Between Angels [Paperback]

Stephen Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 1990

"Between Angels affirms what we are capable of in our best moments—grace, tenderness, love—while acknowledging that the human heart can be merciless. It's a book of great breadth."--Gregory Djanikian, Philadelphia Inquirer

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

His seventh collection confirms Dunn ( Local Time ) as a metaphysical poet of the quotidian, a secular George Herbert. Like earlier metaphysicals, he dwells on the curious ambivalence harbored in abstractions; discursive poems like "Tenderness," "Kindness," "Forgiveness" and "Happiness" render timeworn concepts dramatically convincing, manifesting Dunn's belief that "abstractions are just abstract/until they have an ache in them." Happiness is pictured "with its perfect bridge above / the crocodiles, / and its doors forever open," loneliness as a "contorted, pocked, terribly ugly man / shopping in the 24-hour supermarket." True to the title, angels descend into the best poems "like invisible friends / you could count on"; they mediate the uneasy gap between our desires and reality, guarding human frailty "among the bittersweet / efforts of people to connect, / make sense, endure." Only rarely do the poet's epigrammatic tercets and crisp stanzas falter into affected conceits and flat platitudes. An accessible blend of the lyrical and literal, Dunn's poetry discovers a world worth his subtle praises amid the difficulties of daily life.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Despite the Rilkean overtones of its title, Dunn's sixth collection remains rooted in the everyday life of average Americans struggling for integrity and purpose within a maze of shopping malls and billboards. Recognition's landmines can explode at the slightest social contact ("Kindness of any kind shames me,/ makes me remember/ what I haven't done or been") and the newspaper brings nothing but guilt ("there's no sleeping with what/ you know"). By now Dunn's plain-spoken style and rueful wit have become his trademarks, and for all their conversational naturalness seem no less "arranged for effect." As with his other works, some pruning might have helped, but Dunn hits the bull's eyes in our psyches so accurately and often we are too disarmed to notice.
- Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (April 17, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393306585
• ISBN-13: 978-0393306583
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best work from one of our best living poets, December 12, 2000

By 

Vincent R. Corvaia "yourpalvince" (Maine, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Between Angels (Paperback)

Stephen Dunn is a wonderful writer whose work has evolved over the years from terribly funny to terribly poignant. He is also one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. If you've never read him and wonder what you'd think, find a copy of this book in the library and read the first poem, "The Guardian Angel," which is my personal favorite of all his works. If you like it as much as I did, you'll buy the book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptional Book to Read and Give, October 24, 2004

By 

Nico James (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between Angels (Hardcover)

The poems in "Between Angels" avoid cliche and the predictable territory of 'angels' -- while remaining tender, evocative, passionate, lyrical, and profound. I can't count the hours I have spent with this book, nor how many copies I have given as gifts. If I were to try to explain why I turn to poetry for companionship, nourishment, joy, beauty -- I probably would offer this book as an answer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry for everyone, July 29, 2005

By 

Bayou Bookworm "Jill" (Lafayette, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between Angels (Paperback)

I love this book of poems, and I love Stephen Dunn's work in general. His masterful and eloquent (and often surprising) use of language is so artful that it must be respected by the academic writing community, yet it is accessible enough that anyone (even those who do not ordinarily "get" poetry) can read and enjoy these poems. Stephen Dunn is, quite simply one of the greatest living American poets.