Poets Books

I have a tendency to be too wordy in my writing, so to learn more focus and control, I have been studying (and writing) haiku. The Haiku Handbook has been an engaging resource for me in those efforts. Each of the book's five sections contains a wealth of ideas and information that both challenges and inspires:

Part One: Haiku Old and New [A great introduction to the experience of haiku and to Japanese Masters. The "Why Haiku" is helpful in clarifying one's purpose for writing such brief poetry.]

Part Two: The Art of Haiku [Natural themes, the form and craft of haiku; this is the section that I like best, and I repeatedly refer back to these pages. I especially enjoy how the author discusses the difference in Japanese and English languages.]

Part Three: Teaching Haiku [How to teach haiku writing to children, lesson plan included]

Part Four: Before and Beyond Haiku [Haiku and its uses]

Reference Section [With Season-Word List & Glossary]

Overall, this is a worthy product for anyone who wishes to delve into haiku more deeply than the introduction that most Westerners receive.

I love this book, as a matter of fact I love it so much I purchased two. One for my desk and one for my purse. Great info for Haiku writers.

The perfect volume for fans and writers of haiku. Indispensable.

Blyth's Haiku Seasons books and Higginson's guide to reading and writing "haiku" in English are two of the necessary books to begin to understand what haiku is all about. I have a difficult time with the idea that a tiny poem written in any of the Romance languages--esp. English-- could be called a "haiku," even though the author might include season words and even the 5/7/5 syllable count. I would much rather call them epigrams, because they simply cannot give you the effect of a Japanese haiku. Anyone who argues otherwise is simply fooling themselves, and you. Given all of that, however, Blyth and Higginson are good books to have on the shelf. Blyth, I believe, is the better writer/translator and his sense of chronology and history is stronger. In addition he gives hundreds of translated gems to admire from Basho, Issa, Buson, and others. He also doesn't try to convince you that haiku can be written in English. Higginson is the warmer writer and his generosity to the reader is apparent from the beginning, so practioners will find him perhaps more useful than Blyth in a practical sense. I disagree with Higginson's history of English language "haiku"--there are some important people he simply leaves out, but he more than makes up for the omissions in other chapters. Both writers impart an enthusiasm for the subject to their readers. If you're building a haiku library and would like a great start, Blyth's four volume set and Higginson's Haiku Handbook are the way to go.

There are very few books on how to write in any idiom. This book explains the hows and whys of haiku. What it takes to get started and to continue to write. I have found this useful in my writing that is not associated with haiku or poetry. This book is a lot of fun to read, and is not stuffy and boring as text books are. It will serve all writers well.

This is not to say a thing against either of the two TV two versions of this play, which I saw and loved, but to say that when I first heard the play it was on a recording with the voices of John Gielgud, Penelope Browne, and Richard Burton.

I thought I had never heard words spoken by human voices that was so alluring they were close to opera. Hearing them was like getting drunk on words. I can't find that audio tape now that I used to copy the library recording, and I wonder if there is any way of tracing that performance and getting another copy? I remember Gielgud's way of expressing tedium of the party that was to mark the last night of his life and Jennet's. "Tedi-UM, Tedi-UM, Tedi-Um, on a falling scale, or naming the party "ice bath of pleasure." Yet he was in love and bordering on desperate when he told Jennet that when she had rejected him after a brief pause: "I'll chalk that hesitation all over the walls of Hell."
And about the future, which they didn't think they had: "I can give you generations of roses, here, in this wrinkled belly," He murmured, putting a rose hip in her palm. Wonderful, indeed.

Centering around the notion that two antithetical people are nonetheless in the same kind of predicament makes an interesting subject for a story, comedy, or otherwise. What makes this play such an entertaining read, play, and piece of literature, is also what keeps it from being an enduring classic. Language can be a beautiful but it can also be ruined by needless toying and that's exactly what the lead character, Thomas, does for large portions of this play. The two leads are so conceited about their lives and goals and proving things to others. I guess that's the reason the play is both laughable and exhausting. The characters in the play concede to truths and judgment not by reason, they can just ignore it no longer. Everyone in this play, with the exception of Richard, is unsensible and their actions are unpredictable in tradional terms, but the one thing you can count on is that they won't do what someone else wants them to do, they will always do the opposite unless it's already what they set out to do. This is classic comic folly, however, it doesn't come out that way because of Fry's language taking center stage.

As a previous reviewer put it "not everyone will enjoy reading "the lady's not for burning" I'll take it a step further and say that not everyone will find it essential, because I don't. Although I enjoy it and am thankful I read it, I think it's a disposable play, that depends on virtuosic acting and an uncanny knowledge of the English language.

I had the pleasure of seeing John Gielgud and Pamela Brown in "The Lady's Not For Burning" when I was teen-ager. It has been a pleasure to relive the joys of this delightful play once again.

