In 1991, Dana Gioia's provocative essay "Can Poetry Matter?" was published in the Atlantic Monthly, and received more public response than any other piece in the magazine's history. In his book, Gioia more fully addressed the question: Is there a place for poetry to be part of modern American mainstream culture? Ten years later, the debate is as lively and heated as ever. Graywolf is pleased to re-issue this highly acclaimed collection in a handsome new edition, which includes a new Introduction by distinguished critic and poet, Dana Gioia.

“No one, I think, has written with greater clarity or greater poignancy-or with a greater sense of urgency, either-about the 'subculture' in which the art of poetry is still confined....” —Hilton Kramer, The New Criterion

“Can Poetry Matter? is an important book, and anyone who professes to care about the state of American poetry will have to take it into account.” —World Literature Today

“If you're an educated general reader, and you read only one book about contemporary poetry, this should be that book.” —Booklist

An acclaimed poet, essayist, anthologist, BBC commentator, and critic, Dana Gioia is also the author of, most recently, Interrogations at Noon, a collection of poems that received the American Book Award, and Nosferatu, a libretto. He was recently nominated to be Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and lives in Santa Rosa, California, with his family.