Poetry Books

JIM, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion.

It's small wonder that Edward Gorey chose to illustrate Belloc's verses, written nearly a century ago - in fact, they were such a clear and strong influence on his work, it's hard to believe he didn't write them himself. 'Cautionary Tales' is a literary work that was years ahead of its time, parodying the overtly-strict educational children's verses of the time with tales of children whose punishment is wholly disproportioned to their crime. Gorey's illustrations, published only after his death in 2000, complete the ghoulish verses with his trademark naïve and refined black and white crosshatching. Already in his seventies, Gorey has lost none of his charm and style and these illustrations are as nasty and sarcastic as anything he's done, perfectly complimenting the ironic text.

'Cautionary Tales' is the first work of Gorey's published after his death, and it's a perfect conclusion to his illustrious career, and one of his finest works. It's an essential to any fan of this great artist.

This was one of the loved books of my childhood in the original edition, of course.

I hadn't seen it for a very long time and was anxious to haev a copy for my younger grandchildren. Though old people can enjoy it as well.

Now plesed to have it on my own shelves

I got this to read to my nephews, and it did not disappoint when the time came to pick a story to read. I highly recommend this and the Gashlycrumb Tinies to anyone with children or nephews....

I just gave this to a friends' one year old for her birthday. In the inscription I wrote that she ought to read and learn, as whatever she does in life will come back to haunt her. My friend thought the book hysterical. Her husband thinks we're both odd...

One can imagine Edward Gorey mulling over these "Cautionary Tales",subsequently creating succinct Goreyesque illustrations for them. Then years later after presenting his family to us in "The Willowdale Handcar" he undoubtedbly mulled over ideas about families & children and came up with my personal favorite Gorey: The Gashleycrumb Tinies. If you like Gorey & you like the Tinies, you'll enjoy "Cautionary Tales".

4 stars only because I happen to like the devilishly wonderful "Tinies" better.

This slim volume will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about hamsters, and many things you didn't.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RHOYXDJEY8K7 This is a Tao Lin approved video with gmail chat 'dings' from Tao himself.

i read this entire book at marriott philadelphia west. i was there for a wedding and couldn't sleep because marriott has bad pillows. this book helped me process the fact that i couldn't sleep and allowed me to focus on something else other than my own frustration. i enjoyed reading this book very much and will probably read it again soon.

I felt sad and lonely before I read this book. After I read the last page, I felt happy. This book effectively helps me overcome feelings of sadness, despair, loneliness, alienation, and boredom. I think this book will be helpful to many people.

Good job, Tao.

i think a lot about this book and tao lin's other books

the first time i read this i was so excited i read it all in one sitting

it is hard for me normally to read more than three poems in one sitting

i normally stand up and do something else

there are a lot of poems that have multiple parts to it like in the books BAD BAD by chelsey minnis or ANGLE OF YAW by ben lerner but different because of the hampsters and sadness and other things

the poem 'are you okay?' made me so sad that i had to stop reading and lie down on the couch and think for a minute

my friend asked me if this book is funny like his other book of poety and i said 'no, no it is never funny. i didn't laugh once while reading it' and i did not realize that was true until i said it even though i lied a little

some parts are actually very funny, but not funny in a way that makes me laugh out loud, but just makes me smile and feel 'consoled'

i just opened the book and looked at 'ugly fish poem, part one' and read this sentence: "and i have swum fast; any speed that exists i have swum at that speed"

that makes me laugh i don't know why

this book made me sad a lot and i don't think i will look at it as much as 'you are a little bit happier than i am' but that is okay, because that book made me excited about life and stuff in ways that few things ever have, i don't know

Lorca's poems flutter your heart, and Christopher Mauer really knows Lorca, the translations are true to Lorca's magic.

Garcia Lorca's poems are beautiful in Spanish. The translations in English seem a little heavy or awkward. But, in Spanish, they're lovely.

Frederico Garcia Lorca is wonderful as always. This gives my granddaughters who know some Spanish and my friends who do not speak an opportunity to read and enjoy him.

