Harris | 141 |
| | Beneath the Pole of Proud Raven / Jana Harris | 143 |
| | The Pope at 7:00 P.M. / Eloise Klein Healy | 146 |
| | Toltecs / Eloise Klein Healy | 148 |
| | Advice Like That / Eloise Klein Healy | 149 |
| | just squeeze / Terry Hertzler | 150 |
| | Memory / Bob Hicok | 151 |
| | Man of the House / Bob Hicok | 152 |
| | Song against Natural Selection / Edward Hirsch | 153 |
| | For the Sleepwalkers / Edward Hirsch | 154 |
| | Oh Mercy / Tony Hoagland | 155 |
| | My Country / Tony Hoagland | 156 |
| | Lawrence / Tony Hoagland | 157 |
| | The Collaboration / Tony Hoagland | 159 |
| | The Kiss / Paul Hoover | 161 |
| | Sweep / Rodney Jones | 162 |
| | Traitor / Allison Joseph | 164 |
| | Good Humor / Allison Joseph | 167 |
| | Soul Train / Allison Joseph | 169 |
| | The Children's Book of Knowledge / Jesse Lee Kercheval | 171 |
| | Your Wife, a Widow, Waits for You / Jesse Lee Kercheval | 172 |
| | Things That Have Escaped Me / Jesse Lee Kercheval | 173 |
| | Acceptance Speech / Elizabeth Kerlikowske | 176 |
| | I Think I Am Going to Call My Wife Paraguay / David Kirby | 179 |
| | Amazed by Chekhov / David Kirby | 181 |
| | The Dance of Husbands in Bathrobes / David Kirby | 182 |
| | Nosebleed, Gold Digger, KGB, Henry James, Handshake / David Kirby | 183 |
| | Coloring / Ron Koertge | 185 |
| | All Suffering Comes from Attachment / Ron Koertge | 186 |
| | What She Wanted / Ron Koertge | 187 |
| | Foolish Earthlings / Ron Koertge | 188 |
| | The Seven Dwarfs, Each on His Deathbed, Remember Snow White / Ron Koertge | 189 |
| | Dear Superman / Ron Koertge | 191 |
| | Lurid Confessions / Steve Kowit | 192 |
| | I Attend a Poetry Reading / Steve Kowit | 193 |
| | Hell / Steve Kowit | 194 |
| | A Trick / Steve Kowit | 195 |
| | The Laundromat / Dorianne Laux | 197 |
| | Dust / Dorianne Laux | 198 |
| | Fast Gas / Dorianne Laux | 199 |
| | 2 A.M. / Dorianne Laux | 200 |
| | Tracy and Joe / Lisa Lewis | 202 |
| | Beer / Gerald Locklin | 204 |
| | Tap Dancing Lessons / Gerald Locklin | 206 |
| | The Leader of the Pack / Gerald Locklin | 207 |
| | Learning to See Crooked / Gerald Locklin | 208 |
| | Do you remember the scene in The Godfather where James Caan says, "Now make sure that the gun gets stashed in the rest room - I don't want my kid brother walking out of there with nothing but his dick in his hand"? / Gerald Locklin | 209 |
| | Letter to My Assailant / Suzanne Lummis | 210 |
| | Fish I Remember / Suzanne Lummis | 212 |
| | Why Life Is Worth Living / Suzanne Lummis | 213 |
| | The People of the Other Village / Thomas Lux | 215 |
| | Upon Seeing an Ultrasound Photo of an Unborn Child / Thomas Lux | 216 |
| | So You Put the Dog to Sleep / Thomas Lux | 217 |
| | Men with Small Heads / Thomas Lux | 218 |
| | "I Love You Sweatheart" / Thomas Lux | 219 |
| | Uncle Eggplant / Jeffrey McDaniel | 220 |
| | The Bad Pilgrim Room / Jeffrey McDaniel | 220 |
| | The Quiet World / Jeffrey McDaniel | 221 |
| | Play It Again, Salmonella / Jeffrey McDaniel | 222 |
| | Hazel Tells LaVerne / Katharyn Howd Machan | 223 |
| | In Line at Pancho's Tacos / Bill Mohr | 224 |
| | Why the Heart Never Develops Cancer / Bill Mohr | 225 |
