In a follow-up inspired by its critically-acclaimed debut book, POETRY AFTER 9/11: AN ANTHOLOGY OF NEW YORK POETS, Melville House Books has announced the launch of a new, ongoing series of poetry books marking the continuing sweep and vibrancy of the poetry scene in America's poetry capital, New York City.

The first series to ever focus on one, contemporary poetry community, the NEW YORK POETS SERIES will kick off on May first with the release of GHOSTWOOD, by Star Black, and IN THE HAIRY ARMS OF WHITMAN, by Bill Kushner.

"We were inspired to start the NEW YORK POETS SERIES by the success of the POETRY AFTER 9/11 book," says series editor Valerie Merians. "The anthology was a survey of the many different kinds of poets working in New York right now, and the fact that it became one of the best-selling poetry books of the year struck us as a clear indication that people are interested in who's who in America's poetry capital."

"The NEW YORK POETS SERIES will offer collections from individual poets who are among the most well-known here, who have a following in the city and are recognized for their development of a unique poetic identity," Merians says. "It's another way of celebrating the strength and sweep of New York City's poetry community."

Both Black and Kushner were featured in POETRY AFTER 9/11 and "the critical response to their poems in the anthology was one reason we decided to start the series with them," says Merians' co-editor, Dennis Loy Johnson. "Plus, they're very different poets who show off the diversity of the scene -- Bill is a downtown poet who writes in a funny, discursive style, while Star writes exquisitely-crafted sonnets."

Meanwhile, the lushly-designed hardcover books themselves seem bound to attract attention.

"We mean for the books of the NEW YORK POETS SERIES to be beautiful artifacts in themselves," says Merians. "We hired an exciting young designer named Dave Konopka who'd been designing art books, and even books about design. He came up with an elegant design for the entire series that shows off New York from some surprising angles -- just like the poetry does."