Poetry Books

richard aiple book was awsome....go buy it cuz he is off the shnizzle

holla

I found this book insightful and positive and it gave me a whole new perspective on my own life and issues. I recommend you buy and read it cover to cover, more than once.

This is a significant work. It was a joy to read. You will find it a motivational and inspirational work to digest ... gaining a bit more each time. It makes a perfect holiday gift. I highly recommend it.

Sparks of Life helped me to find mine. I cannot recommend it more highly.

This poet's work runs the emotional gamut, all the while giving the reader food for thought. You will be gently reminded of the lessons in your life and the people who have meant the most to you.

I loved this book of raw gritty and to the point poetry. Although not the personal style I write in, this book is great and most of all it is real. And someone else said steal it, please don't it is a fundraising project and that is why it is $10. Plus the one I have is hand numbered, and it wasn't a huge production.

His poetry speaks with power and intelligence. The pictures he emphatically conveys as well as the course of events that have led up to all he has experienced is not for anyone to judge. Raegan makes no excuses with what has transpired throughout his life. Rather, it's a slight glimpse into the mind of a brilliant person who gained maturity and learned from his choices. After reading both of his books Rusty String Quartet and Stone Hotel, I came away feeling as if I know the author all from his colorful and articulate words that seem to softly whisper in my ear.

Last week I had the good luck to hear the poet read one of his poems. I was so impressed that I tracked him down afterward and bought this book. This poetry speaks directly, powerfully, and with intelligence. I particularly like its mostly chronological arrangement. Each poem stands on its own, but is embedded within the continuing story of an eight year sentence. This makes every poem carry additional weight while the compilation as a whole becomes a meta-poem of his experience; how he got there; and how it changed him. His talent is such that, at points, I almost felt as if I'd also had his experiences.

I encounter a lot of trite writing posing as poetry. Often I read or hear poems that are so bad I squirm in embarrassment on behalf of the author. Having been subjected to many poorly contrived pieces, I was surprised and exhilerated when I began reading Stone Hotel: Poems From Prison by Raegan Butcher. I was sucked in, immediately hooked by the dramatic pictures painted by Butcher--often in few words, but always in vivid detail.

Butcher uses his words to tell the stories of his life, starting with the armed robbery he was convicted for in 1996. He takes his audience through his arrest, the suicide watch he's placed on, the mental ward he's confined to, his conviction, and his transfer to prison. The last line of "Prisonbound" reads, "i had 2,555 days to go." In addition to details of those 2,555 days, the book's next 86 pages are filled with Butcher's hopes, dreams, fears, and desires.

I particularly appreciate Butcher's straight-up honesty. He manages to write about his love for his young daughter and of romance lost without seeming sappy or fake. No matter what he writes about, he doesn't sugarcoat or pretend.

My favorite pieces are his brief and pointed descriptions of inmates he encounters. These poems are as short as eleven words, but they speak volumes. Butcher makes each word count.

This book illuminates a skill and talent that goes beyond sharing the details of life in prison, although (according to my friends behind bars) Butcher does that well. The greatest beauty here is that Butcher puts words together in ways that shock and delight. Consider the final words of the final poem in Stone Hotel: "i've walked thru hell/ wearing gasoline shoes." That's a whole world of meaning in only ten syllables.

From his prose to his poetry, Raegan Butcher can write. Among the most touching aspects of this book--written during his six-year stint in prison--is his lack of self-pity and prisoner rhetoric (overt misguided emotion, revenge themes, repentance, etc.). The poetry is simple in its raw honesty and beautiful in its mature-yet-accesible language and intensely personal insights. This book is a must-read.

I really enjoy the way Chenowth writes. He has a distinctive voice which carries his stories along. All nine revolve around various members of the Goodpasture family, starting in the mid sixties, and moving along through to present-day.

Each story focuses on a different member, although some are more represented than others. Most of the stories have a different location, ranging from Cape Cod to Jacksonville, FL. In each we read of the inner hopes and fears of a character, and explore their lives as they live these out.