It's 14th Century England and Thomas Mendip is tired of the world. He just wants someone to hang him so he can leave this life for good. He keeps telling people that he's the devil himself and the only way to send him back to Hell is to kill him. But the village leaders have bigger problems to worry about. The daughter of a local deceased alchemist, Jennet Jourdemayne, is certifiably insane and the townfolk think she might be a resident witch. It doesn't help that on the day that Thomas begs to be hanged, the beautiful Alizon Elliot is arriving to greet the son of the mayor to whom she is engaged. Thomas and Jennet are forgotten while the preparations for Alizon's arrival take place and that night during a ball for Alizon, Thomas and Jennet meet. The fates collide and they fall in love. But Jennet's supposed to be hung. What is a devil to do?

THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING is hilarious, but the comedy takes a backseat to the witty wordplay. The characters are secondary performers and the real star of the show is the language. One would probably assume that THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING was a product of the English Renaissance, perhaps even a missing play written by Shakespeare himself. But it's just good ole Christopher Fry's twentieth-century version of a Shakespearean-type comedy written in grand form.

Not everyone will enjoy reading THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING as the delightful language might be too much for some to understand. However, if you like Shakespearean comedy or just have a love for the English language, then THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING might be something worth your reading.

Charles Williams once yelled something to Christopher Fry from the top of a London bus. I forget what he yelled but I'm surprised they couldn't communicate psychically, for Williams and Fry were soulmates in more ways than one. Critics find both obscure and obtuse, overly given to purple prose and awkward phrasing. Readers who want to be banged over the head don't like either author, but those who enjoy sublety and coaxing a text to give up its secrets often enjoy their whimsical wordplay, even if they find their works overly freighted with ideas.

Both writers are given to many-layered interpretations. One writer found in Fry's play A Phoenix Too Frequent an almost allegory of St. Paul's contrast between the "law" and "grace" in the book of Romans (in a full allegory everything corresponds to something else, which is not the case here). Charles Williams' plays are works in progress that are worked out dramatically on the stage. His most famous novel, Descent into Hell, develops the story around the attempt to put on a play.

Charles Williams would find nothing odd in these resonances between himself and Fry, both members of what he called the confraternity of poets, or between author and reader, whom he would say were linked in the web of souls. This language yearns to be spoken, almost as an incantation, and this potential energy longs to turn to kinetic action on the stage. Our age, given unto despair, finds both writers alternately too somber and too flippant. But for readers who, like Fry and Williams, find themselves out of step with modern (or post-modern) sensibilities, these plays may be just the thing. Maybe that's what Charles Williams was shouting from the London bus.

Continuing tale of the Cambridge-educated English Officer living the hell of warfare on the Western Front: replete with adoring batman, blustering colonel Blimps, out of control colonials (Australians and Canadians), journeys to England on home leave to meet misinformed civilians. Sasson has a style that waxes between light and lyrical, cynical and dark and starkly realistic. It is reminiscent of Graves but less dark than Blunden.

This is a tale of the human mind (an upper crust mind) that makes the journey from old world to that of the lost generation -- but Sassoon never loses himself. It shows that the mind-set was already there capable of dissecting and throwing away the old world view tradition. With capable honesty Sassoon relates the contradictions in life, army and mind set of the pre-war generation. He still takes advantage of the liesure of the educated class; his batman pours his tea, he still sees the colonials as slightly quaint and backwards (especially the Australians), still finds refuge among his educated Cambridge intellectuals -- this is no tale of class struggle.

This book can read as part of his trilogy lifestyle or on its own. It has many haunting vignettes and is perhaps one of the top 5 WWI memoirs. Highly recommended.

Siegfreid Sassoon's wonderful war memoir is thinly disguised as the story of George Sherston. Based solely on Sassoon's life in the trenches of WWI, it recounts the horror and scale of carnage that occurred. More importantly it shows the emotionally scars that the survivors carried with them as a result of exposure.

Sherston (Sassoon) was a rather spoiled and pampered young upper class Englishman. The war changed all that. Confronted with death, destruction and idiotic leadership from the High Command you sense the inner turmoil of Sherston.

Relieved when he is not involved with the fighting he is driven by guilt over the loss of the soldiers in his battalion. Consequently when his platoon is on the line he takes great risks in reconaissance of the German positions.

The effects of non-stop total war, stupid leadership and the complete contrast between England and the trenches (only a few hundred miles apart) is staggering to Sassoon. Sassoon becomes anti-war and considers becoming an objector, but his obvious connection to his comrades and loyalty to them wins out in the end. He hates the war but won't abandon his comrades in the field.

This is a great war memoir written by a poet who survived and was changed for life by his experiences in it.

Terrific book that sounded a bit autobiographical. Sassoon, of course, was a war hero on the battle of the Somme, decorated twice for bravery.

The book reads lyrically and is convey's nicely the daily life of soldiers moving back and forth from the front fighting trenches to the rear area of the battle field. He also does a great job portraying the strangeness and inner conflict of being back in British society (while recovering from illness) with people who know nothing of the war or its cost to the participants.

A Brit's version of "All Quiet ..."

