Customer Reviews

Collected Poems

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

C.K. Williams is one of my favorite poets. His poems have a strong narrative element which makes them extremely compelling. They are also, of course, highly personal, and it is wonderful to have the chance to read such a lengthy collection and reflect on how he's matured as a person and developed as a poet over the decades. I'll quote just one, a tribute he wrote to a dear friend:

"...to be able/to tell oneself that once/one knew a man wholly

unsusceptible/to triviality,/bitterness or rancor,/who'd fashioned himself/with such dedication/and integrity

that he'd been released/from those resentments/and envies that make/the fullest life seem mean:
you life was never mean,/never not inspiring."

I was introduced to the poetry of C. K. Williams through an online video of Mr. Williams reading some of his works. I liked his rhythms of normal speech interwined with almost musical cadences and the everydayness of his topics. Deeper feelings tucked into everydayness. After having heard him read his works, it was easier to read this collection.
Anyone interested in poetry should give this author a try. And by-the-by, the book arrive in very good condition.

This book was shipped promptly and arrived in the condition it was described. My husband loves CK Williams and was pleased with this gift.

Most of the poems in this book are depressing and I would not recommend it except to the stout of heart.