If you enjoy books with wit and humor, depth and exploration of the relationships between family members, you'll be pleased with this collection.

These stories gently drew me in: to a world of dwindling privilege; to a family losing its way as a family yet still finding something to love in one another; through writing that is charming, heartfelt, and evocative. These stories profoundly affected me.

It's a treat to feel a story is shared rather than told and a credit to the author who can bring you fully into his world. Old world charm, contemporary prose, patience for detail and a candid, genuine voice make this collection well worth owning.

I was pretty sure that I liked this book when I finished it a few weeks ago. I realized the other morning that I've continued to think about the characters during my morning commute, considering the main character's situation closely. Most books leave my head the moment that I close them; this has held on for many days.

The main character in this collection is believable and bold in revealing himself, even when his behavior and motives are less than admirable. The style reminded me of Peter Taylor. The stories are humorous ones, about a dysfunctional and divided family, with love and pain which show through the humour.

I can't say more than I love Jessica! I was first introduced to her back in 1998 at my step mother's college graduation. I was only 16 and fell in love with her style, her words inspired me in so many ways and she has been my idol ever since. I recently met her at a barbecue and I was for the first time in my life star struck. My admiration for Jessica is limitless and I am patiently waiting for her to write another book. Good Job Jess...

Jessica Care Moore is the best, I am a huge fan. Not only are both of her books awesome, but she is unbelievably down to earth person. I met her a few years back when she made one of her very few visits to SF. Both of her books are great buys, I have tremendous respect for her DIY spirit. The closed-minded mainstream was not publishing her so she started her own publishing company. Go Jessica!!:)

Thanks to everyone who supported this book and other work from jessica Care moore. The new book is coming soon, The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto!
The Words Don't Fit In My Mouth saved my life. If you enjoyed this read, I would suggest reading Fast Cities and Objects That Burn By Sharrif Simmons. Peace.

Moore blows up the spot with her poetry! She speaks her mind and speaks it well. Her nonchalant attitude towards political correctness makes her thoughts more outrageous and vivid. The next Sanchez is on her way, so move!!!

Pure Passion and Perfection. Jessica has her own
Poetic Perfection. As a fellow writer from the
midwest, I applaud Jessica's passion, perseverance,
reverence for her art and love for her people. She's
a ball of fire, and God made her that way! Her words
jump out at you, they fill your ears, they dance around
you, dare you to question them. Sounds like truth, her
truth and the truth of so many of us: Black folks, women
folks, women artists, passionate people, visionaries and love makers. From one poetess from the midwest to another, Jessica, may your life be long, fruitful and ever
exploding from your creative vision! One love

the type of reading material most grandparents search for to excite and encourage our youngsters' reading and interests.

I bought this book of poems while doing a them on Penguins. The children read Mr. Popper's Penguins and I used the Teachers printables for the unit. The poems were used during Writing to immerse the children in poems and cross theme with Penguins. This poem book and them can be used across all grades and guided reading levels. My 5 year old even loves it.

This book gives good basic information on penguins in a very fun format. The poems are catchy. I teach 3-6 year olds and I caught them repeating the phrases they liked the best. I highly recommend it for this age group.

I bought this book for my son since he is interested in penguins. Most penguin story books are promoted to toddlers or are penguin science books; not books for fictional reading for older children. Normally he doesn't choose to read but when he received this book for christmas, he immediately put down his other items and began to look through the book. Later that evening, before bedtime, he chose to read his book before going to sleep. He also liked that the book had poems; something he's been studying in school and hasn't seen how it could be fun to read. Now he likes them a little more. I'm glad it will help to promote more reading for him.

First of all, I love this book because I love penguins. However, as a piece of children's literature, it's so much more. This is an excellent example of how literature (poetry) and science can go hand and hand. There are some poems in this book that seem written just for fun, (e.g. "Be My Penguin"). However, most of the poems in this book are written about and around actual behaviors that penguins exhibit: from regurgiating their food to feed the young ("Regurgitate") to the motherly instincts of father penguins ("A Hatchling's Song" and "My Father's Feet") to poetic riddles about penguin predators (sea lion, killer whale). The book is charming, easy to read, and full of delightful penguin illustrations. A great gift for any child interesting in science or literature or anyone who (like me) just loves penguins.

