New British Poetry
Don Paterson and Charles Simic, editors
The Book of Nightmares
Galway Kinnell
I’m picky with my poetry. Just because a poet is critically acclaimed does not mean that his work will speak to me; likewise, poets like Wislawa Szymborska and Ted Kooser (who have been criticized due to their “accessibility,” as though that’s a bad thing) are among my favorite poets.
This summer, already Summer of the Unread Book (Part II), will also be Summer of the Poetry Quest. I plan to feature poetry from both established and up-and-coming poets in an effort to add some great poetry to my collection. Should you happen to know of a good poet or poetry collection, please comment with your recommendations.
As a general rule, I have no rules about poetry. I’m not a “it has to rhyme or it’s not poetry” snob. I don’t prefer older poetry to contemporary poetry. I just like good poetry, poetry that strikes a chord in me, and since I am quite an odd sort of person it is not always easy to find poetry that agrees with me. With this in mind, I cannot help but wonder if I will succeed in my Summer Poetry Quest. I guess we’ll have to see.
My first stop on the quest led me to New British Poetry, a collection of – you guessed it – new British poetry by thirty-six poets born after 1945. As one might expect, not every poem contained in the collection spoke to me, but I was able to flag quite a number of poems to return to at a later time.
In a nutshell: A must for any fan of contemporary poetry; you probably won’t like every poet but you’d be hard pressed to find fault with them all.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
My second stop was Galway Kinnell’s Book of Nightmares, hailed as “a long visionary poem in ten parts.” Kinnell is an award-winning poet whose efforts have won him the Pultizer Prize and National Book Award.
Having read The Book of Nightmares only once, I must first say that I do not feel qualified to fully discuss the scope of the work. It is all-encompassing, and several reads are necessary before one can fully understand it. Kinnell comments mainly on mortality but also on love, politics, and the general pain of the twentieth century, prompting both laughter and tears. When he writes, "the wages of dying is love," he does so with a beauty that transforms even the most painful scene into poetic beauty.
In a nutshell: Kinnell’s work is immense in scope and at times difficult to comprehend; nevertheless reading it is enormously satisfying.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
Don Paterson and Charles Simic, editors
The Book of Nightmares
Galway Kinnell
I’m picky with my poetry. Just because a poet is critically acclaimed does not mean that his work will speak to me; likewise, poets like Wislawa Szymborska and Ted Kooser (who have been criticized due to their “accessibility,” as though that’s a bad thing) are among my favorite poets.
This summer, already Summer of the Unread Book (Part II), will also be Summer of the Poetry Quest. I plan to feature poetry from both established and up-and-coming poets in an effort to add some great poetry to my collection. Should you happen to know of a good poet or poetry collection, please comment with your recommendations.
As a general rule, I have no rules about poetry. I’m not a “it has to rhyme or it’s not poetry” snob. I don’t prefer older poetry to contemporary poetry. I just like good poetry, poetry that strikes a chord in me, and since I am quite an odd sort of person it is not always easy to find poetry that agrees with me. With this in mind, I cannot help but wonder if I will succeed in my Summer Poetry Quest. I guess we’ll have to see.
My first stop on the quest led me to New British Poetry, a collection of – you guessed it – new British poetry by thirty-six poets born after 1945. As one might expect, not every poem contained in the collection spoke to me, but I was able to flag quite a number of poems to return to at a later time.In a nutshell: A must for any fan of contemporary poetry; you probably won’t like every poet but you’d be hard pressed to find fault with them all.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
My second stop was Galway Kinnell’s Book of Nightmares, hailed as “a long visionary poem in ten parts.” Kinnell is an award-winning poet whose efforts have won him the Pultizer Prize and National Book Award.Having read The Book of Nightmares only once, I must first say that I do not feel qualified to fully discuss the scope of the work. It is all-encompassing, and several reads are necessary before one can fully understand it. Kinnell comments mainly on mortality but also on love, politics, and the general pain of the twentieth century, prompting both laughter and tears. When he writes, "the wages of dying is love," he does so with a beauty that transforms even the most painful scene into poetic beauty.
In a nutshell: Kinnell’s work is immense in scope and at times difficult to comprehend; nevertheless reading it is enormously satisfying.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
4 comments:
I have to reccomend this:
solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short
by Edward J. Carvalho
Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/solitary-poor-nasty-brutish-short/dp/097688562X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9152632-2418440?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182201541&sr=8-1
Very intersting collection
One of the few new american poets I LOVE and want to read again and again
i'd like to suggest: "Gilgamesh, a powerful new version of the world's first epic" by Derrek Hines.
powels.com
needes
Thanks for the recommendations -- keep 'em coming!
I have to agree with the earlier post pertaining to Edward Carvalho's _solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short_: one of the most innovative collections of poetry published this year. Carvalho's poems, though themed as if looking through a glass darkly, feature beautiful language, haunting imagery, and an intricate narrative thread. The book has quite a following of devoted readers among the faculty and student population where I teach.
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