What Persists contains eighteen of the nearly fifty essays on poetry that Judith Kitchen published in The Georgia Review over a twenty-five-year span. Coming at the genre from every possible angle, this celebrated critic discusses work by older and younger poets, most American but some foreign, and many of whom were not yet part of the contemporary canon. Her essays reveal a cultural history from the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, through 9/11 and the Iraq War, and move into today's political climate. They chronicle personal interests while they also make note of what was happening in contemporary poetry by revealing overall changes of taste, both in content and in the use of craft. Over time, they fashion a comprehensive overview of the contemporary literary scene. At its best, What Persists shows what a wide range of poetry is being written-by women, men, poets who celebrate their ethnicity, poets who show a fierce individualism, poets whose careers have soared, promising poets whose work has all but disappeared.
"I hope others will immerse themselves in this book and be as moved, amazed, touched, and enlightened as I felt when I read and now reread her marvelous sentences, her deep understanding of poetry, her remarkable ability to absorb it all and make sense of it for her readers."
Kelly Cherry, The Hollins Critic
"Compact as crystal, this book touches and changes its reader and will prove a shining milestone to future poets, scholars, and readers seeking the light of poetry itself."
John R. Stilgoe, author of Landscape and Images
"Gordon Lamb digs into an overlooked moment in Athens civic history, places it in cultural context, and unearths the idiosyncrasies of a small Southern college town."