While perhaps best known for his poetry written during WWI, Siegfried Sassoon was a very talented wordsmith in general, a trait that is demonstrated in his second semi-fictionalized autobiography, "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer". Sassoon chose to fictionalize his accounts of his life, an odd technique that allows him to distance himself from these experiences as he intimately describes the raw emotion and response behind them. In his three memoirs he is George Sherston, a thinly veiled version of himself, who thinnly veils the real-life characters he encountered during these times.

Readers are automatically flung into Sassoon's war experience, from the disjointed and fantastical training, to the brutal reality of life in the trenches. Sassoon describes these experiences in vivid detail, the sheer misery of trench warfare, the almost callous attitude toward the dead on both sides, and the surreal life led by those back home. Sassoon, nicknamed "Mad Jack" for his stubborness and seemingly sheer lunacy at times, was awfully lucky during his battle campaigns. He was wounded a few times, always sent back home to England to recuperate, and almost happy to return to the war.

However, after one session as an invalid, Sassoon begins to recognize that the war may not be all it's cracked up to be, that those in power are not telling the truth about their war aims, and that he may just be a lowly pawn in a game he doesn't want to play. Towards the end of his narrative, Sassoon tells of his decision to speak out against the war, even if it meant being court martialed. This act, filtered with courage and fear, is achingly portrayed as an act both necessary and questionable: as Sassoon places himself in danger, he questions his true beliefs in the matter. This account ends just as Sassoon enters the hospital in Scotland, avoiding court martial with a diagnosis of shell shock, 'lucky' as usual.

"Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a vividly descriptive account of life in the trenches during WWI. Sassoon is a gifted storyteller, who can make even the direst settings come to life. He offers a unique insight into the soldier poets who first questioned whether or not war was such a noble and glorious pursuit and if the sacrifice of lives was worth the price in the end. While a little slow at times, the last quarter of the narrative which details Sassoon's questioning of the war, is a brilliantly written firsthand look at how a too little celebrated writer finally found his voice.

Siegfried Sassons' "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a first-hand account of life at the front line during World War 1. This is not a just a historical document or diary however. Sassoon writes via an alter-ego called George. In real life, Sassoon was an infantry officer who fought at the front, but eventually grew suspicious of the reasons for the continuation of World War 1, and as such became a dissenter. This book may be fiction, but it is based on fact and it gives an impressive account of what life must have been like in those trenches, nearly a hundred years ago. Sassoon's incredible ability with words paints a much more vivid picture than any war movie will ever provide.

George was a middle-class officer who had the luxury of a university education and was an avid reader of classic English literature. He juxtaposes the themes and ideas in this romantic poetry with the realities of life at the front to great effect. Although a tad repetitive in it's ideas (perhaps to get the point across clearly), this book is rewarding and still relevant this whole century later. As one character in the book says, "In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth" .

I kept hearing about this book, then I happened to see it featured on BET's Cita's World as "Book of the Beek". So I had to pick it up. Once I did I couldn't put it down!

A love supreme, experimental, quintessential, soul stirring, rhythmic poetry....... In its true form

The book was fabulous. I read it several times and it seems that everytime I read it, it gets deeper. Very inspirational and motivated young man. More poets need to have the courage to publish their works...Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to the next published work...

From the intro to the first chapter; is was sprung, Subliminal Seduction!!! What??? I was intrigued by this book. I've read it over and over again.... and each time... feels like the "first time".....literally! Do your thang!! Much love to ya Bro!!!!!

The title sets the stage for a very unique poetic approach that Mr. Thornton has so graciously put together, one that will rejuvenate the mind and soul. By any means necessary, MENTAL CONCEPTIONS opens with much to consider as each poem makes deep introspective statements. I enjoyed all the selections and was very impressed with his unique flow of words and the fact that each offering challenges readers to understand what the writer is sharing.

'Silver Bracelets' opens with such spiritual depth that the feeling will stay with me. Rejuvenation, mental awakening, spiritual growth and originality are words that barely describe Andre R. Thornton's book. He has created, as one of his poems is titled, 'A Poet's Dream'. The title MENTAL CONCEPTIONS says it all.

Reviewed by Kalaani
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I read this as part of a spiritual path, but just the story -- in and of itself -- carries every bit of 'flavor' that any great story always does. In a lot of ways, it's a pure adventure, albeit with monkey gods and man in all his worst behavioral situations. People are hit, cut, betrayed, loved, and supported by those around them in ways that are surprising, saddening, frightening, and just plain good reading.

It's the story of Vishnu -- one of the three forms of God -- coming back to earth to kick the butt of a really nasty demon. When I say nasty, I mean nasty -- not bedside reading for the 8 year old at home. The reason Vishnu has to show up as a man is because only a human man can bring an end to the destruction (one of those 'curses of the gods' things). So Vishnu shows up as the "Tiger of a man" named Rama. And rama kicks butt as he was supposed to.

It's impossible not to draw comparisons between the story of Rama and the story of Christ, although the former comes (in the most conservative guesstimates) 2,500 years prior to the time the Bible was written. Three forms of God, incarnation as a human who is in direct contact with the father/divinity and carrying a message of hope and forgiveness. And there's plenty of table turning in both books.