When I went and saw "Assassins" for the first time, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I've been a Sondheim fan ever since I began watching "Into The Woods" at the tender age of four years old... but I don't think I was sufficiently prepared for "Assassins". And that's a good thing.
"Assassins" keeps you on your toes throughout, being able to make dramatic changes from the light-hearted to the tragic in the time it takes to bat an eye. Perhaps most striking is how you come to like and sympathize with every one of the assassins, while still knowing that they all have their dangerous streak.
Moreover, "Assassins" deals with a common subject in a very uncommon way. The overall 'theme' says "Everybody's got the right to be happy." The brilliance in this statement is not in the statement itself, but within the context of the cold-blooded murderers with it has been placed. It gives us the lesser seen perspective of life from the point of view of these historical figures who had major problems with their lives and with themselves. Rare, even in the history books.
In fact, "Assassins" has been a better history lesson for me than nearly anything else. The play is very highly based on the facts of every person's life and the details of their assassination attempts. Good for theatre buffs and history teachers alike.
Go Sondheim, go!

Well, I was not very well aquainted with Sondheim, though I had heard of him. Then I was fortunate enough to be cast as Sam Byck in a production of Assassins. I have to say, the show was an experience like I can only hope to have ever again. Weidman's writing brings to life thoroughly disturbed characters in a way the audience can relate to. It shows us the world of a psychopath- looking out from the inside. My first thought was to question whether I could do justice to the material. The incredible intensity of the scenes and the forceful emotion of the songs is nearly overwhelming. From the actor's point of view, I can say only that a sense of desparation is omnipresent, even in the comedy, and that there is the feeling of a great injustice, and perhaps an epiphany that never quite came. I encourage anyone who can to try and acquire a copy of the London production( I don't know if there are any official ones, but as any theatre enthusiast knows, there are ALWAYS bootlegs), or of the new production when it becomes available, because of the added song "Something Just Broke". This incredible piece serves as an important... I think the word is catharsis. I remember crying backstage during the first show, because it put a sharp point on the events of the previous scene, where Oswald takes his shot. The play itself also brings into focus the background of the assassins, and those lesser-known souls who tried and failed( like Byck). While it won't appeal to everyone, it is definitely worth looking into for Sondheim lovers and US History buffs. And serious performers will find the songs and text rich with meaning. I recommend this show, libretto and music, to anyone with an open mind, or a love of art.

I profess to be of a young age, and those who don't know me would probably consider my experience with musical theatre to be rather inextensive. I am, however, even at a young age, a Stephen Sondheim admirer. Yet even I, whose favorite musical is the ghastly and mind-numbing masterpiece "Sweeny Todd," was not entirely prepared for the unabashed "Assassins."

Assassins combines all the would be and have been presidential assassins of the United State's history and throws them all into a timeless world where Charles Guiteau (Garfield) can chat with Leon Czolgosz (McKinley) and Sam Byck (Nixon) at a bar while John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln) reads a copy of Variety magazine. It is more of a revue than anything, but the music (which you MUST own if you're going to buy the libretto) is so moving and so powerful it actually is able to draw sympathy for Lincoln's assassin. If the prospect of feeling pity or sympathy for Lee Harvey Oswald makes you angry, Assassins is not my recommendation.

Indeed, Sondheim and Weidman sucessfully made me feel sorry for Leon Czolgosz and Booth and Oswald and nearly all the characters in the musical. Some may think it unpatriotic; I think it presents the other side to woefully biased history lessons claiming the Assassins to be vengeful madmen searching for chaos. Assassins truly brings to light what's wrong with the American dream, and for any history buff, Sondheim fan, or just plain theater fan, Assassins is a MUST have.