I don't know if this is the best way to work on learning Spanish, but it's certainly one of the least painful. It's great to have the original Spanish and the English translation opposite each other. I can't think of a better way to work on your pronunciation than to read these poems out loud to yourself [or others if they're interested]. The musical sound of the poetry makes you love the language and want to learn it. Maybe someday I finally will. In the meantime just reading and speaking it is it's own reward.

I usually find most modern poetry boring. Not Lorca's. His poems are short but potent and piercing, full of vivid imagery. His Spanish is difficult to translate literally into English while still retaining vibrancy, but this translator did a good job. The Spanish poetry is presented on the left-hand pages and its English version on the right-hand pages for easy comparison. Not a literal translation by any means, but a very effective one. A strong recommend.

Not having read Robert Lowell's poems previously, I was delighted with their acessiblity and being a Boston area resident, I enjoyed their local references. I think I had hesitated to read another "confessional" poet having had my fill of Plath, but Lowell is very different and poem after poem pleased me.

A great collected poems by one of America's masterful minor poets. Much to see and enjoy. Great for any poet who wishes to apprentice himself to someone with a subtle and sophistaced understanding of the English language and a wide and nuanced emotional range. Sturdy hardback volume. Will last an entire lifetime.

I believe that Lowell's work is best viewed through this expansive collection. No single book of his poetry truly captures the full breadth of his literary accomplishments. Of course, if you're only looking for an introduction to his work, Life Studies or For the Union Dead would probably do.

But if you really want to understand the full scope of his talent, then this book is indispensable. I would even go so far as to say that this book will probably cement Lowell's place among America's finest poets in years to come.

I studied with Robert Lowell at Harvard in 1963 & 1964. I wouldn't presume to review his Collected Poems, only to testify that he was a giant of a human -- witty, sensitive even toward brash young would-be poets, immensely knowledgeable, immensely conscientious. Having known him remains one of the great privileges of my life. Reading his poems is a great privilege for all of us.

The publication of this book was doubtless necessary to begin understanding Lowell correctly. Creator and destroyer, careful wordsmith and subversive deconstructor, encountering just one of his volumes along the strange parabola of his career can be confusing. Lowell always set out to carefully craft each of them, with special attention to the arrangement of his resonant poems and their slow, grand, building cumulative effect. To let you know the game, Lowell presented almost each of his volumes with an evocative frontpiece engraving by Francis Parkman -- the poet thus visually setting forth each of his works, in advance of his death, as another controlled chess move against the great opponent Fame -- the act of a control fanatic if there ever was one.

Yet somewhere in the middle of Lowell's career of creating the little volumes, more violently toward the end of his years as diseases took over, the mad Doppleganger Cal (Lowell's nickname to his insider pals) enters, seeds the serene clouds with fury, and all hell breaks loose. At worst, all is botched: mere beautiful poetic scraps, a line or two amongst literary gossip for insiders, yesterday's obnoxious news. In hindsight Cal indeed did a pretty good job; it is easier to just turn away from the mess. But Lowell is so good at his best, so earnest even in his madness, that we are going to miss something significant about our own history -- the subject which most deeply concerned him -- if we do. And finally, even at his worst, there is always something very endearing about this voice, something very human and honest. Lowell was plagued with true and furious organic disorders which disrupted his personality; his issues were not only self-inflicted. In an earlier age he would not have lived out the length of career he did; in significant ways, then, his voice is a truly new one on the block. Unfortunately for him, the hyped up madness of his period identified with his genuine madness and made a pathetic celebrity of him, which didn't help the brave and fragile personality struggling to make poetic sense of a disturbed time.

Bidart has picked up the pieces and presented Lowell as one, that's all, in all his exasperating wholeness. Now it is easier to see that Lowell and Cal were one, that the lasting work of worth emerges from their furious wrestling. Over time he was many kinds of a writer and a poet, and certainly not all of them will last. He left some absolute foolishness he only got away with because of his name and the looniness at large which seized on him about the same time it seized on Batman and Laugh-In -- junk like the plays in the Old Glory. But when you remember that this was a truly sick man and not just another boozed out writer, you wonder at the absolute clarity of the best work, and the occasional glimmers which never entirely disappeared. Doubtless much later, a generation free of the diseases we still to a degree share with this poet will make the appropriate selection. In the meantime, in a real sense, the record Bidart has compiled shows that the bell tolls for us, too.

