Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces by Wislawa Szymborska, translated by Clare Cavanagh ($24 Harcourt) Polish poet Szymborska received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. Unbeknownst to many of her readers, she also was a columnist and reviewed an amazing array of books on all sorts of topics (canine illnesses, caves, bodybuilding, to name a few). Her wit, wisdom, and warmth are evident in these brief, engaging essays. And speaking of Ms. Szymborska, _Miracle Fair_, a selection of her poems translated by Joanna Trzeciak, has just arrived in paperback ($15.95 Norton).

Poems of Paul Celan, translated by Michael Hamburger ($18.95 paperback, $35 hardcover; Persea) Mr. Hamburger has revised and expanded his seminal translation of this incredible German poet. Added are the poem "Wolf' s-Bean," as well as a note on the poem's history, and Mr. Hamburger's essay, "On Translating Celan."

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by W.S. Merwin ($22 Knopf) Merwin has created a clear and compelling verse translation of this classic Arthurian tale of mystery and adventure that begins when a huge green knight on a green horse arrives at King Arthur's court with a strange challenge. Those wanting to brush up on their Middle English will be able to do so with this bilingual edition.

Miniatures and Other Poems by Barbara Guest ($12.95 Wesleyan) "Perfume in a bottle," Fanny Howe has deemed this 26th collection of poetry from Ms. Guest, and it makes sense to describe these condensed, intense pieces so. She needs few words to make a world - "Moldy day. Leather gaiters. Warm camisole. / Slow measure."

Chinese Whispers by John Ashbery ($22 FSG) "Night settles briskly as with feather duster / and rag under arm, determined to be not too civilized. / It seems the sky left us / hanging, long ago, and now wants us undetermined, / untried sheep nosing out of the mist. / Be thankful for all you haven't been, and could be / in a warier situation. For desk values. The shoehorn. // Our lives ebbing always toward the center, / the unframed portrait."

Denise Levertov: Selected Poems ($24.95 New Directions) Five years after her death in Seattle, Ms. Levertov's long time publisher has gathered poems from her nineteen individual collections into one rich volume that resonates with her graceful, brave, worshipful voice. Also included are a preface by her friend and colleague Robert Creeley and an afterword by her literary executor, Robert A. Lacey.

Poetry Comics: An Annotated Anthology_ and _Poetry Comics: A Literary Postcard Book by Dave Morice ($16.95 and $9.95 respectively, Teachers & Writers) Hurrah! They're back! Many of you have heard us describe with glee Mr. Morice's comic-book rendering of the warhorses of poetry (frustratingly out of print for years). Now at last we have a book to put in your hands. Far from demeaning or belittling the poems, Mr. Morice's drawings refresh and enliven them. And what a treat to have them in postcard format, too. (Is it too early to say the words "stocking stuffer"? Probably. Sorry.)

So Ask: Essays, Conversations, and Interviews by Philip Levine ($15.95 University of Michigan Press) Michigan's impressive Poets on Poetry series adds another volume from Mr. Levine. He is as present here as he is in his poetry, and as intense, engaged, and opinionated. He writes (or speaks - part of the book consists of conversations with other writers) with passion of poems, poets, teachers, and family. The press has also brought back into print his memoir, _The Bread of Time: Toward an Autobiography_ ($18.95).

Blind Huber by Nick Flynn ($14 Graywolf) This intense, almost eerie book takes as its subject bees, beehives, and two men in 18th century France who discovered much of what we now know about the apiarian world. Francois Huber, blinded in childhood, and his assistant, Burnens, spent 50 years studying bees, and Mr. Flynn speaks not only in their voices but in the voices of the bees themselves. Stanley Kunitz described this collection as "a work of the creative imagination unlike any other."

Divertimento: The Lost Works of Nelson Bentley ($12 Floating Bridge) Early and late poems, and a short story, by the late, much beloved professor who was a friend and mentor to likely thousands. This book also contains many of his "Bentleyisms," pithy statements about poetry and writing for which he was locally famous. An example: Art is reality intensified; it's not reality all mashed up.

Good Poems, Selected and Introduced by Garrison Keillor ($25.95 Viking) Okay, Thanksgiving hasn't come yet, but we saw a Santa doll downtown last week, so here goes.. This collection of poems from Mr. Keillor's nightly public radio spot, The Writer's Almanac, has gift written all over it. Your aunt and/or uncle maybe? Niece or nephew? Spouse? Yourself? The poets range from Shakespeare and Dickinson to Berryman and Oliver, with Bukowski along for the ride. Brief biographies of the writers close out this 476-page tome. Mr. Keillor being a radio person, it should come as no surprise that compact disc ($26.95) and cassette ($24.95) sets of these poems are also available, read by the poets in many cases, as well as by Mr. Keillor.

Nine Horses by Billy Collins ($21.95 Random House) We said it was coming in our last mailer, and here it is: a collection of new poems by the wildly popular Poet Laureate of the United States. Mr. Collins's casual, comic tone is still with him, but an awareness of mortality adds a new depth and shading to his work. Mr. Collins will be reading on Bainbridge Island on December 7, at 3:00, and we have the $10 tickets available.