Having read a couple of translations of this ancient classic, with their stilted and archaic English, it was refreshing to read this version. Dharma has certainly adhered closely to the original text, but has presented it in a very enjoyable style that in my view nicely brings out the mood of the epic. His words carry quite a poetic flourish that really does justice to this work, which, after all, was originally written as a poem. His descriptions are graphic and his characters are lucidly portrayed, helping the reader enter deeply into the action. He also manages to skilfully weave in the spiritual messages of the work. This in fact was the main aim of the author of this epic, the sage Valmiki. His desire was to show the majestic opulence and divinity of Rama, whom he accepted as a divine incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Thus the text carries a profound spiritual import that Dharma has obviously been at pains to preserve. For my money he has a done a good job. I found myself in tears many times as I read this book, feeling moved at a very deep level. I also felt frequently uplifted and edified by the wisdom it contained.

Apart from all of this the Ramayana is a great story, as its enduring appeal proves. Followers of the Vedic tradition claim it is hundreds of thousands of years old, and many versions of it appear in nearly all the Asian cultures. But no matter how old it may be, its message remains entirely relevant, and its story is as fresh and engaging as anything churned out by the fiction writers of today. Perhaps there are some typos, as one reviewer here has remarked, but I can't say I noticed them. I was enthralled by this book and will certainly be reading it many more times.

The Ramayana is an ancient epic, one of the oldest in the world. It tells the extremely engrossing tale of a man named Rama, who is an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The events that occur early in the story (even if they seem irrelevant) all come together at the end, culminating in a massive battle with the forces loyal to Rama on one side and Ravana, a rakshasa (demon) king, and his warriors on the other. The story in itself certainly deserves five stars, however the edition had some flaws to it. It was written to be watered down so it would be more accessible to a larger audience, and in this the author certainly succeeded. My only complaint on this point is that it seemed to fall slightly short of what it could have achieved. The real problem I have with this edition is the amount of typos and spelling errors. Once or twice the error was so severe that I was not sure of the intent of the sentence. The book is definately worth buying if one just wants to know the story, however if one wants a better understanding of the epic and the culture invloved, I would suggest a looking for a different edition.

Ramayana must rank as one of the most loved and revered books of all time. A part of India's ancient Vedas, it is a beautiful story of romance and adventure. It recounts the history of Rama, said be an incarnation of the Godhead, and his divine consort Sita. Filled with magic and mysticism, it entrances the reader and stirs deeply moving emotions. At the same time its profound spiritual messages leave one feeling uplifted and enriched. This is a novelisation of the classic. It contains all the essential narrative of the original Sanskrit poem, but written in a contemporary style. Whilst adhering closely to the original, I have tried to make it as readable as possible, using the techniques of character development and dramatisation to draw the reader into the action. By weaving in other spiritual commentaries on this sacred text, I have also tried to offer the reader the benefit of the wisdom of India's seers and sages. As I am sure you will discover when your read the book, that wisdom is as relevant in today's stressful world as it was thousands of years ago, when it was first written.

It was my love for this wonderful book which prompted me to write my adaptation, and I hope I have been able to share that love with others. Whether you enjoy it simply as a great adventure story, or you enter deeply into its spiritual meaning, you will surely find it an engaging read. All in all, I would say that this is as authentic and complete a version as you are likely to find outside of scholarly translations, but it is a lot easier to read. If you enjoy this, then you might like to try my novelisation of the Mahabharata, the other great Indian epic, which is also published by Torchlight.

Krishna Dharma

I understand why the Ramayana is such a popular and beloved story even today, but overall I really found that I liked Vishnu's avatar as Krishna better than his earlier one as Rama. Rama's being Vishnu incarnate wasn't really a big part of this version, and because he was depicted as such a great human being and hero, acting in very specific roles as an overly obedient son, devoted husband and brother, and finally heroic warrior, it was easy to lose sight of the fact of his true identity. With Krishna, I find it easier to not lose sight of the fact that he's Vishnu in a human body, and in the Krishna story, he's depicted in so many different roles (e.g., baby, lover, best friend, sneaky little boy, enlightened teacher) that one can easier relate to him as more than just some exemplary human being and a deity made mortal, which Vishnu does only when the balance of evil in the world overrides that of good. He had to take on a human avatar to kill Ravana, since he was so evil that no one could kill him, and he also had a boon from Brahma which entitled him to protection against being killed by one of the gods, many of whom had a long list of grievances with him. The gods know that it will be almost impossible for an ordinary human to kill Ravana, so Vishnu takes on his seventh avatar to rid the world of his evil.

