Breathing the Water [Paperback]

Denise Levertov (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In her 15th collection, Levertov still stands in firm political opposition to the "powers and principalities of death" that "weigh down the world." She is wisely resigned to the fate of the human spirit stuck in the physical world as it awaits the final "unseen wall, the silence." While nature is oblivious and "the days/ are falling/ . . . abandoned," the poet grieves for "lost rivers,/ poisoned lakesall creatures, perhaps,/ to be fireblasted/off the/ whirling cinder we/loved. . . . " Although her poems are replete with abstractions, and images and ideas are often strung together with no connections save those that the reader must supply, Levertov remains the consummate wordsmith. A notable addition to an important body of work. Leonard Kniffel, Detroit P.L.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The Absentee
Athanor
August Daybreak
A Blessing
Caedmon
Candlemas
Captive Flower
Carapace
Ceremonies
The Day Longs For The Evening
A Doorkey For Cordova
During A Son's Dangerous Illness
Embrasure
Every Day
From The Image-flow - Death Of Chausson, 1899
From The Image-flow - South Africa 1986
From The Image-flow - Summer Of 1986
Girls
The Holy One, Blessed Be He, Wanders Again
Hunting The Phoenix
I Learned That Her Name Was Proverb
In Memory: After A Friend's Sudden Death
In Praise Of Allium
La Cordelle
The Last Heavy Fairytale, In Which One Lays One's Heart ...
Making Peace
Missing Beatrice
The Mockingbird Of Mockingbirds
The Myriad Past, It Enters Us And Disappears ...
On A Theme From Julian's Chapter Xx
Poet Power
The Sea's Repeated Gesture
The Servant-girl At Emmaus (a Painting By Velazquez)
She Wept And The Women Consoled Her
The Showings: Lady Julian Of Norwich, 1342-1416
The Spirits Appeased
The Spy
Standoff
The Stricken Children
To Olga
To One Steeped In Bitterness
Urgent Whisper
Variation And Reflection On A Theme By Rilke
Variation On A Theme By Rilke
Variation On A Theme By Rilke (the Book Of Hours, Bk I, 1)
Wavering
The Well
Window-blind
Zeroing In
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing (March 17, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811210278
• ISBN-13: 978-0811210270
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #910,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compassionate, Soulful Poetry, June 15, 2008

By 

Marion "[e-mail]" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Breathing the Water (Paperback)

I picked up this little book because the title intrigued me. This is the first book of poetry I purchased by Ms. Levertov and I fell instantly in love with the depth, beauty and soulfulness of the poems.

I highly recommend that you read it and memorize some of the amazing poems.

This is my favorite:

VARIATION ON A THEME BY RILKE

A certain day became a presence to me;
there it was, confronting me--a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend
from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task. The day's blow
rang out, metallic--or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can.

Denise Levertov

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Levertov is brilliant, October 1, 2004

By 

Daniel J. Klotz (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breathing the Water (Paperback)

Denise Levertov has a brilliant grasp on sin and its consequences and an eye and ear for beauty ever bit as keen as Mary Oliver's. This is an enjoyable, meaningful book of poems that earthy subject matter. Multiple readings are certainly rewarded.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quiet and Calm, February 18, 2008

By 

Darrel Drumm "Darrel the librarian" (Bunch, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breathing the Water (Paperback)

Levertov's poems in Breathing the Water don't make you want to go out, run and jump for joy or sorrow. Rather, they tug intellegently at the heart and consciousness. Take the poem "Making Peace." The first line says "A voice from the dark called out, 'The poets must give us imagination of peace'. What a wonderful way of saying what she has to say. Her account of Ernest Chausson's death was imaginative and made me want to inquire further. I didn't find the poetry to be so wonderful, that I wanted to give this slim volume a "5," but I liked them, all of them, so it deserves a "4" in my humble opinion.