The Uncommon Speech of Paradise showcases the work of 120 modern and contemporary poets from seventeen countries--Seamus Heaney, Czeslaw Milosz, Pablo Neruda, and Anna Akhmatova--as well as works by such premier American poets as John Ashbery, Rita Dove, Mary Oliver, Joy Harjo, and Wallace Stevens. Together, they offer a wide variety of voices, styles, and perspectives on the theory, practice, and purpose of poetry.