I know that in comparison to other versions of this famous ancient tale, this one doesn't tell the entire story and is more like a brief retelling of each important event that happens along the way, like the abduction of Sita, Hanuman leaping to Lanka to scope things out, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita going into exile, and the important battles in the war Rama, Lakshmana, Ravana's little brother Vibhishana and four of his friends, and their huge army of bears and monkeys wage against Ravana and his evil Rakshasas. No matter how condensed it might be in comparison to the actual full-length epic tale, it still conveys the same sense of romance, mystery, love, adventure, and human emotions that a much longer version does. It's also different from other versions because of the depiction of Sita's ordeal; some versions have her immolating herself and dying, but this version has a twist on it. (How far we've come; Rama's accusations of infidelity, in spite of the curse prohibiting Ravana from raping a mortal woman and in spite of how he only accused Sita of infidelity to test her, are not only highly un-PC now but just insulting! The woman was kidnapped and held by an extremely evil man and his cohorts for nearly a year; it's not like she ran off with him of her own free will!) This version is also missing what I find to be the most moving part of the Ramayana, when Hanuman, the noblest of the monkeys, literally tears up his chest to show that his devotion to and love for Rama and Sita are so deep and strong that their names and images are literally written on his heart.

As illustrated by Sita's ordeal towards the end, and along with some other things in the story, there is a strong sense of a time, culture, and place which is very far from how people live today. But in spite of how Rama is overly obedient to his father and his later treatment of Sita, or how Lakshmana won't even look his brother's wife in the eyes, the overall story is timeless. I don't usually like books with battle scenes, but the battles fought here are so well-written and captivating that they're nothing like the usual fare of endlessly describing battles. I can't wait to read some other versions of the Ramayana to compare with what's written here.

I have already shared this book at my Book Club, at a women's retreat, and with friends. What a joy to read.

this book is so lovely I only wish I had the means to give as a gift to all my most cherished friends. Mary Oliver has certainly given it to us. I lived 7 years in Provincetown, read clips in the newspaper and NEVER knew she also lived there...somewhere, tucked into a niche of beauty. Ms. Charley Stites

I really don't know much about poetry, except that I like that it seems to be less fettered by rules. I like it for its rhythms and possibility and for its hope. A friend showed me a poem of Mary Oliver's this spring, This Morning I Watched the Deer, and I thought more people will read poetry if they are shown this poem.

It's Mary Oliver. What else can I say? Her poems, along with those of David Whyte, provide comfort, consolation, encouragement, and thrills as I meander through my days.

Savoring Mary Oliver's poems bring me joy, they are a respite from the news of our times and a balm to my soul. The theme throughout this book is to pay attention, to stop and watch and be amazed.

Look and See
This morning, at waterside, a sparrow flew
to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back
of an eider duck; lightly it fluttered off, amused.
The duck, too, was not provoked,but, you might say, was
laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over
our house was casually scratching
its stomach of white feathers with one
pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we
only look, and see.


Last night I attended a talk at The Wisconsin Book Festival by Rick Bass and Terry Tempest Williams. Their theme was to not only pay attention to the wonders of nature, but to pay attention to what is happening to it, local warming, the lack of water in the West, the disruption of migration patterns and habitat. Pay Attention.

Enid Starkie's biography of Rimbaud, published nearly forty years ago, still stands as both the definitive narrative of Rimbaud's life and a model of literary biography.

Rimbaud was a rebellious, enigmatic, brilliant, and inscrutable poet who, in just four short years between the ages of sixteen and twenty, wrote the poetry which has made him a figure of mythic proportions, not only in French literature, but in the literature and history of Modernism. Starkie, in brilliantly lucid prose and with loving attention to every detail, tells Rimbaud's life story and connects that story to the writing of the poems and the evolution of Rimbaud's views on poetry and the task of the poet.

Influenced by his studies of Kabbalah, alchemy and illuminism, and writing in the long shadow of Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal", Rimbaud precociously enunciated his attack on the then dominant Parnassian school of French poetry at the tender age of sixteen. Starkie examines Rimbaud's original aesthetic doctrine in great detail; in her words, the poet must discover a "new language . . . capable of expressing the ineffable, a new language not bound by logic, nor by grammar or syntax." In Rimbaud's words, the "Poet" must make himself a "seer" by a "long, immense and systematic derangement of all the senses."

From this initial position, Starkie brilliantly details Rimbaud's turbulent relationship with Paul Verlaine and his descent into what one reviewer has aptly described as a "perpetual roister of absinthe, hashish and sodomy." Starkie painstakingly relates Rimbaud's poetry to his experiences with Verlaine in London and Paris. In particular, Starkie convincingly demonstrates, through careful exegesis of the poems and their correspondences with Rimbaud's letters and other biographical materials, that the "Illuminations" (perhaps Rimbaud's most brilliant poems) were written over several years preceding and following "Une Saison en Enfer". Starkie then goes on to demonstrate that the latter prose poems were hardly intended to be Rimbaud's "farewell to literature in general, but only to visionary literature." In other words, "Une Saison en Enfer" represents the rejection by Rimbaud of his original mind-bending iconoclasm--the liquidation "of all his previous dreams and aspirations"--in favor of a rational and materialist aesthetics. Of course, after completing "Une Saison en Enfer", Rimbaud's life moved in completely different directions and there is, unfortunately, no existing evidence that he continued his poetic endeavor after the age of twenty.