All I can say about this play is that it is sheer genius. I was fortunate enough to see the Broadway revival cast act it out in Studio 54, thus can safely say that the play is just as shrewd and clever onstage as it seems in the play.

The thing that often repels people from 'Assassins' is firstly its subject matter - assassins and would-be assasins of presidents of the United States - and secondly, the way it handles its subject matter. 'Assassins' neither trivializes nor glorifies its characters: what it does is examine them, and let the audience make the decision as to what prompted them to commit the crimes they did. On stage, the play is chilling - seeing "Squeaky" Fromme carve an 'M' for 'Manson' into her forehead at the end of her number with John Hinckley 'Unworthy of Your Love' does not seem disgusting; it is entrancingly horrific. And this is not even mentioning the song 'How I Saved the President', the fast-paced narrative of Giuseppe Zangara's attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt: it rises to an eerie feverish pitch and ends with a jolt - literally. The singing ceases only when Zangara has been electrocuted.

I realize that the above description may seem to portray 'Assassins' as a gruesome horror-trip into history - but really, that is not what it is at all. The rises and falls of emotions in the songs (apparent in the book as well as in the play) are shrewdly placed so that the viewer can't quite bring themself to feel sorry for the assassin, exactly, more fascinated. And this is what 'Assassins' is - a fascinating look at some of the most forbidden American taboo in our country's history. The play jumps on its subject matter with surprising gusto - it does not jump delicately from point to point. It attacks its topics and does not let the audience leave unshaken.

I feel as though I should probably mention that reading the book and seeing the play live are two different things. They are both thought-provoking and interesting looks at the various assassins - but a certain emotional element is lost in the text. Not that the book is bland and dry - far from it. However, seeing Charles Guiteau dance his way up to gallows feverishly reciting his poem 'I Am Going to the Lordy' is slightly more morbid than reading it.

Highly recommended.

This review is by Crosley.

I had become very well acquainted with the score to Assassins before I read the script, and I think John Weidman may have done the impossible: he may have overshadowed Sondheim's score with his book. Don't get me wrong, the music and lyrics are phenomenal, but the book is what really matters in this one.

Assassins is an examination of the dark side of the American Dream and those it has affected, namely, those who have tried to kill presidents. Most of the assassins actually have good reasons for their efforts. The play has gained a lot of bad publicity for "glorifying assassinating the president," "being unpatriotic" and "trivializing terrible events." The play does none of these on any level. I said that some assassins had good reasons. I did not say that their actions were the right thing to do, because they weren't. However, the play rehumanizes people that society has dismissed as one dimensional madmen. Hence, the Balladeer. The Balladeer represents the traditional, one sided view of the assassins, and is used expertly. The play keeps in mind the fact that the assassins are dangerous people who should be condemned, but it also keeps in mind that they are indeed people. The scene between Csolgosz and Emma Goldman is wonderfully poignant, and allows us to see a side of Csolgosz rejected by the world, and it's things like that that make the characters much more real.

By making the characters real and at least vaguely sympathetic, the play succeeds in such a way that could never be done with demonized characters. Since the assassins are made human and just like us, Americans trying to live The Dream, they are infinetly more terrifying and frightening, because now we can identify with them, and see the clear and present danger in America.

They all have different motives, but there is one thing that ties them all together. They thought The Dream was not a goal, but something they were entitled to, and when they didn't get it, they wanted people to listen. Hence, drastic measures. Booth's anger with Lincoln is very real, and the crimes he lists against Lincoln are all true to some degree. Csolgoszs' anger at the working man's plight is completely justified, considering his working conditions and wages. Few of them have motives that we can't understand (except Moore and Guiteau), and again, they are that much worse because of it.

