The Gift of Tongues: Twenty-five Years of Poetry from Copper Canyon Press [Hardcover]

Sam Hamill (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

Copper Canyon's 25th anniversary anthology gathers nearly 300 poems by over 100 distinguished poets and translators.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Sam Hamill's introduction to this anthology of inspired writing from Copper Canyon Press, we get a sense of the drive and the passion it has taken to open this space for poetry. Maxine Kumin calls the collection "sagacious and daring." Philip Levine writes that without presses like Copper Canyon, "most of the very best [writing] would never have found its audience." Including work from W.S. Merwin, Gary Snyder, Carolyn Kizer, Lucille Clifton, and Pablo Neruda, among others, The Gift of Tongues is among the finest books of poetry published in the 1990s. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

As founder of Copper Canyon Press, Hamill, a poet himself, has been at the forefront of small, independent poetry publishers for a quarter of a century. Culled from the more than 150 books published so far by Copper Canyon, the nearly 300 poems here serve as testament to Hamill's goal of presenting poetry in, as he says in his Introduction, a "great flowering" of contemporary poetry and translations. Noting that he has "never tried to establish a 'school' of poetics thought around the press," he has "selected for publication poetry that has moved me, poetry that seems to be memorable in some way." His taste is demonstrated in works as diverse as those of Su Tung-p'o (11th-century China) and Lucille Clifton. Other noted authors include Thomas Centolella, Heather Allen and W. S. Merwin. While Hamill swears allegiance to no poetic school, Copper Canyon works often fall into two categories: images of the connections between humans and nature, such as found in Robert Bringhurst's "The Song of Ptahhotep" ("The heart is an animal. Learn where it leads./ Know its gait as it breaks. Know its range,/ how it mates and feeds") and images from the troubled modern lives, as in Carolyn Kizer's "Bitch" ("Now, when he and I meet, after all these years,/ I say to the bitch inside me, don't start growling"). Hamill's prefatory essay and concluding annotated bibliography of all Copper Canyon Books are themselves worth the price of this collection, but as he'd be the first to note, it's the poems that matter most.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556591160
• ISBN-13: 978-1556591167
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,977,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous collection, January 5, 2010

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a. "devoted reader" (NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Gift of Tongues: Twenty-five Years of Poetry from Copper Canyon Press (Paperback)

I have loved many poetry titles from Copper Canyon Press. This collection is an enjoyable way to make the acquaintance of some of the very excellent poets they have published over the years. I recommend it for anyone who likes poetry and anyone who is curious.

4.0 out of 5 stars a gift indeed, November 27, 2000

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Schwanda (Shoreline, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gift of Tongues: Twenty-five Years of Poetry from Copper Canyon Press (Paperback)

Anthologies are sometimes hard to review because they contain works from varied writers. But this anthology is inspired. The poetry inside is of the highest quality. Certainly the works are varied, no two styles are the same, but this collection provides a great representation of poetic talent. This book has a lengthy introduction by editor and poetry contributer Sam Hamill in addition to brief biographies of each author represented. A long book, it will take some time to read and digest the content, but it is well worth it.