Next Ancient World, The [Perfect Paperback]

Jennifer Michael Hecht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

What Jennifer Michael Hecht manages to accomplish, in poems that demonstrate a mastery of craft and a uniquely voiced understanding buoyed with an air of brilliance, is astonishing. Her introduction explains - in her endlessly appealing half-outrageous, half-conspiratorial voice - her purpose: to offer a guidebook for those that come after. We are the next ancient world, and Hecht chronicles our motivations, our interactions, our dreams and half-remembered thoughts with wit, aching romance and savvy intuition.

Out of the quotidian, Hecht manufactures something mythic. It is an unparalleled view that confers on the human condition an aspect of the eternal, that locates the momentous in every moment. In short, one cannot read one of her poems without an equal measure of relish and envy.

The Next Ancient World offers a unique voice and vision, informed with full measures of play, wisdom, and the sheer joy of invention.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...completely astonishing. Fast, fiery, cut-to-the-quick, street-smart and woman-wise, as sophisticated as you can be..." -- Lawrence Joseph

"...deconstructed soap-opera, a one-hundred-ring verbal circus, a gang of brazen, ingenious poems." -- Billy Collins

"Sharp and ripe, smart-alecky and wise, Hecht's poems...reveal a world far more witty than we thought..." --Janet Holmes (competition judge's summary)

About the Author

Jennifer Michael Hecht earned her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Columbia University and is a Professor of History at Nassau Community College. Her works include the award-winning poetry book The Next Ancient World (2001), published by Tupelo Press, Funny (University of Wisconsin Press,2005) winner of the Felix Pollak Poetry Prize, and the nonfiction books The End of the Soul (2005), Doubt: A History (2003), and The Happiness Myth(2008).

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 78 pages
• Publisher: Tupelo Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971031002
• ISBN-13: 978-0971031005
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry and Portents, September 30, 2001

By 

DGoldstein (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Next Ancient World, The (Perfect Paperback)

After having nearly given up on poetry, the intriguing, personal and sometimes nearly Delphic poetry of The Next Ancient World is an invigorating relief. Ms. Hecht has a frighteningly perceptive view not only of the Ancient world but how it fits in with our modern fears and hopes. From the almost Blake like exploration of "The Innocent" to a frightening awareness of history's terror in "Waiting to Happen" (moreso since the disaster of September 11, 01.), there is a sense that intellectualism still has an almost visceral pulse to it. This is reinforced with poems like "Tiger's Story" (an interesting perspective on life and change), and "Trotsky's Hand", a whimsical exploration of the strange persistence of images that haunts any person born in the modern age.

The poet states her intent as creating a book of advice to the next ancient world, and many of her poems demand some response, such as "Please Answer All Three of the Following Essay Questions", or "Convince Him", poems that seem to help the reader create their own story beyond the bounds of a simple book. This becomes a magic that even the cynical and jaded reader can still accept, couched in sophisticated lyric and sharp wit.
If you are willing to be inspire by the creations of a precise and yet tender mind, you may gain something from this work. Poems that make you think, laugh, sigh, and sometimes shiver, all packed into a slim volume: What a value!!!

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HECHT ROCKS, BUY THE BOOK! (Story on page 2), November 6, 2001

By 

patricia ferrell (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Next Ancient World, The (Perfect Paperback)

"In the end you are weary of this ancient world..." We don't know whether JM Hecht had the first line of Apollonaire's poem "Zone" in mind when she titled her impressive new collection "The Next Ancient World". Whether intended or not, Hecht's book takes off where the world-weary Frenchman left us: like a shot in the arm, the fresh, invigorating vernacular Hecht confidently lays down, points out the sights, scenes, and sounds we will want the next ancient world to remember us by. The observations are never sentimental, and the diction is razor-sharp. There is much sophisticated humor to be found in the poems. In a way, the humor and deep-seated affection and optimism Hecht obviously responds to the world with, binds this book together with a theme and statement as much as weariness, loss, and despair glued together Apollinaire's own survey of his time. Hecht's poems cover vast geographies of thought and feeling; the leaps are acrobatic and dazzling, but always grounded in a recognition that lands us solidly on our feet (with a thud in the heart). Hecht has an almost scientific attention to the minutiae and nuance of human interaction. The lines are direct and honest, never missing their mark. Some of the quieter poems are absolutely unmatched, in my opinion. The poem "September", in particular, is one of the most perfectly realized pieces I have ever read. If you are tired of one-note poets who have no sense of poetry as being anything other than prose with indiscriminate line breaks, Hecht is a solid and musical crasftsman who will reward your most rarefied tastes. She brings a child's curiosity and sense of wonderment into these very intelligent, adult, and always, instructive poems. I can't wait to see what's next!

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent New Poet!, May 9, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Next Ancient World, The (Perfect Paperback)

This is a wonderful book which I highly recommend. Hecht's work is hip but not cynical, emotional but not saccharine, intelligent but not didactic. I have shared this book with a number of people, and everyone has enjoyed it, which is not usually the case with new poetry. I think you'll be very happy you bought The Next Ancient World.