“My friends, the state of Contemporary Poetry is strong! More people are reading and writing  poetry than at any time in our history. Sometimes it’s hard to keep abreast of all the developments. New aesthetic manifestos appear almost daily. Scores of schools of Poetry have sprung up. Hundreds of journals publish new work. Thousands of poets write alone or in collaboration. It all feels nearly miraculous. And we should ignore the skeptics and the naysayers. The quality of contemporary work has never been higher.

For proof of this, we need look no further than the Little Red Tree International Poetry Prize 2012 – Anthology. Its variety is remarkable, its scope broad, its goals ambitious. Almost every contemporary tendency is included, from the freest of free verse to the most traditional of sestinas. And non-traditional sestinas as well: speculative sestinas, colorful sestinas. Here we find examples of the varied lyrical sequence, perhaps the most important contribution of American poetry over the last century, and work that defies classification, from France and as far away as India. The anthology is divided into three sections. The first gathers the winning poems, and the second contains notable selections from other distinguished entrants. The final section holds a variety of work from the Little Red Tree’s established authors. I hope you’ll walk with me a little while we move through its impressive landscape.

A few words must be said here about the effort, talent, and diligence required to publish such an anthology. The design, the layout, the love and care often go unnoticed. But having witnessed the process of publication, I would be remiss if I did not offer a small tribute to Michael Linnard, who takes on these projects in the true spirit of Poetry. And he had the good taste to include Miranda!”