The winner of this year's Yale Series of Younger Poets competition is Peter Streckfus's The Cuckoo, chosen by competition judge and Poet Laureate Louise Gluck. It is Gluck's first selection as judge. In this unforgettable, daring first collection, Peter Streckfus offers the reader poems of deep originality and astonishing power. Taking his inspiration from both American and Chinese culture, Streckfus seems an impossible combination of John Ashbery and Ezra Pound. In her Foreword, Gluck praises Streckfus's art for its "nonsense and mystery," its "mesmerising beauty" and "luminous high-mindedness".
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The case for nonsense is not the same as the case against meaning. It belongs, in literature, to the holy fool and the cryptic sprite; in religion, to the visionary or the seer; in philosophy, to the Sphinx and the Zen master. . . . Such art asks, inevitably, a kind of consent of the reader. Or, in Peter Streckfus's unforgettable first book, more active cooperation. What is transacted here between poet and reader has less to do with the reader's being convinced by elegant or passionate argument, and more to do with seduction. And the instrument of our seduction, for once, is not charm but mesmerizing beauty."
From the Publisher
The Yale Series of Younger Poets
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites,
This review is from: The Cuckoo (Yale Series of Younger Poets) (Paperback)
This is a brilliant book, with incredible depth and beauty. I reread it every few months, and it never fails to reveal something new and wonderful to me. The collection is smart, sad, playful, and quiet. I highly recommend it.
4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Allusive, great poetry,
By Elizabeth "contortionist" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Cuckoo (Yale Series of Younger Poets) (Paperback)
There's something exciting and difficult to put one's finger on in here -- allusive. It's poetry of imagery and fluidity. Its not poetry of moral instruction, self-expression, or the technical view -- poetry as literary exercise -- though it embraces all of those elements. What makes it a great book is its exploration of a such an original world -- but as all great poets and poetry, still sounds as familiar as the wind.
5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a terrific new book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Cuckoo (Yale Series of Younger Poets) (Paperback)
Streckfus' first book is a marvel: a poetry collection that evidences new life for the narrative poem, for the incorporation of fairy tale, myth and history in mysterious and moving ways.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