This is not to say that the play is not funny. Au Contraire, Assassins is one of the funnier plays I've read, mostly because it preys upon the assassins' character flaws and quirks and exploits them for some great comedy. They're even funnier if you know about the personalities of each for whatever reason. For example, regarding the scene where Guiteau hits on Moore, it was known that Guiteau hit on anything with two legs (usually unsuccessfully), and Moore, who had been married five times (each husband was more successful than the last), may have been roped in by Guiteau's line of "How would you like to marry the ambassador to France?" It's really quite good. The scenes between Moore and Fromme are priceless, as are Byck's rants into his tape recorder, hamburger in hand. "I am Unworthy of you Love" is a gorgeous song, and in context (being sung to Jody Foster and Charles Manson by John Hinckley and Squeaky Fromme, respectively), it's uproarious. Thank God for Weidman's wit, because this is a show that definetly needs comic relief.

The interesting idea that the play presents is that the assassins are just as American as anyone else, because America is "The land where any kid can grow up to be president," and likewise, "Any kid can grow up to be his killer." Comedy, tragedy, laughs, tears, a message, great music, Assassins has it all. The scene near the end with Lee Harvey Oswald is one of the most powerful scenes I've ever read. In fact, it was recorded on the soundtrack, because it's just that important. Delaying Oswald's appearance for so long was a great move, because the audience, after being emotionally assaulted by the other 8 assassins, is finally pushed over the edge with an event that most of them were alive for and remember. The triumphant chords after Oswald's shot give me shivers every time I hear them.

Assassins is a phenomenal play that unfortunately is rarely produced. I recommend reading the script and enjoying the excellent score to people looking for something a little different (hey, that's Sondheim for you), a little funny, and a little scary. The show will live on because of its relevance, and it's a wonderful addition to the American Musical Theater.

Stacey Tolbert does more than bare her soul in this collection of poetry. She bares the souls of her readers...sometimes coaxing us out of our skins, sometimes shocking our eyes open to the truth of ourselves and the world around us. Direct without preaching, this book talks to your heart without any pretension. Thank you, Ms. Tolbert, for putting it on paper.

Bravo! Bravo!

Baring my soul is beautifully painted with poetic words that warms the soul. The honesty and openess puts this artform in the category of innovative alternative expression. In a comercial driven world it is so nice to experience something real. Stacey is definately a leader in the new Neo Soul Movement.

Many authors mistakenly distance themselves from their audience. Stacey Tolbert's Baring My Soul is pleasantly inviting. Readers are allowed, during an entertaining recount, to explore her past experiences (pleasant and melancholic) and private thoughts. Baring My Soul is beautifully written, hats off to the writer.

I bought the book because I've had the privilege of hearing her read her poetry live. You should check out her tidbits of wisdom and slices of strength. We are blessed that she has shared herself with us. Buy the book. And, try to book the poet.

For a little book, Stacey Tolbert's "Baring My Soul" packs a mighty, lyrical and poignant punch. You can tell right off the bat that Stacey Tolbert, aka The Brown Suga Poet, is a spoken word poet because her words literally leap off the page in a musical way. The line breaks, rhymes, unrhymes, rhythms all move in a fluid way that makes you want to drink what Tolbert has to say and believe me, this sister has a lot to say and doesn't believe in holding back.

In this compact collection, Tolbert touches upon racism, sexism, the political arena, self-respect, self-love, strong women, and many other potent topics that lets you know that behind the pretty words, Tolbert has a strong mind.

Though I loved every poem in the book, some of my favorites include, The "be" Anthology Poems, Hair, and Tolbert's epistolary poems, especially, Dear Nubian Teenage Girl.

To all readers who love the written word and an artist's ability to put words together to create beautiful and powerful statements, you owe it to yourself to pick up Baring My Soul by Stacey Tolbert because she does just that...bares her soul, in all its poetic grace.

Shon Bacon

I am currently taking an Old English class. This semester we are translating Beowulf. This book is very helpful because on the opposite side of the Old English page is the translation into modern English. This is most helpful because some of the grammar when translating is tricky. This book would be interesting if you were reading Beowulf, but wanted to see how it was originally written. The translation by Chickering is usually spot on, although he does use poetic license and adds a few of his own words to make it more clear to the reader. I would have given this 5 stars, but there is no glossary in the back and for anyone who has ever tried translating Old English, a glossary is a must!

