Forty contemporary poets write about the connections between their lives and their love of words in brief commentaries that preceed a selected poem or poems by each one. Liz Rosenberg's anthology is notable for the outstanding and diverse selection of poets and poetry it introduces as well as for the thoughtful and inspiring statements by each of the artists on their work. Two black-and-white photographs accompanying each poet's commentary, one showing her or him as a child or young adult and one as he or she looks today, add another unusual element, as does Rosenberg's brief closing chapter, Ways to Use This Book, in which she launches ideas for creative expression from comments that many of the poets have made about writing. (Age 12 and older)

Sitting by the barbecue
waiting for sausages and hot dogs
..........
I see a tiny spider
..........
a silver speck
glistening
at its mouth,
climbing the invisible ladder

--from "Dinner Together" by Diana Rivera

This anthology of poems by America's best poets glistens too, and offers its own silvery ladder for readers to climb.

Liz Rosenberg, herself an accomplished poet, wanted to make contemporary poems for adults accessible to a broader readership. She searched for works which, in both feeling and expression, could reach from one age group to another. Then she asked the poets to write about the links between poetry and childhood, and to send photos that showed how they looked when they were young, and who they are today.

The Invisible Ladder is a gift from everyone who contributed to it: a hand extended from those whose art is crafting words to a new generation of readers and writers.