Amplitude: New and Selected Poems [Paperback]

Tess Gallagher (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Skinner's second book contains exquisitely crafted poems distinguished by the desire to work within traditional forms and to explore intensely personal emotionstwo desires that often work against each other. Though admirably conceived, a first section of "prayers" offers several poems that end by substituting craft for sincerity when the subjects stray from spirituality. The third section's 19 "Sonnets to My Daughters Twenty Years in the Future" are better suited to the loosely formal structure, though some are overextended and others end too abruptly. But in the second section, which breaks out of the rigid formal structure, the poems improve dramatically, showing the poet at his best. Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A masterpiece of connection--"--Ted Gioia, San Francisco Chronicle

"Gallagher's poems are rooted in a relentlessly willed attempt to come to terms with, to find words for, the fullness of life."--Young Adult Paperback Book Guide

"The great joy in reading Tess Gallagher's poetry in Amplitude comes from discovering that she can and will do anything with language."--Bin Ramke, The Bloomsbury Review

"It's that seesaw combination of earthiness and the ethereal, of the public and the intimate, of the difficult closeness of family (one of her best subjects) and wider concerns, all related in a firm and passionate yet subdued voice, that makes Tess Gallagher a great poet."--Frederick Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal

"In Amplitude Tess Gallagher conjures the Northwest's landscape of high green trees and shifting gray water, its climate of rain and subdued moonlight. Water-drenched and shady, the place encourages drifting or floating, rather than sudden turns, sharp edges. Gallagher's poems are full of departure and return, release and embrace--we know where home is, as we come to know her mother who felled trees and was once beautiful, her brother who repeats their father's life as a logger, their shared past as children who built cabins in the woods."--Emily Leider, San Francisco Chronicle

"Gallagher's new collection, Amplitude, signals a shift away from the stark lyric cry. She pays increasing attention to storytelling within the poem, turning toward a poetic hybrid known as the narrative-lyric. While her poetry is no less dense in its imagery, no less intricate a structue of language, Gallagher's storytelling mode offers a more generous invitation to the reader than the abstruse "raw" strain of contemporary verse."--Jenny wyatt, Seattle Weekly

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Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555971105
• ISBN-13: 978-1555971106
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #825,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swept Away!, June 16, 2000

By 

Robert Haydon Jones (Westport, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amplitude: New and Selected Poems (Paperback)

She has a voice I've never heard before that I've needed to hear for a long, long time. There is unflinching lucidity here and honesty. "Each Bird Walking" takes no prioners. "The Hug" is. "If Poetry Were Not a Morality" is my memory too. The Fireman from Brooklyn glitters with hard truth

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely book!!!, July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Amplitude: New and Selected Poems (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite books of poetry. Ms. Gallagher's style (phrasing, imagery) is very unique and her voice is both strong and delicate. You will not be disappointed with this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful images, delicately written about, July 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Amplitude: New and Selected Poems (Hardcover)

This book is a collection of poems from "Under Stars," "Instructions to the Double," "Willingly," and several dozen new poems. It's lovely, a joy to read. My favorites are from "Under Stars," and the poem "Under Stars," is worth the price of the book itself. Tess Gallagher's poems are stunning and strong, with such delicate phrasing. A must-read if you enjoy poetry.