Maureen N. Mclane of The Chicago Tribune gave a positive review on the volume, The Best American Poetry 2005, noting the characters of the poets and the manner of selections.
The volume is "one of the series' best books in years", according to Maureen N. McLane, reviewing the book in The Chicago Tribune. "None of these poets is hermetic, but many are willing to challenge you as well as to entertain you. The selections clearly have not been chosen simply because the writer is well-known or in order to represent a certain style or group, she wrote. 