With poetry like this available, why do we continue to read Rita Dove and Billy Collins?

Quite simply one of the best poets writing today producing some of the finest work of rhyme that actually makes sense to heart and mind. Cogent and cajoling; humble and humourous;impassioned and yet not impulsive. If Richard Wilbur has an heir apparent to the great legacy of New Formalism, it would be hard to deny Timothy Steele a full reading of the will. College Prof. at Cal.State L.A., he makes sure his poetry is not steeped in musty,over-erudite academia. He's down in the streets of Southern California or under the Golden Gate Bridge or in a classroom or describing his wife after a shower or comfortable with Biblical metaphors. An example (not in the current volume, but on the internet-Poetry Daily): Toward the Winter Solstice (excerpt)

'Some wonder if the star of Bethlehem/Occurred when Jupiter and Saturn crossed;/It's comforting to look up from this roof/And feel that, while all changes, nothing's lost/To recollect that in antiquity/The winter solstice fell in Capricorn/And that, in the Orion Nebula,/From swirling gas, new stars are being born.'

A great New Year's resolution is to feed your poetic soul. Take and read anything by Richard Wilbur, Timothy Steele, Dana Gioia, and bon apetit!

Tim Steele has already proven his strength as a poet, and has quite a reputation for his work in meter. This collection only solidifies his reputation. The poems are well written (and Steele does some interesting things with meter and rhyme). Anyone interested in formal poetry should read his work.

Extending the range and depth of his two previous collections of poetry (available from the University of Arkansas Press as a single volume, SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES), THE COLOR WHEEL confidently establishes Steele not only as the premiere metrical poet of his generation, but also as one of the very best poets writing in English today.

THE COLOR WHEEL takes its title from one of the volume's central poems, "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Child," a witty and wise meditation that begins with a description of a small child coloring with crayons and segues smoothly into the poet's memory of first seeing a color wheel, a spectrum of choices not only for the budding artist, but also, on a metaphorical level, for the poet and reader. The poem ends with one of the most beautiful passages I've seen in recent poetry: "You're off and traveling through the wheel/Of contrasts and of complements,/Where every shade divides and blends,/Where you find those that you prefer,/Where being is not linear,/But bright and deep, and never ends."

This enticing invitation to choose freely from the world's variety extends to Steele's entire collection, which ranges from a mock-Stevensian anecdote about a sugar bowl to a sobering recollection of doomed Holsteins in "Georgics." The Horatian alcaics of "Luck," in which the poet confronts the good fortunes of others, complements the mildly brooding blank verse of "Pacific Rim," in which the poet hints at the luckless victims of 20th century brutality. Yet the tenor of the collection is decidedly hopeful, and perhaps no title (or poem) in the book better exemplifies this than the charming "Beatitudes, While Setting Out the Trash."

Steele's art, which frequently explores the interrelationships between nature and human nature, regards human consciousness as fragile and in need of preservation. His superb meditation on "The Library" draws upon and condenses some of the material to be found in his magisterial prose critique of the free verse movement, MISSING MEASURES, and yet the emphasis in this poem is on the wit of foraging squirrels as well as the cleverness of archiving humans.

The volume contains a number of exquisite lyrics, including the opening "Aurora" with its subtle echoes of Valery, and the delicate homage to Thom Gunn, "Vermont Spring." Readers who admire the poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson will certainly enjoy "Cory in April," a poem about a drunken homeless man who was once a boxer, and admirers of Frost will be tickled by the humorous and moving "Fae," one of the most memorable poems in Steele's outstanding ouevre.

With his flawless ear, deft rhymes, and penetrating intelligence, Steele is already a poet for the ages. Read THE COLOR WHEEL and SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES to discover why.

Extending the range and depth of his two previous collections of poetry (available from the University of Arkansas Press as a single volume, SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES), THE COLOR WHEEL confidently establishes Steele not only as the premiere metrical poet of his generation, but also as one of the very best poets writing in English today.

