Poems Books

The poets life experiences and love of nature shine through her poems. The poetry, the photographs and the beautiful cover make a jewel of a book.

The poets life experiences and love of nature shine through her poems. The poetry, the photographs and the beautiful cover combine to make a jewel of a book.

The beauty of the cover of this book is what first attracted me to it. After buying and reading, I fell in love with the inside because of the poems and photographs.
The author is indeed on intimate terms with nature and its truth and tragedy.

I have been a fan of Harvey Shapiro's poems for about 10 years now. This is one of the best collections by a contemporary poet that I have read.

The Sights Along The Harbor: New And Collected Poems is a definitive compendium of the diligent and inspiring poetry of scholar, professor, and veteran journalist Harvey Shapiro. Insightfully engaging his readers with conceptual, intuitive, and often a particularly Jewish rhetorical and lyrical work, The Sights Along The Harbor remarkably draws together the past fifty years of Shapiro's best work. How Many Times: How many times; Can you go back to the same scene; With love? I never hope to know./We work patiently at our quarrels,/Starting them now like love,/Deliberately but with elaborate/Ease. When they catch/We marvel at the blaze,/Crowding in close./"Inexhaustible." We shout at one another,/Happy for the moment./I never hope to know/How many times.

The Sights Along The Harbor: New And Collected Poems is a definitive compendium of the diligent and inspiring poetry of scholar, professor, and veteran journalist Harvey Shapiro. Insightfully engaging his readers with conceptual, intuitive, and often a particularly Jewish rhetorical and lyrical work, The Sights Along The Harbor remarkably draws together the past fifty years of Shapiro's best work. How Many Times: How many times; Can you go back to the same scene; With love? I never hope to know./We work patiently at our quarrels,/Starting them now like love,/Deliberately but with elaborate/Ease. When they catch/We marvel at the blaze,/Crowding in close./"Inexhaustible." We shout at one another,/Happy for the moment./I never hope to know/How many times.

Her work is great and her life interesting. This is a terrific book for anyone interested in writing and it also shows how all of us need to come to terms with our lives. Poems, letters, interviews, photographs. Good for book groups (or schools) with a built-in discussion guide. It's very affordable too.

When I first moved to Milwaukee in 1980, Lorine Niedecker and her work was a sort of glorious secret kept between the very few "in the know." This select group consisted of Karl Gartung of Woodland Pattern Book Center, the critic Karl Young, Morgan Gibson (Japan), Cid Corman (Japan), Ian Hamilton Finlay (U.k.), Basil Bunting (U.K.), and a very few others who had known Lorine and her writing. One fine day in early spring Karl Gartung took me up to see the famous cabin on Blackhawk Lake, the misspelled tombstone of gray granite. We visited Gail Roub in Fort Atkinson, a kind man, and heard him tell of rescuing Lorine's pictures and manuscripts left behind in the abandoned cabin at flood time after her death. It all came home to me that here was a woman passionately convinced of the importance of poetry in a world that largely passed her by. Living, in the main, by herself, surrounded by lush nature--frog croaks and mosquito bites and the lazy gulp of flies by the lake fish--she daily sat at a small table and worked hard to find the right word for the right place at the right time. No, she does not have the verbal gifts and dazzlingly unexpected insights into science and religion and fear and love and loss that Emily Dickinson had. Lorine Niedecker's gifts were of a far different, homelier kind. Where Emily Dickinson blazes, Lorine Niedecker glows; where Emily Dickson takes the breath, Lorine Niedecker affirms the bedrock certainty--the aptness--of the form she chooses to express her thought. In 1980 only a few of Lorine's publications were available--I picked up a rare Lorine Niedecker special issue of Truck Magazine from the 1970's and felt lucky to have it. Now, since the publication of Jenny Penberthy's edition of Niedecker's complete works, and the editions of letters--especially those to Louis Zukofsky, an academic industry has begun. Among the spate of ensuing theses, monographs, anthologies, translations and miscellaneous publications, John Lehman's America's greatest Unknown Poet is one of the finest introductions to the poetry and the life of Lorine Niedecker that I know. As well as providing context for the work, Lehman gently leads the reader past the central tragedy of Lorine's life: her relationship with the great second generation modernist poet Louis Zukofsky, who comes across in all accounts as a bit of a heavy. Lehman also provides a good anthology of Niedecker's best work, as well as a cogent discussion of her theory of art: her practice of condensing language in poetry. Lehman gives any potential student of Lorine's poetry the kinds of tools that they would need to consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the work, and to write knowledgeably about it. In short, Lehman side-steps the layers of interpretation of various critical stances that have begun to accumulate about the image of this modest worker with words and opts to keep the discussion simple--free of the encrustations of jargon that are now hardening, loop on loop and band on band, around the sincere writing of a rather remarkable person who made her living by cooking and scrubbing floors in a small town in central Wisconsin, but who still managed to create some of the most compelling poetry of 20th century America. Highly recommended.

