Published in 2006, Legitimate Dangers, edited by poets Cate Marvin and Michael Dumanis, was widely viewed as a broad and diverse representation of contemporary American poetry, and as a definitive text showcasing a younger generation of poets.

The anthology includes contributions from eighty-five American poets born after 1960 and presents readers with a generous sampling of each poet's work. Many of the poets featured in Legitimate Dangers had only one full-length book published at the time of the anthology's release; a great deal of the contributors have gone on to publish several volumes and win major awards, including the National Book Award.

Edward Hirsch has noted that Legitimate Dangers is "rich and varied, decisive, wide-ranging and unexpected," calling it "explosive." Claudia Rankine referred to the volume as "a brilliant record of what is genius in contemporary American poetry."

Poets in the anthology include Olena Kalytiak Davis, Mónica de la Torre, Timothy Donnelly, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Katie Ford, Matthea Harvey, Terrance Hayes, Major Jackson, Joanna Klink, Noelle Kocot, Sabrina Orah Mark, D. A. Powell, Brenda Shaughnessy, Richard Siken, Juliana Spahr, Natasha Tretheway, Rebecca Wolff, Kevin Young, Matthew Zapruder, and Rachel Zucker, among many others.