I am happy to report that buying this book has been one of those rare occasions when I have enjoyed the pleasant surprise of actually receiving MORE for my money than what I had been expecting.

I bought this book because of its containing the full text of Beowulf plus the running modern English translation on facing pages. In addition to this, I expected perhaps the usual brief introduction which such works are frequently accompanied by.

But instead, the book turned out to be about twice as thick as what I had anticipated. Yes, the first 50 pages or so are indeed the type of introduction and pronunciation guide I had expected, followed by the 200 pages containing the actual text and translation. But above and beyond this there is also an additional almost 200 pages to the book, and it is this portion which has made me doubly happy with my purchase.

Included in the second half of the book is a very helpful chart of the royal genealogies dealt with in the work. This is then followed by literally page after page of absolutely wonderful and extensive background material and analysis which deal with everything from the history of the manuscript and theories as to its authorship and dating, to broader background material on Anglo-Saxon society, its way of life and traditions. I found hours of fascinating and rewarding reading here which I never expected. It's almost like getting an extra book!

And as if this was not enough, to top it all off they have concluded the book with a section which gives full glosses for all the words in the 8 most key sections of the text. -- No need to spend hours frantically flipping in the dictionary, it's all here done for you!

Being a newcomer to the field of Old English, this book has been everything I have been looking for. And considering the modest price of this volume, I feel I have gotten a real bargain and am happy to give this book my highest recommendation to all.

I had to read this book for school and let me tell you...I adored it. It brings to life picturesque characters and mysterious beings that are truly fantastic. Reading this book I felt a true excitement in my heart, which I don't get with many other books. I suggest that people read this book, because its not only for the older generation its for us younger generation as well.

Brittanie Chisum

I fell in love with Beowulf when I read Seamus Heany's facing page translation. I also fell in love with Anglo-Saxon Old English and decided to teach it to myself. I then bought John Porter's word for word facing page translation, which is good for learning Anglo-Saxon, but not for enjoying Beowulf as a rip-roaring adventure. I wanted to read another translation, to see how someone else would handle it, and the variety of translations available is amazing. Prose translations I hated. Even a modern poem turned into prose sounds wrong. Translations that ignor the alliteration and poem structure also bother me. I liked Howell Chickering's version. It's close to original feel of the poem. But the best thing about this book is Chickering's Commentary in the back. All the extra explanations were very helpful in understanding the poem. Questions that I had thought of are brought up and discussed. There are not always answers, but a thorough discussions of all the various theories. I thoroughly recommend this version.

If you read the Penguin edition (or any other modern translation) and wondered what all the fuss was about, this is your answer in a form accessible to the motivated reader. This monk-produced epic in an age when Christ challenged the devil at every turn and monsters and witchcraft were accepted as fact was crafted in language that rolls like a viking boat in stormy seas and cracks like lightning splintering a glacier. Here is a nuanced tale of life in a remote Germanic outpost haunted by a trinity of monsters and blessed by an able if flawed and mortal savior, a princeling knight errent compiling a couple of resume stuffers on his way to kinghood and then capping a great career with a final, defining epic deed.

The reader is provided with an intralinear translation, old english verse on one page, modern verse translation on the other. Vocabulary, pronunciation guides, and annotations are all provided. The sounds of this poetry are raw and powerful in a way that can only be weakly imitated in modern English, rich with wry, textured prosody. I found this book based on an offhand mention by a professor when I was in college, a two year search of university and second-hand bookstores without result, followed up over ten years later with an Amazon alert entry that finally bore fruit many years after that. A luminous accomplishment.

Victoria Chang's first book of poetry, 'Circle', is unusual for a poetry award-winning book in that it can stand alone, quite apart from its already sung praises. In fact, it demands it.

Her Edward Hopper 'Studies' have a wonderful feeling of osmosis, evoking often charged scenes in Hopper's notoriously solitary paintings.