John Lehman's book illuminates Lorine for you: her life, her friends, her loves, her work... I'd never heard of Lorine Niedecker. I knew Pound, Joyce, Eliot, Ginsberg, Woolf, Plath, Williams, etc. But no Niedecker.

Niedecker: five line poems that shine. Not a word wasted. Less is more. The poems: funny, sad, filled with birds, trees, Thomas Jefferson, and water near by. She can illuminate life with five lines. Life's bits of knowledge learned from the Great Depression or as a cleaning woman in a hospital or historical research...

Some family and friends didn't even know she wrote. Now we all know. So thanks to John Lehman for shouting in the desert about America's Greatest Unknown Poet: Lorine Niedecker. Read Niedecker: Collected Works.

This is a really great book of poems, an unknown masterpiece!
-quintin nadig
Chicago, IL

These are the sounds and images we need from poetry, and find too seldom -- finely wrought passages of beautiful yearning, with a flat naturalism that is compelling and achingly true. Accessible on multifarious levels, these poems show us life on the inside of man -- a haunting look at times, but affirming in its struggle to survive on its own terms. "American Crawl" is fine storytelling -- and finer art.

I've seen a few of Paul Allen's poems before, and have looked forward to a collection. Finally, this volume provides us the chance to experience the range of this poet's gifts. Allen is very much a story teller in the Southern narrative poetic tradition that produced Warren, Dickey, and Bottoms. This is not, of course, to pigeon-hole Allen as a type of poet, but only to point up the fact that narrative poetry is a difficult feat, especially when the poet so effortlessly works in concrete images of such stunning power. But perhaps the most captivating quality in Allen's writing is its deep religious character, not in the ordinary sense, but in the sense that poetry is really about our desperate attempts to save our benighted souls. Allen catches those moments when we are aware of just how lost we are and just how frail are our efforts to get home. But there is hope, and that lies in the poetic sense. Allen's narrative style make his poems easy to read, but imossible to forget.

Michel Delville argues that the twentieth-century American prose poem ought not to be regarded as merely a piece of ornamented, poeticized prose but rather as a negotiation of the boundaries of lyric, narrative, expository, and speculative genres. In recent years the prose poem has been informed and ruptured by both poststructuralism and Marxism. In the hands of "the Language poets," the New Prose Poem insists on its scriptural illegibility rather than a speech-based comprehensibility. It may oppose the social and economic status quo, not through direct reference--which would only mirror the language of the dominant ideology--but by subverting the linguistic assumptions that undergird the status quo. Delville's interpretations are especially powerful when they focus on Gertrude Stein, Russell Edson, Charles Simic, and such "Language Poets" as Lyn Hejinian, Madeline Gins, and Kit Robinson. Delville astutely questions how politically subversive such writers can be when they make little contact with the social and political world. He refrains from asking what seems to me an equally salient question: What if the language of hegemonic discourse (e.g. TV and the internet) is now not necessarily transparent and speech-based but often discontinuous and nonreferential--that is, not fundamentally different from the language of the New Prose Poem? Perhaps one of the strengths of contemporary prose poems, and of Delville's valuable analysis of them, is that they encourage us to rethink and to refeel our relationship to the postindustrial overflow of signs.

This book has been invaluable in terms of both my studies and work. So much of the prose poem has to do with with the ways in which it makes itself known, and Delville does an exquisite job explaining the means of making. As a history of the American Prose poem, as a text that explains possibilities of language use, applicable to all writing seeking to explore itself, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're serious about writing, about critical reading, you need this book.

Where is the six-star option?

Deville's book is an excellent history of the prose poem from Baudelaire to Stein to as well as a close study of important figures in the prose poem such as Russel Edson, Robert Bly, and Charles Simic. It started out a little slow, perhaps because it's been a few months since I've read a critical text, but then it became very readable. I was using this book to prepare for a prose poem panel discussion at a writing conference and found it extremely useful. It seems like the prose poem is finally well on its way to becoming a more accepted form. Recent collections such as Tony Tost's "The Invisible Bride" and Mary Koncel's "You Can Tell The Horse Anything" further this point. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested on prose poems, but don't expect an easy definition.