THE COLOR WHEEL takes its title from one of the volume's central poems, "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Child," a witty and wise meditation that begins with a description of a small child coloring with crayons and segues smoothly into the poet's memory of first seeing a color wheel, a spectrum of choices not only for the budding artist, but also, on a metaphorical level, for the poet and reader. The poem ends with one of the most beautiful passages I've seen in recent poetry: "You're off and traveling through the wheel/Of contrasts and of complements,/Where every shade divides and blends,/Where you find those that you prefer,/Where being is not linear,/But bright and deep, and never ends."

This enticing invitation to choose freely from the world's variety extends to Steele's entire collection, which ranges from a mock-Stevensian anecdote about a sugar bowl to a sobering recollection of doomed Holsteins in "Georgics." The Horatian alcaics of "Luck," in which the poet confronts the good fortunes of others,complements the mildly brooding blank verse of "Pacific Rim," in which the poet hints at the luckless victims of 20th century brutality. Yet the tenor of the collection is decidedly hopeful, and perhaps no title (or poem) in the book better exemplifies this than the charming "Beatitudes, While Setting Out the Trash."

Steele's art, which frequently explores the interrelationships between nature and human nature, regards human consciousness as fragile and in need of preservation. His superb meditation on "The Library" draws upon and condenses some of the material to be found in his magisterial prose critique of the free verse movement, MISSING MEASURES, and yet the emphasis in this poem is on the wit of foraging squirrels as well as the cleverness of archiving humans.

The volume contains a number of exquisite lyrics, including the opening "Aurora" with its subtle echoes of Valery, and the delicate homage to Thom Gunn, "Vermont Spring." Readers who admire the poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson will certainly enjoy "Cory in April," a poem about a drunken homeless man who was once a boxer, and admirers of Frost will be tickled by the humorous and moving "Fae," one of the most memorable poems in Steele's outstanding ouevre.

With his flawless ear, deft rhymes, and penetrating intelligence,Steele is already a poet for the ages. Read THE COLOR WHEEL and SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES to discover why.

I've known Jack for years, and he always worked at writing but considered himself more acoomplished as a painter. The quality of the writing, the sensitivity to the rhythms of nature, breath, language, the soul, the colors, the honesty and intellectual and artistic maturity, all are fabuously exhibited throughout this uncompromising book.

This is the writing of a man walking steadily in beauty. In many ways, this book brings poetry along in that it combines the muscle of humanity with the inexplicable image suddenly realized. It has all of the best qualities of poetry without the pretentious opacity that has alienated so much of poetry's potential audience.

"Breakfast in the Shadows" for example shows the man with nature. But the man is Jack Bartlett, not Robert Frost. Here's an example of what amazes me: "At ensuing dusk the light wilts like a frost touched rose . . . the green is gone from the rhododendrun./the clouds go to pink/and tease the forest with a sprinkle,/the frogs say, 'Yes, Yes' . . ."

Man can be at peace without despising all others! What an amazing and hopeful concept. What a heck of a book of poems.

It was an exceptional treat to read Mr. Bartlett's book, Colors. Reading his poetry took a while since I felt compelled to close my eyes and envision the pictures he had painted. I found myself traveling down some of the same paths that he had written about, even though for me those paths were travelled a few years ago. There are some constant truths in life and I believe Mr. Bartlett has captured them in his book. Bravo!

Jack Bartlett's poetry will become classic. His keen insight draws the reader into his world and causes them to see things through his eyes. Common themes in his poems are color, water and nature. One poem, tucked halfway through the book deals with Sept 11. But not all of the poems are so serious...he pokes fun at The New Yorker at one point, which I suppose is comic relief for the lyrical seriousness of the other poems.

The very best poets use words like the very best painters use color, form, texture, and composition. Jack Bartlett employs his verse on the pages of Colors, like a kind of verbal Rembrandt is a series of memorably impressive poems that linger in the mind well after the volume is placed back upon the shelf. Trout Water: In cold water with a line/it is not just the fish or the catch,/not the mountains cracked by water,/not the boulders painted with impasto moss,/the hemlocks and spruces hanging/over deep eddies and shallow shoals;/it is not just the rocks polished/like marbles at my feet,/the offerings of cold springs/and fern framed seeping pools.//It is not the complex circle/of creature dependencies,/not the wonder of where all this water goes,/but the water itself, the perpetual flow,/shaping all in its path, even trees.//It is knowing that if I were a fish/and had a wish it would be/to be a cutthroat waiting here timelessly,/methodically, for a caddis fly to come my way.