Starkie's biography captures the details of the remainder of Rimbaud's life--he died at the age of thirty-seven--with fascinating and attentive detail. And the remainder of his life, as related by Starkie, is a biography in itself--vagabond in Europe, sailor to the East Indies, gun runner and (slave?) trader in Abyssinia, and mysterious cult hero of the emerging French symbolist movement. Indeed, in 1888, more than fourteen years after Rimbaud's known literary career had ended, he received a letter from a prominent Parisian editor: "You have become, among a little coterie, a sort of legendary figure . . . This little group, who claim you as their Master, do not know what has become of you, but hope you will one day reappear, and rescue them from obscurity." Starkie scrutinizes all of these events with scrupulous attention to detail and accuracy.

This is truly a classic of literary biography! (One additional comment: Rimbaud's poetry and letters are quoted extensively in the original French. If you are not fluent in French, you should have Wallace Fowlie's English translation of Rimbaud's Complete Works and Selected Letters by your side as a reference.)

There is no doubt that Rimbaud presents a complex, almost contradictory metaphor for the life of the "Literary Voyant." He is embraced by various communities who identify with certain aspects or should I say phases of his life. I have read many essays, books, and bits and pieces on his life, poetry. As a lover of Rimbaud, I feel Starkie has captured the poet as no other. She looks into his mind and sees what others cannot see. This is the real Rimbaud, as real as we are ever going to know him. When I read this book, I always think of how Starkie closed her bio, with a little boat tossed drunkenly on the waves. Don't miss this book. It's what a literary biography should be, unbiased, thoughtful, and intelligent.

By the time Arthur Rimbaud had reached the age of nineteen, he had already composed dozens of fiery, visionary poems and prose pieces that shattered French concepts of style and content and exerted a vast influence over the role of the artist in the popular imagination. At twenty, however, he had burned many of his poems and had vowed never to write another line. He began to wander Europe and Africa, becoming a gunrunner, a slavetrader, a construction foreman. He was a rebel in the truest sense of the world and his motto could well have been "too fast to live, too young to die."

Rimbaud is a remembered for his outrageous behavior as much as for his amazing literary work. Drunk on absinthe, he would insult priests, other poets, casual passersby. He was both unkempt and anti-social, to say the least, but his influence on surrealism cannot be denied and such works as A Season in Hell have exerted tremendous influence over the literary community. Rimbaud's experimentation with language and with imagery is so astounding that the reader is left bewildered and amazed.

Rimbaud, in fact, established a new approach to writing. In a letter to a friend, dated 1871, he wrote, "the Poet makes himself a seer by a long, immense and systematic derangement of all the senses." Rimbaud's systematic derangement released all future poets from the bourgeois bonds of the good and evil of conventional morality. For the first time, perhaps, poets felt free to explore the powerful, unarticulated, subconscious regions of the mind. As Rimbaud, himself, wrote in "Alchemy of the Word," "I boasted of inventing, with rhythm from within me, a kind of poetry that all the senses, sooner or later, would recognize. And I alone would be its translator...I began it as an investigation. I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still." And so he did.

Enid Starkie, who devoted much of her life to the study of this fascinating young rebel, tells us that Rimbaud was disgusted by those who approached poetry as a hobby or a social activity only. These writers, he said, had the soul of a banker or and accountant. "The soul must be made monstrous." Rimbaud believed this with all his heart and he stated it in no uncertain terms. "I say the Poet is therefore truly the thief of fire!" Rimbaud, truly a man possessed of Promethean prowess and stature, also suffered endless torment. He was an outcast, rejected by society, but, though seemingly frail at times, he was really possessed of superhuman strength. It was this emotional strength that allowed him to produce poetry that was both astounding and lasting.

Starkie describes how Rimbaud, with his mentor and lover, the poet, Paul Verlaine, became the sensation of both Paris and London as he attacked and insulted poets of the day for, as he put it, murdering the language. He engaged in debauchery of the most astonishing kind, but it was a debauchery that led to a sublime state of artistic creativity seldom achieved.

Enid Starkie's biography is wonderful and eminently readable. It stands as the premier chronicle of Rimbaud's life and work. Anyone seeking to understand this complex young man and his equally complex work should read this book. It is, in fact, essential.

Although this is the only Arthur Rimbaud biography I've read, it seems to me very well-written and true to his life. Enid Starkie is perhaps the leading non-French expert scholar on Rimbaud and this long seminal work is very readable and comprehensive. I learned a lot about the life of the man who was one of my favorite poets in my teens. It's amazing when you consider that he wrote all his stuff before he was 20, and that he then suddenly stopped writing altogether. He became lost to literature in his quest to make money and become a successful business man (trader in Africa). One of the most intriguing things in the book is how it talks about "La Chasse Spirituelle" which Verlaine calls Rimbaud's masterpiece, and which has since been lost. I wonder what happened to this work, and it's a great pity that we will never be able to read it. One of the other many things I found interesting was that Rimbaud apparently changed his view on God when he was on his deathbed, as his relgiously devout sister Isabelle pleaded with him to be converted. The cocky and rebellious kid who tried to use alchemy and occult magic to become as powerful as God, who as a 16-year-old punk used to write (...) on the church door, was now in his late 30s a humble, broken, and resigned man who turned to God for comfort and salvation. That may have been important to the fate of his soul, but what is important to us is his written words. And even though Rimbaud only wrote for about 5 years of his life, his contribution to poetry is timeless.