A very moving book. That every adult man or woman should read about the relationship between adult child and their parent/s

I very English book, a small social commentary on the parts of Britain and a class of British life that the foreign visitor rarely sees. Until recently, all through Britain the local Doctor ( or G.P. as he would also be known) was looked up to as being something else, something better and yet had contact to all classes. In the days up until the 1960's, he was perhaps the only person in a village other than the local Church of England clergyman that had been to a University; as a result the Doctor's son was considered something unusual. In my English schooldays in the 1950's, the sons of Doctors were certainly regarded so. Blake Morrison has written a book of childhood to adulthood memories of his father. The fact that the book is based on the few weeks between his father being diagnosed to be suffering terminal cancer to his death, it is in many ways not a light subject, but everywhere there is a glimmer of humour. For anyone like me, who has lost one or both parents i! t underlines that feeling you have that you have from time to time , in good and bad times , that you would like to be able to have a short chat with the old man... but now it's too late.

After his father was diagnosed with cancer, Blake Morrison & his family watch him quickly deteriorate & die within a matter of weeks. In trying to come to terms with his death, the author takes you back to the times he spent with his father through childhood to adolescence & adulthood. He writes an honest account of his feelings towards his father both good & bad, alternating between memories of the past & the current trauma of watching him fade away.

His experience is not unique which makes this a very important book to read.

Great writings of poetry, love, life, Family, hope and inspiration. Nice work. Would like to see more from this Author.KW

What a beautiful collection of very personal poetry. The author has obviously done some soul-searching, and he will help you do the same. T. Micahel Pender shares insights that will touch everyone in An Angel Chained, (good title)!

From what I've read so far in his collection of poetry, I can definitely say it's a great first effort of a published work of literature. I'm hoping that many readers, especially lovers of poetry, will pick up his book immediately. The set of poems will make you go through a gamut of emotions: from jubilant elation to grieving sadness. Some of the poems will make you raise an eyebrow, and a few of them will make you want to laugh along with (or cuss out) the author, depending on your POV. Nevertheless, readers will not be bored by one iota, while reading his poetry. After I finish reading his poetry, I myself, will look forward to his future literary works.

This is a wonderful book! It makes a great gift and is such a source of comfort. As a librarian for 28 years, I would highly recommend it.

This is a great book. I have lost four relatives since August and this book has a great poem for every situation that has arose. This book will help anyone who reads it. "Angel Treasures For Your Soul" is great for anyone who is trying to find direction in their life. You did a great job Ms. Gail!!! I am looking forward to a second book by you!

This book has helped me so much. It has brought me out of a deep depression. I loved this book so much Im going to buy some for my whole family for Christmas. Thank you Gail!!!!!!!! God Bless you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Through Judith's verse and drawings, she is able to take you to another universe. She takes you to a higher plane of contemplation and awareness most do not find within themselves. Reading her poetry gives one a stepping stone for self exploration. Her drawings are something one could only imagine in dreams.Excellent book, I am looking forward to reading her new book Mortification Stew.

"Angels All About" by Judith Gayle Sherrouse is a deeply thought provoking yet enjoyable book to read. The drawings, while tending towards too much nudity, are tastefully moderated and show an uncommon natural artistic flair. The poems accompanying the illustrations are bizarre enough to cause the reader to reflect on their inner self. While at first appearing to have little meaning, upon contemplation they seem to reach into your soul. I would recommend this book to any and all that feel they are searching or are lacking in something.

Through Judith's verse and drawings, she is able to take you to another universe. She takes you to a higher plane of contemplation and awareness most do not find within themselves. Reading her poetry gives one a stepping stone for self exploration. Her drawings are something one could only imagine in dreams.Excellent book, I am looking forward to reading her new book Mortification Stew.

Luci Shaw's poetry speaks straight into one's soul. She takes ideas and lights them up with unforgetable images. She is an artist who knows herself and her God and communicates her heart in the beautiful words she uses. I can think of nothing more enjoyable than curling up on a couch or relaxing at the beach with her poems in my hand. Thankyou Luci for enriching my life! (It began with "Listen to the Green" in the 70's - more please!)

