Mark Strand Books

I found this thin volumen incredibly inadequate, as it barely (if at all) mentions some of Hoppers most important themes such as silence, voyeurism, and loneliness. Strand spends approximately two poorly developed paragraphs on a number of paintings, often doing nothing more than describing them with bland geometric terms and giving little-or no-insight. I'm in the process of doing a six month research and writing project on Hopper, I found this to be the worst of all my resources.

Additionlly, the black and white reproductions are tiny and worthless. The book is of little value in any capacity, which is saying something considering my love for Hopper and art history analysis and evaluation. In fact, in the Preface, Strand acknowledges that this volume flies in the face of previous scholars. He must have meant he was going against quality analysis with support, because his book says nothing. There is no point whatsoever! Quite frustrating.

I would recommend J.A. Ward's American Silences instead.

This is not a book for anyone seeking information on life and/or the works of the great Americn painter, Edward Hopper. Pictures are all in black and white, while few facts about his life ae given.
This is a book solely for the person sufficiently familiar with the artists work to appreciate this outstanding poets reflections on the impact of some of his paintings and some fearures in the picture which produce those effects.
Most will find little meat for thought here. Most will find these minimal responses unsatisfying. Those who know the poetry of this Pulitzer prize winning Poet Laureate of The United state will gain some insight into the workings of his poetic perspective when turned on the subject of Hopper's painting.
Others who want to tune in to a poetic sensibility writing prose may find it gratifying.
It is a very quick read with each selection taking no more than a few minutes to read although those who want to apply Strand's conceptions to their own appraisal of these works will find much more to chew over.

Just because the previous reviewer didn't get what he expected from this volume doesn't mean it isn't brilliant in its own right. From an outsider's perspective (I am not an art critic, but a literary scholar), I found Mark Strand's insights into Hopper's work to be refreshing and insightful, the first collection of art criticism I have read that speaks thoughtfully and intelligently to its readership without making the assumption that the reader already has the thoughts and inclinations of the critic him or herself. Instead, this is a book that teaches, and I am grateful for it!

This is a very good book to have to answer questions about how to grade/correct your childs work. She gives great pointers on just how to encourage your child to "love" writing. If your using Writing Strands you need this book!

I purchased this along with the Writing Strands workbook. While we love the Writing Strands curriculum, I was unhappy with this guide. It is mostly filled with make-believe conversations between the author and students. Not exactly helpful. Do check out the Writing Strands, though. Our 3rd grader who didn't like to write really enjoys it!

This book has "collector" written all over it. Anne Galperin's design and the collage by Strand featured on the jacket make it the sort of book one buys as much for its appearance as for the writing itself. Turtle Point Press is a nice small press, and they've done a very fine job here; also, the sewn binding suggests the book is made to last.

CHICKEN, SHADOW, MOON & MORE consists of twenty lists, each titled with a different noun: "Chicken," "Shadow," "Moon," "Sun," "Lake," "Hour," and so forth. Each list contains two to three dozen sentences or (more often) sentence fragments, each containing the title word. Longtime readers of Strand will be amused but not surprised to find a list titled "Dog."

Judging from his comment on the book jacket, Strand (who won the Pulitzer Prize for his last collection of poems, BLIZZARD OF ONE) is reluctant to think of this as a poetry book, but that's essentially what it is. He's taking risks, but the risks often pay off: although some of the writing is flat, or simply odd, much of it is playful, evocative, and thought-provoking. As a whole the project is an uneven but interesting addition to his oeuvre.

Not too many original ideas on prompting your child to use language and imagination. We were already implementing most of the ideas through daily play.

Mark Strand, The Late Hour (Atheneum, 1978)

I've enjoyed a few of Mark Strand's earlier collections-- Darker, especially, was the pride of my poetry collection for a few years-- but I have to admit, this one left me kind of cold. There's something about the writing that feels stilted, antiquated without being consciously so:

"Someone was saying
how the wind dies down but comes back,
how shells are the coffins of wind
but the weather continues.

It was a long night
and someone said something about the moon shedding its white
on the cold field, that there was nothing ahead
but more of the same."
("From the Long Sad Party")

There is very little in that passage that really strikes home, but a lot that doesn't-- the repetition of "wind" in successive lines, the excessively correct diction that reads more like prose than poetry, two rhyming lines in a section of free verse, and a flirtation with, if not kneeling to, cliché. It's synecdochic of the whole book; I could have opened to a random page and found the same. (In fact, like most quotes I pull for poetry reviews, I did get it by opening to a random page.) I'm certainly not going to try and put you off Mark Strand in general, because I like many of his books a great deal, but The Late Hour isn't one of them. **

Jamali is an artist of great importance in our secular world. In his dreams, Jamali creates paintings that are collected worldwide with much success. Jamali is a mystical shaman that creates paintings through the art of trance dance and leaving them in the woods upon which a lizard may prance. Peace and prosperity in Winter Park and the Khumer Ridge. If only there were more stars! But alas, the sky shall hold at night the twinkle of Jamali, when the New Age comes.

Poetry lovers beware!!! The author of this book is NOT Mark Strand the poet, but one Mark Strand, a fisherman, with a big mustache and lots of fishes on his mind