This is a collection of 72 poems written by a painter with a flair for visualization and a love of words. Sensually and intelligently written, the reader has a glimpse into the mind of a visual artist as he evaluates his experience of nature and the human situation. Concise, enriched, filled with internal rhyme and metric devices it invites a slow reading and thoughtful contemplation. "Colors" misses no beats with it's crafted insights. I had not been aware of this gifted poet previously, but after reading the book in its entirety I was left asking for more of this richness. Particularly for the visual artist there are lines here that remain on the mind and make one's own creativity seem more worthwhile.

As the years go by, and my range of knowledge grows, I find myself being drawn back again and again to John Donne. Unlike one of the previous reviewers, I do share his religion and even practice a more modern version of his denomination. Still there is something more there. As far as comparing Donne with Eliot, although I think Eliot was a great poet, there is more depth of feeling in Donne's work. However, one must consider that Eliot put his wife away (literally) when she became an embarassment because her mental problems. Since these turned out to be hormonally driven, this betrayal is all the more tragic. Donne, on the other hand, after years of carousing, found his soul mate and his one true love and continued to be devoted to her years after she died. As great as this love was, his writings show that, although he was afraid to trust the promises made by his God, he loved him even more. Now, that is devotion and that is the root of wonderful and beautiful thoughts he put to paper.

Few words of poetry are more quoted and misquoted than John Donne's "the Bell tolls for thee". This volume contains some of the most beautiful verse ever written in the English language. Donne Was a giant and his language while archaic is beautiful and resonates over the centuries.

A wonderful addition to anyone's library.

John Donne, the greatest poet to write in the English language.
John Donne's poetry cries truth from blood.
John Donne writes with blood
Blood is spirit.
The mind works against the spirit.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

I agree with all the positive things said about Donne on this page. Also, this book's great strength is its breadth, including poems, letters, sermons, and other writings of Donne. One gets all the poems and most of his available prose. The only difficulty I had is that all of the poems are presented without any effort to modernize the spelling of words. Often, this distracts from a more perfect enjoyment of Donne's wit, sentiment, conceits and emotions. For those who might find antiquated spelling a distraction, I recommend they find another edition.

Although I care less about his prose, John Donne wrote some very impressive and intuitive so-called love poetry, as well as religious poems that I like. A master of metaphor, he also shows great range of emotions, insight, and passion. My favorite work is his "divine poems" and his "songs and sonnets". Some really beautiful use of language and wise "deep" sentiments. The elegies also have some wonderful lines.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

A wonderful collection of poems dealing with the many issues of 'Love'. It touches the heart and brings back many lost memories.

You will laugh, cry, and love this book.

I certainly enjoyed the book!!! I was just touched by God. The author's words healed me and gave me such comfort. I could not put the book down. I called my best friend and read her several of the poems, especially 'My Virginity' and 'Definition of Love'. Those poems blew us away and confirmed things in our spirits that we have wrestled with constantly. So I'm just ecstatic that some one, a sister has put into words what most women feel...I thank the writer for her gift of ministry that has already healed me. We want more copies of this fabulous book, for our nieces, sisters, mothers, and girlfriends who haven't found the words to their pain.

They say, "still waters run deep." Well, this young lady show through her writing that her waters have an immeasurable depth. I had the pleasure of meeting the author of this book at Fort Bragg and to look at her you would never think that such a petite person could have so much power. She is a great orator and an outstanding writer.
1LT LeDay communicates passion in life and love matters quite eloquently. I thought initially that I would treat this book like a devotional, reading one or two daily. I read one poem and had to read the next, and before I knew it I was almost finish. Truly, Consuming Whispers, is captivating as well as thought provoking. It elevates and eases the mind through the use of rhythm and rhyme. I am sure that it would be a blessing to anyone who reads it, it was and continues to be to me.

