Selected Poems (Paperback, Main)

To judge by the selected works of a man many consider her greatest contemporary poet, England is in serious literary trouble. Careful, well-crafted, with the over-diligent working of metaphor, these poems are almost totally deficient in vitality, spontaneity, and playfulness. To quote what is no doubt an unwitting self-description, his compilation of imageries rarely goes beyond itself: "By feats of torpor, by circumventing sleights/ Of stupefaction, juggleries of benumbing,/ By lucid sophistries of sight/ To a staturing 'I am.' " The subject matter is appropriately yesteryear: references to Cuchulain, Parnell, Faustus, King and Country, The War to End All Wars; words like "behemoth," invocations such as "Aged Eye!" However, some of his later nature poems, where he assumes the guise of rock, wind, or animal, transcend this academic categorizing into a kind of ecstasy ("The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing at a work/ That points at him amazed"), giving promise to the more interesting direction of his future (now current) work. (Kirkus Reviews)

A reprinted selection of the earliest work of Ted Hughes and Thom Gunn which should be valuable as a historical document. It shows certain shared features and also serves to demonstrate, with the benefit of hindsight, how distinct these two talents were from the outset.

General

Imprint:	Faber and Faber
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	March 1983
Authors:	Ted Hughes • Thom Gunn
Dimensions:	185 x 122 x 6mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	64
Edition:	Main
ISBN-13:	978-0-571-13094-8
Categories:	Books
LSN:	0-571-13094-1
Barcode:	9780571130948

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!