'An Evening at the Chinese Opera', 'Morning Porridge', 'At Lake Michigan' (which is like a Haiku that breaks its own rules) and 'There is Something about the East Coast' are other poems of particular note.

The unique notion of the 'circle', derived from Emerson and which forms the galvanising path of the book, does pervade the collection yet the collection would in no way suffer if this were missed by the reader. In a non-pejorative sense, this may be a collection where the sum is not necessarily greater than its exquisite individual parts.

Victoria Chang, Circle (Crab Orchard Review, 2005)

Every once in a while, I stumble upon a book like Circle (I say "stumble" because at this point I've no idea where I read about it originally), and all the time I spend reading poetry that ranges from the mediocre to the mind-splittingly awful is worth it. For Circle is one of those books where the poems leap off the page and come at you with a boning knife, gazing hungrily at the innards lying beneath that flap of belly fat you've been trying so hard to work off these past few years. While this is not happy stuff, for the most part, Chang manages to retain a twisted sense of humor about life, the universe, and everything:

After returning from Arkansas, I've never been the same.
Little here, little there, it's always great

to go à la carte-- it gives leverage and leave, it lends option to pull out
that front tooth or start saying y'all.

I begin to acknowledge feet with hair on the big toes, my eyes
get greener and green.

Periodically, there's a 300-point inspection and I'm checked,
re-checked, and checked again,

but what if the checker is the one missing a tooth? What if
I discover this

when I'm more than halfway? Do I turn back or keep going away
from home--

two small dots plucking broken guitars?
("Majority Rules")

Oh, yes, folks. I am unabashed in my love for this book, which will most likely make my top ten reads of the year. You want it. **** ½

What I love about Ms. Chang's work is her directness and her intensity. Though she said in an interview in June of this year that she would like to be more daring, I find her sense of political and social outrage infuses even the simplest of domestic situations, a fully committed kind of daring, as in this description of a rice dish the speaker prepares in "The Dragon Boat Festival" interwoven with a revelation about murdered baby girls: " I snip the string, unwrap the leaves, the rice pulses with steam, black dates ache, the wind smells of wet grass, sugar, fractured flesh." This is a wonderful book by an emerging poet who will become one of our nation's finest.

Reading Victoria Chang's poetry is like walking through woods in the fog, and every so often a branch smacks you in the head.

Circle is a collection of poetry by published poet and editor of "Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation" Victoria Chang. Poems encompass both the distant past, particularly laws, history, and customs of ancient China, and the muddled modern day. The female perspective, with its share of unique pains and mistreatments past and present, shines through in this interconnected anthology written with frankness and passion. Meditation at Petoskey: An old woman on the beach hands me a stone. / I tell her of the ruining landscape, tortoise backs / of stone, algae colonies, like puzzles on rock, / the lighthouse column with its cracked putty / and rotating eye. But she says, nothing has changed, / we have always been this way - a thousand young larks / mount the sudden breeze.

The only thing wrong with this book is that there should be more of it.
Roethke represents a watershed in American letters, a watershed we kids slobbered down the wrong side of, the side not his. For delicacy of daring the difficult to bear, even to notice, he can hardly be surpassed, and this almost without ever choking up the voice -- his or ours.

"A late rose ravages the casual eye," writes Roethke in A Walk in Late Summer, "a blaze of being on a central stem." In such images we see the symbols of nature fully tapped in modern poetry -- and tapped in American English, in fresh, vivid language that overpowers the reader with its grace and presence. The poetry of Theodore Roethke is written by a man profoundly alive -- skirting the edge of suicide, losing his voice in the awe of love, reeling wildly in the throes of "the pure fury," and looking at last with calm eyes into infinity and his own undoing in the Far Field. Roethke was a true descendent of Whitman where the latter wrote "This is no book / Who touches this touches a man." But Roethke's poetry moves us as much by its lyrical language as by the power and wisdom of its experience. Roethke himself was, as represented by his art alone, a "blaze of being."