'Consuming Whispers' wonderfully portrays a sense of wholeness and hope during and after the storms of life. Ms. Leday's words compelled me to self-evaluation and renewal. I admit curiousity caused be to get the book at first, but boy was I in for a big surprise. I had read a number of devotions and always seemed to end up asking where am I in this? How does it relate to me and my issues? Needless to say, I never imagined that this book of poetry would call me out of the depression I was slowing dying in. If you want to be deeply moved this is the vehicle...read this book and travel through time, space, and grace.

LeDay captures the essence of humanity. She exposes the aches and pains of the struggles of this life while emoting healing through each meditation. Her poems take you through the halls of spirituality, sensuality, self-esteem and restoration. "Accept Me For Me" one of her poems, speaks of a strength, a power in 'me' and declares that I am beautiful and complete, and I do not have to compromise who I am for the approval of others. The book itself is empowering and I am a better person because of it. I can hardly wait for her next one.

This book is quite possibly the funniest poetry book I have ever read. J Pops is one of the coolest men to ever walk the earth.
1)God
2)J Pops
3)Chuck Norris

That's how cool he is.

Interesting. . . a long way from Connecticut Avenue to Connecticut State. Not Considerations or the Cockroaches Ball but 3 points none-the-less.

yo i just read Mr. P's book...he is the greatest.... his book is so great.... he is the greatest teacher ever.... he is my idol.... i hope he writes another book real soon

I love this book. It make me feeel warm inside. I want everyone to read this book. I like the poems. I Also like men. And poem about condoms. BOy,that one was great! I liked it becaus it was great. Buy this book

i read this book over and over again (according to my college english class, thats the best way to understand good poetry)...the best way to describe this is a pulp ficktion type of darkness to the humor...even my english teacher loved this book and is going to have me do a report of a poem (:-( thanks mr. P)...anyone who appreciates poetry, true smokey room, depressed gusy w/ long hair complaining about the world poetry...dont buy this book...but anyone who loves real poetry...the kind thats in-your-face, yet, contains a gentle humor in the end...this short book is perfect. i hope mr. P wrights his short novel next...that would be something even stephen king would be proud of...peace mr. P

I volunteer at a nature & wildlife educational museum. Creatures of the Night is the perfect book to read to visiting young children especially during the month of October. The pictures are delightful & inspire discussion in the 3 to 7 yr old age group. (If you order this book be sure it is a Creatures of the Night written for young children not one for adults with the same title but different authors)

Written in rhyme, this colorful picture book will soon become your child's favorite bedtime story. Creatures of the Night will explain the often scary sounds heard at night, shedding light on the creatures that come out to play.

The little "masked bandit" raccoon wears his clever disguise. The cute little field mice run, jump, and play. Perhaps one of the most prominent nighttime noises is the melody chirped by the crickets. They are pictured as happy smiling little critters. The frogs and toads join in the serenade, as the lightening bugs dance along. The coyote calls his friends to come and play. They walk and jump and run. They dance and sing their serenades until the night is done.

Written for children ages three to seven, it is also a book an older child will enjoy reading to a sibling. Creatures of the Night is colorfully illustrated by Rodger B. Wilson, who is the recipient of many awards for graphic design and illustrations. Author, Stephen J. Brooks has written several children's books. He has served as a Federal Agent for over a decade and writes to comfort children.

Has your young child ever wondered about those noises in the night, or about those creatures that come out to play only at night?

Creatures of the Night is a lovely rhyming story about those nocturnal creatures that "Come out to run and play," like "The sly and wily old raccoon,/With a mask around its eyes,/Sneaks about in search of food/in his ever so clever disguise."

Other creatures of the night mentioned in the book include the owl, field mice, crickets, frogs, fireflies, coyote, opossum, and muskrats.

The rhymes are delightful and the illustrations beautiful, with a serene, peaceful quality to them, bringing to life the magic of the night and its creatures. It is the kind of book young children will want to listen to in bed at night many times, if only to look at the lovely images of the animals.

A book that both teaches and stimulates young children's imagination, Creatures of the Night is a keeper, and well-worth its hardcover price.

This is my daughters favorite night time story. She loves the gentle images of the animals and the wonderful rhyming text.

This is an awesome book for your children to read! It's a fun storyline with cute illustrations of nocturnal animals. It's nice to have a book that exposes kids to animals and a fun outdoor environment.