This collection re-evaluates the standards of literary value in American poetry since 1950, moving beyond political and identitarian metrics. The editors, Robert Faggen and Robert Von Hallberg, have gathered essays that explore voice, language, form, and musicality, aiming to establish new frameworks for discussing and teaching poetry. Rather than offering a comprehensive survey, the book presents over thirty distinct models of critical engagement and advocacy for contemporary poets. This approach seeks to reorient the field of poetry criticism by focusing on speculative inquiry and literary absorption.

The collection aims to shift contemporary poetry criticism away from esoteric interpretations and toward a more evaluative and speculative approach. By presenting diverse models of literary absorption and advocacy, the essays seek to provide a foundation for future discussions and teaching of poetry. The focus on voice, language, form, and musicality suggests an in-depth engagement with the craft of poets like Elizabeth Bishop, C. D. Wright, and Charles Bernstein. This reorientation of criticism is intended to foster a renewed appreciation for literary value in American poetry.