| | Fortune Cookies / Fred Moramarco | 226 |
| | Novel / Fred Moramarco | 228 |
| | Perfect Recall / Jack Myers | 230 |
| | Lightweight / Jack Myers | 232 |
| | Jake Addresses the World from the Garden / Jack Myers | 233 |
| | The Anti-Foucault Poem / Sandra Nelson | 234 |
| | My Philosophy / Dan Nielsen | 236 |
| | Saturday Morning Ultimatum / Dan Nielsen | 236 |
| | A Paranoid Egotist / Dan Nielsen | 236 |
| | Working at the Wholesale Curtain Showroom / Ed Ochester | 237 |
| | Thanksgiving / Ed Ochester | 238 |
| | Pocahontas / Ed Ochester | 239 |
| | In Line at the Supermarket / Greg Pape | 240 |
| | The Bad Muse / Lawrence Raab | 242 |
| | The Sudden Appearance of a Monster at a Window / Lawrence Raab | 243 |
| | Justification of the Horned Lizard / Pattiann Rogers | 244 |
| | The Dead Never Fight against Anything / Pattiann Rogers | 246 |
| | Geocentric / Pattiann Rogers | 248 |
| | To Raise the Blind on Purpose / Stephanie Sallaska | 249 |
| | Fiddleheads / Maureen Seaton | 250 |
| | Furious Cooking / Maureen Seaton | 252 |
| | Monkey House / Betsy Sholl | 254 |
| | Four Crows at Dusk / Betsy Sholl | 256 |
| | Honeybee upon the Tundra / Joan Jobe Smith | 258 |
| | A Philodendron Named Joan / Joan Jobe Smith | 260 |
| | What I Learned from the Movies / Joan Jobe Smith | 262 |
| | Drugstore Trolls / Maura Stanton | 264 |
| | Revolt / Maura Stanton | 265 |
| | All-Purpose Apology Poem / Austin Straus | 266 |
| | I Am a Finn / James Tate | 268 |
| | Aunt Sophie's Morning / James Tate | 269 |
| | How the Pope Is Chosen / James Tate | 270 |
| | Remedy for Backache / Judith Taylor | 272 |
| | Natural Woman / Judith Taylor | 272 |
| | Mistakes / Judith Taylor | 273 |
| | Instructions to Her Next Husband / Judith Taylor | 273 |
| | Naola Beauty Academy, New Orleans, 1945 / Natasha Trethewey | 274 |
| | History Lesson / Natasha Trethewey | 275 |
| | Yvette Mimieux in Hit Lady / David Trinidad | 276 |
| | Double Trouble / David Trinidad | 277 |
| | What We Could Do / William Trowbridge | 279 |
| | O Paradise / William Trowbridge | 280 |
| | Curtain Call / William Trowbridge | 281 |
| | Termination / Fred Voss | 282 |
| | The Stud / Fred Voss | 283 |
| | Sun Worshiper / Fred Voss | 284 |
| | At the St. Louis Institute of Music / Ronald Wallace | 285 |
| | A Hot Property / Ronald Wallace | 286 |
| | In a Pig's Eye / Ronald Wallace | 287 |
| | Constipation / Ronald Wallace | 288 |
| | The Singer / Chocolate Waters | 289 |
| | Marrying / Charles Harper Webb | 290 |
| | Biblical Also-Rans / Charles Harper Webb | 291 |
| | Amplified Dog / Charles Harper Webb | 293 |
| | You Don't Want to Hear a Poem, Do You? / Don Weinstock | 295 |
| | Black Slip / Terry Wolverton | 296 |
| | The Business of Love Is Cruelty / Dean Young | 298 |
| | Chapped Lips / Dean Young | 300 |
| | The Wreckers / Rafael Zepeda | 301 |
| | The Philosophical Emancipation / Rafael Zepeda | 303 |
| | Living with Others / Al Zolynas | 304 |
| | The Way He'd Like It / Al Zolynas | 305 |
| | The Same Air / Al Zolynas | 306 |
| | Pastorale for Spring / Al Zolynas | 308 |
| | Acknowledgments / Al Zolynas | 309 |
| | Title Index / Al Zolynas | 319 |
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