Poetry best sellers August 15-27, 2010

The fall publishing bonanza is not yet upon us, but a few September releases have already made their way onto the contemporary best seller list this week. So while the names at the top aren’t all that different (W.S. Merwin’s Shadow of Sirius is still at number 1), there are a few notable debuts further down the list. Come On All You Ghosts, the third book from Matthew Zapruder, debuts at number 13, tied with another debut, Ideal Cities by Erika Meitner. Walden by Haiku, a “found” poetry project in which Ian Marshall condenses some of the wit and wisdom of Henry David Thoreau into haiku form, debuts at number 24, followed shortly by Paper House, the second collection from Jessie Carty. Also debuting this week is Jew’s Harp, the first collection from retired film editor Walter Hess, which arrives at number 4. We also have a new Small Press Distribution list this week, where Humanimal: A Project for Future Children by Bhanu Kapil hits the number 1 spot.