Conceived by Series Editor William Wright in 2003, The Southern Poetry Anthology is a projected twelve-to-sixteen volume project celebrating established and emerging poets of the American South, published by Texas Review Press. Inspired by single-volume anthologies such as Leon Stokesbury's The Made Thing, Gil Allen's A Ninety-Six Sampler, and Guy Owen and Mary C. Williams' Contemporary Southern Poetry: an Anthology, The Southern Poetry Anthology aspires to provide readers with a documentary-like survey of the best poetry being written in the American South at the present moment.
Specifically, the editors' goals are twofold: first, to re-establish poetry of the South as a major presence in American literature, and second, to include a greater range of poets from the South to introduce a new poetic geography, a fresh corpus of what we understand to be "Southern Poetry." In doing so, the editors intend to create volumes for each southern state, including "border" states such as Texas, Florida, Kentucky, and Arkansas, as well as to establish volumes dedicated to entire sub-regions, including the Appalachian South (Volume III, now available) and the Gulf Coast.
All volumes published and forthcoming include poets who enjoy national reputations, as well as new poets who have already achieved interesting, textured voices.
Interview with William Wright, editor of The Southern Poetry Anthology