So much of the Christian poetry I've read is doggerel, usually dripping with sentimentality and cliche. So much modern poetry is so narrowly within the author's own head that you can scarcely connect with the images. Shaw, on the other hand, is what the average pedestrian really yearns for in a poet. Her poetry is always accessible, yet fresh with new ways of saying things. She helps you see the world. Her images sparkle and dance in your mind. Here's an example: "What word informs the world, / and moves the worm along in his blind tunnel? / What secret purple wisdom tells the iris edges / to unfurl in frills? What juiced and emerald thrill / urges the sap until the bud resolves / its tight riddle? . . . What silver sound / thaws winter into spring? Speaks clamor into singing? / Gives love for loneliness? It is this / unterrestrial pulse, deep as heaven, that folds you / in its tingling embrace, gongs in your echo heart."

We are here to abet creation and to witness it, to notice each thing, so each thing gets noticed. . . so that Creation need not play to an empty
house.
-Annie Dillard

The key scene in M. Night Shyamalan's film Signs comes when Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) are discussing the
implications of what seems to be an alien visitation, signaled by a number of lights that have appeared over Mexico City:

People --- break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck or a
coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence that there is Someone out there watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck, a
happy turn of chance. Well sure there are people in group number two are looking at those 14 lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the
situation isn't fifty/ fifty could be bad, could be good , but deep down they feel that whatever happens, they are on their own, and that fills them
with fear.

Yeah, there are those people, but there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights they are looking at a
miracle. And deep down they feel that whatever is going to happen, there will be Someone there to help them, and that fills them with hope.

So what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles, or do you believe that people
just get lucky? Or look at the question this way --- is it possible that there are no coincidences?

Luci Shaw's poetry is based on the thrill of finding those signs in the everyday, of having faith that it is God who has placed them there and hope because of that.

A few examples will serve to give the flavor of the batch and speak far more eloquently than can I:

We know this to start with:

If we understood everything we wouldn't
be baffled. But mystery lives; somehow
without witchcraft or chicanery

we collect sounds and colors in a skyward
dish, like fruit in a bowl, and channel them
into verisimilitude--faces talking at us

from the tube's glass eye. Hallways of fog
enfold us in enigma. And then, the marvel of
window glass--how can anything be

hard enough to stop the hand and
hold its smudge while letting through this
soft light? The one wheat kernel that

breeds a thousand--a miracle of
loaves over and over again.
The stars, invisible in the blind day

revealed, thick as pollen, by the absence
of light. A billion spiky grass blades that melt
into a perfectly flat horizon. The Holy Ghost

waking me in my bedroom, drenching my
dry heart with fluid syllables, breathing
flesh into the fetal bones of this poem.

Rising: The underground tree
(Cornus sanguinea and cornus canadensis)

One spring in Tennessee I walked a tunnel
under dogwood trees, noting the petals
(in fours like crosses) and at each tender apex
four russet stains dark at Christ-wounds.
I knew that with the year the dogwood flower heads
would ripen into berry clusters bright as drops of gore.

Last week, a double-click on Botany
startled me with the kinship of those trees and bunch-berries, whose densely crowded mat
carpets the deep woods around my valley cabin.
Only their flowers--those white quartets of petals--
suggest the blood relationship. Since then I see

the miniature leaves and buds as tips of trees
burgeoning underground, knotted roots like limbs
pushing up to light through rock and humus.
The pure cross-flowers at my feet redeem
their long, dark burial in the ground, show how even
a weight of stony soil cannot keep Easter at bay.

Bubble

I watch it being blown, swelling and rising
from my grandson's red plastic ring, fresh-filled
with eager air, tenuous as just-spilled
dandelion silk, a fluid wobble, quite surprising

me with its likeness to our cosmic bubble,
all greens and blues, each continent and sea
etched in bright enamel by God and gravity--
a film's fine iridescence fixed. The trouble

is: before the shivering, frail balloon has hovered
long it bursts in a star of spray that pricks my skin
with cool fireworks, so that, in vanishing, it winks
at my comparison just as the simile is offered.

But mind's a watercolor paper. This visual spasm
has brushed me with its indelible, swift
rainbow strokes of form and gleam. My visions shift
between the micro- and the macrocosm,

ephemeral both, as radiant as grace,
glass globules in the furnace air, both sealed
off after a creative breath, and then annealed,
floating their minor vessels into space.

Reading these poems awakens us to the wonder of the world around us and, if we've a mind to allow it, transforms the mundane into the miraculous. You can't help but observe your surroundings
more closely and ponder existence more fiercely. And it's certainly possible that you'll choose to be the kind of person who views it all as lucky chance and insists we're alone and nothing means
anything. But, there's also a possibility that you too will see signs and miracles and be infused with hope. Ms Shaw enhances the latter possibility. Her poems, in that sense, are an extraordinary gift to
the reader.