(...)

The Enid Starkie biography is a moving and remarkable work. Nevertheless , it has some serious mistakes that the readers and mainly the lovers of Rimbaud must know. Starkie stained the memory of Rimbaud accusing him of having done slaves traffic. Detailed studies have proved that this was absolutely impossible. (You can read the books of Alain Borer, Graham Robb, Charles Nicholl...)
Starkie wants to show us a rimbaud that failed in Abyssinia. It seems that he deserved a punishment for having left the poetry. The truth is that Arthur Rimbaud was an excellent trader that made a little fortune.
A few moths ago I went to Charleville. There, the Rimbaud's museum has a place where important studies about Rimbaud are shown. In spite of the Starkie's play is very well-known, it has not earned a place there.

_The Book of Questions_ defies easy description. Neruda composed over 70 poems in quatrains, two questions per quatrain - yet the depth of the questions and the variety of interpretations the reader can take from the questions is limitless. That the book contains English translations of the Spanish original is an added bonus.

The images are surreal, as if a Dali painting put to words. Further thought (and the poems ARE thought provoking) yields a different answer with each reading. There is a pervading sense of sadness to them, perhaps because Neruda was dying of cancer while he wrote them; but there is hope, here, too - and a wisdom that only a master poet can communicate. For example:

Where is the child I was,
still inside me or gone?

Why did we spend so much time
growing up only to seperate?

Neruda's _Book of Questions_ haunts and provokes, much like life itself. Highly recommended.

The BOOK OF QUESTIONS was written in 1973, a few months before Neruda's death to cancer. Troubled by the knowledge of his impending death, as well as by a U.S. backed coup threatening the Allende government in Chile (Leftist regime 1970-73), Neruda wrote several small books of brief poems, comprised simply of unanswerable questions, in the koan tradition (question/statement in the form of a paradox that disciples of Zen ponder). They are enigmatic, at times surreal, leaving you lost in labyrinths of deep thought, or in abstract bewilderment.

My favorite questions include:

Why do leaves commit suicide
When they feel yellow?

and

When the convict ponders the light
is it the same light that shines on you?

--ross saciuk

Pablo Neruda's BOOK OF QUESTIONS is one of those books that simply cannot be read just once. Though the poems are short, they are questions that make you ponder and think about through out the day. Neruda covers just about everything, such as politics, society, nature, and life in general.

The most enlightening thing about poetry, especially Neruda's style of writing poetry, is that it lends itself to much interpretation. Anyone that reads this book will have their own answer and interpretation of what they think Neruda was trying to convey. For example, Neruda has a knack for covering politics. He writes:

"How did the grapes come to know
the cluster's party line?

And do you know which is harder,
to let run to seed or to do the picking?

It is bad to live without a hell:
aren't we able to reconstruct it?

And to position sad Nixon
with his buttocks over the brazier?

Roasting him on low
with North American napalm?" (p.18)

For the most part, the book has a zen-like quality, which suggests a complexity to the poems -- the sense of not-knowing, and moving towards intuitive perceptions, beyond rehearsed patterns of thinking and feeling (viii). In a way, it appears complex, but at the same time liberating. Neruda's poetry is simple in its structure.

Beyond analysis, BOOK OF QUESTIONS is also helpful for anyone trying to refresh their memory to read and write in spanish. The translations are wonderful and practical. I recommend this book as well as other books by Neruda because of this added bonus.

Pablo Neruda is much missed as a poet and thinker. Since his death in 1973 there has been an even stronger growing of appreciation for his unique style of writing. During his last days he composed this strange little collection of some 300-odd questions and a number of poems all dealing with the life cycle as only one who sees his end at hand can write. The subjects are death, rebirth and nature in as complete a marriage of intention as any poet has created. They are beautifully translated by William O'Daly.

Intending his reader to be stimulated by his words to create a visual image that is personal, his questions from this volume so aptly titled 'The Book of Questions' open our eyes and our minds to some rapturously beautiful experiences. Examples:

'Why don't inanimate things
do something?

Where did a celestial body
leave something tonight?

Why don't they train helicopters
to suck honey from the sunlight?

Where did the full moon leave
its sack of flour tonight?'

