Poetry Nation: The North American Anthology of Fusion Poetry

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta and a
poet. He is the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

This huge anthology of fusion poetry is an interesting document, a
collection out of the thriving worlds of the “poetry slams” and
performance poetry. It gives equal billing to Canadian and American
poets. There are useful observations in the introduction (the editors
believe in a fusion of spoken and written art), and the biographical
notes will lead interested readers to more works by the contributors.
The poetry tends to be self-consciously sordid (one-night stands, howls
of sexual angst and rage), and the stylistic resources of the writers
are often impoverished. But the book represents some conspicuous trends.
Writers can build reputations outside the literary mainstream, although
with Poetry Nation, many readers may feel that the fusion stream is a
trickle rather than a major river system.