Among Roethke's contributions to literature are his poems that treat depression. Far from letting his manic episodes paralyze him, he used them to write some his most intense poetry. "In a Dark Time" is one of the immortal poems of the 20th century, worthy to be set aside a Van Gogh painting. Roethke was not alone in treating these subjects: two other Pulitzer Prize-winning poets of his time, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, learned from him and wrote about similar themes. But Roethke's writing stands out in two ways from these poets and other poets the 50's and 60's.

One is the unity of his work and vision -- this Collected Poems traces a single spiritual journey beginning with his childhood memories of the greenhouse, and ending somewhere among "the windy cliffs of forever", last visions tragically cut short by his early death. Between those points are rendered all of the experiences of his life -- as he wrote in his first poem, "my heart keeps open-house." But he never fails to interpret these experiences and understand their significance in the larger picture of his life and poetry. Unlike so much of the poetry of Sylvia Plath and other Confessional poets, Roethke never demands that you read his biography to understand his symbolism. Rather, his symbols develop among his poems to form a kind of mythology: his recurring symbols include stones, fire, light, "the small," and the spirit.

The other difference between Roethke and other poets of his time is his technique. Roethke is never obscure; he always writes in fresh language, avoiding cliches, although his symbols are indeed personal and take time to understand. Roethke's craft is "strict and pure," such that even the staunchest defenders of Sylvia Plath have confessed that Roethke's writing is more disciplined. The Deep Image movement of poets like Robert Bly and James Wright is influenced by the kind of symbolism found throughout Roethke's poetry, and those writers have acknowledged their debt to him. Roethke retained rhyme and meter in a time when all the conventions of poetry were being ripped apart; and he did so with a consummate technical skill not to be found in the Beatniks or in the Black Mountain poets. Roethke's ear for poetry is much more sensitive than that of other poets of his time. We are gagged by the lyricism in lines like

"She came toward me in the flowing air,
A shape of change, encircled by its fire."
("The Dream")

"When all
My waterfall
Fancies sway away
From me, in the sea's silence..."
("Her Time")

"O love, you who hear
The slow tick of time
In your sea-buried ear..."
("Song")


The most exhilarating of all these are Roethke's love poems in "Words for the Wind", which justly won the Bollingen Prize and the National Book Award. These poems are unmatched for eloquence and spiritual intensity -- and it's a damn shame that modern anthologies do not reprint them, aside from the famous "I Knew a Woman." For it is in these love poems that Roethke's soul soars, and his poetic power is fully realized.

"She knew the grammar of least motion."
("The Dream")

"Light listened when she sang."
("Light Listened")

"I measure time by how a body sways."
("I Knew a Woman").


Theodore Roethke achieved greatness in art by having the courage to confront the most intense human experiences and the skill to craft them into some of the most eloquent poems of his time. If there is ONE modern poet you will read, let it be Roethke. His "Collected Poems" is a must for every poet and every lover of poetry.

I relished Roethke when I first read him in high school, along with Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, and the Beats. I still admired him in college, when I wrote poetry myself, and regarded most other "living" poets with suspicious disdain. Many poets I loved then have lost some of their charm for me (my loss, not theirs) but, forty five years later, I still read Roethke. Does that speak to you?

To My Sister; The Heron; No Bird; Elegy for Jane; She; Her Reticence; The Meadow Mouse; and of course, My Papa's Waltz--these are all some of the great poems that Theodore Roethke wrote. Roethke is one of our American masters. I found that when he was on his game (as he was in the poems above, among others) his poetry was phenomenal, but when he wasn't, his poetry could be awful. His earlier work is better than his later work, though he seems to have gotten most of his recognition for his later work. Still, for the poetry lover this is pretty much a required volume for your shelves.

At first, I was heitant to delve into this author's work simply because I'd never heard of him in all my wide readings of poetry, both modern and old.

Don't make the same mistake I did. Roethke WILL NOT disappoint you. "The Lost Son" has become my new favourite poem, and this book goes with me perpetually, and will until I finish every line in it.

Exquisite.