Warmly humorous, touching and eventually elevating, the questions remain on the backs of our eyes awaiting reentry into our brains for relish at needy times. Neruda is a poet for all seasons. Just read this book and discover. Grady Harp, December 06

With this book, Pablo Neruda takes the universe and turns it inside out; in doing so, he brings forth questions for which there are no answers, and which, at the same moment, lead us toward the questions and vibrations of our own souls. The questions may appear as nonsense, but in truth, they are of another language, that of the poet, and they are neither meant to be answered nor translated into the realms of the logical and linear. He embraces humor: "What will they think of my hat, the Polish, in a hundred years?" and "Is there anything sillier than to be called Pablo Neruda?" Yet he also delves into mystery of life and living: "Is 4 the same 4 for everybody? Are all sevens equal?" and "In the end, won't death be an endless kitchen?" While perhaps never having read C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed," Neruda picks up a thread from two lines of this short memoir of grief: "Is yellow square or round? How many hours are in a mile?" But while Lewis searches for answers in a prosaic realm, Neruda remains the poet of questions. His work also brings to mind a poem by American jani johe webster, "the color of august": "what is the sound of a shadow / how do you say a hope / can you see time in a dream". For a truly amazing experience, read William O'Daly's translation of "The Book of Questions" side by side with Ben Belitt's: it is an amazing study of words, meanings, translation, and most of all, questions.

It has been years since I have read anything to which I connected in this way, and I am in the phase where I recommend it only to people I very much like.

I have never read a book that better describes the fullness of life and emotions and the grace of acceptance. The weaving of philosophy throughout the book provides a handle for the characters to check and compare the lives they thought they would lead and the ones they are living and how to help each other along in that journey. The many sides of friendship shine brightly. The perils and joys of love in all its complexity are drawn with Schwartz's lush brush of words. The depth and breadth of grief felt with the loss of a child will never be better defined in all it's many facets. This book is a gift to readers.

I really enjoyed this book. But I disagree with the other reviewers about the language. I thought it was good to discuss philosophy but I felt the rhetoric got in the way of the story. I lost interest in the characters for awhile and skipped over much of the dialogue. I liked the theme of the book and definatly understood the "Disturbances in the Field." I just wish the author didn't jump around from chapter to chapter. I hardly realized what had happened to change their lives so drastically until a few pages into the chapter. All in all, I'm glad I read this book but I didn't need Philosophy 101 again to enjoy it.

This book is, quite simply, a wonder to read. Lydia Rowe -- a grown woman, married to an artist and the mother of four children -- experiences one of life's deepest tragedies. But the novel is not about the tragedy; rather, it explores nothing less than how to be human.

How do the insights and guidance of ancient philosophers impact us when life temporarily stops making sense? How is romantic love different from platonic love and the love of friends ("another self"), and how do they complement each other? How do you reach a point of acceptance -- with yourself, your dearest friends, and the haphazard world? When do you need to be apart and when must you come together? And what is the role of forgiveness in often unforgiving times?

All these questions -- and more -- are explored in this masterwork. Never is a false note hit. The growth and blossoming of friendships...the trials and rewards of motherhood...the coming together and rendering apart of marital couples...all these are tackled and the characters are all rich and three-dimensional.

After reading Disturbances in the Field, I found myself easily irritated with the next couple of books I picked up (some of them prize-winning). Lynn Sharon Schwartz has an instinctive knowledge of being human, and it shines throughout. I cannot recommend highly enough.

I recommend reading this book as a pair with Kate Walbert's "Our Kind," for a rich and comprehensive look at what happened to the "Seven Sisters" (i.e., Wellesley, Smith, Vassar, Barnard) women from the 1950s and early 1960s. "Disturbances in the Field" is the kind of book that makes you run out to the bookstore or library to see what else you can find by the author--it's that good. I think other readers probably got even more out of it than I did, being unfamiliar as I was with a lot of the philosophers mentioned and the tenets of their schools of thought. But the stories that this novel tells about Lydia and all her friends from this era have plenty to offer even if you are not familiar with the philosophers. I would recommend sticking with it through the first few pages, which might seem a little daunting at first--it is definitely worth seeing through to the end.

Mr. Rabbin vividly describes the true nature and uncompromising power of the meditative experience in his new book. His eloquent and articulate style of illustrating the true spirit of meditation penetrates to the core of practice, revealing the bare essence of reality.

Robin Rabbin is a contemporary mystic who has been facilitating Meditative Inquiry retreats for more than fifteen years. In Echoes Of Silence, he draws upon his considerable expertise and experience to instruct the reader in the art of meditation as a method of achieving inner peace and happiness. Rabbin explores the true nature of meditation, revealing what it is -- and is not. Rabbin employs prose poems combined with beautiful duotone images to dispel many of the myths surrounding the authentic meditative experience. Echoes Of Silence is highly original, "reader friendly", a welcome introduction for the novice, and with much to offer even those having prior experience with meditation.

Rabbin's sutras are as timeless as the soul, providing a nourishing nectar for our hungry spirits. Packed with the wisdom of a true sage, this is a book you can read over and over since the words on its pages are ageless and will serve the soul forever. I will keep it with me always.

Robert Rabbin has achieved the near-impossible; he gives us the essence of the nondual without leaving us stuck in the mind. His aphorisms are simultaneously the map and a glimpse of the actual territory, and remind me of the discourses of the great J. Krishnamurti.

Once again, Robert Rabbin has managed to define the indefinable....to bring understanding to what seems incomprehensible for many of us. His unique and gifted style of turning words into wisdom brings clarity to the silence within us. Echoes of Silence is truly the meditation guidebook for the new Millennium.