This chapter examines the function of anthologies and anthologising lists as devices of self-regulation. As selective surveys of whatever range of poetry they aim to represent, anthologies play an obvious role in canon formation; and as commercial products, anthologies of living poets are poised especially between the promotion of individual writers, the promotion of poetry as an art form, and the promotion of more specific agendas and perspectives within the poetry industry. Whatever their publishers’, editors’, and contributors’ intentions, it goes without saying that the introductions, marketing blurbs, and selection processes for anthologies of contemporary work are bound by the double- imperative of selling that work and deciding what work is worth selling. This chapter focuses on a particular strategy employed by recent anthologies to these ends: the generational frame. In recent years, generational anthologies have been a means for asserting poetry's bright future, but also for projecting an image of consensus into that future, beyond historical divisions that appear antithetical to a shared vision and sense of community. The first half of the chapter focuses on a wave of generation- defining volumes published in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2014, followed by a discussion of the ‘New Generation’ and ‘Next Generation Poets’ lists published in 1994, 2004, and 2014. Together, these UK anthologies and lists offer striking examples of the wider attempts by contemporary print poetry to recognise, on one hand, new voices emerging from a complex historical moment and to consolidate, on the other hand, the regulatory power of print publishing for a rapidly changing audience.

Section I: The Anthology Generation(s)

It's hard to argue with the generational anthology's promise: Go on, it says, pick me up. If it's verse you’re after, here's a handy sampler – a safe way to begin exploring the strangely well- hidden world of contemporary poetry, learning the names and trends that will let you feel you’re part of that conversation. Like a mixtape from a wise older sibling, an editor or team of editors has done the hard work for you. These are the ones worth reading, the title and preface assure you. It was a difficult choice, they confess (for the sake of those not chosen), but in the end, they feel this dozen or two dozen or twelve dozen poets give us an authoritative snapshot of poetry as it stands today.