Grave of Light: New and Selected Poems, 1970-2005 (Wesleyan Poetry Series) [Hardcover]

Alice Notley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wesleyan Poetry Series | Publication Date: September 18, 2006

Considered by many to be among the most outstanding of living American poets, Alice Notley has amassed a body of work that includes intimate lyrics, experimental diaries, traditional genres, the postmodern series, the newly invented epic, political observation and invective, and the poem as novel. This chronological selection of her most notable work offers a delineation of her life and creative development. Formerly associated with the second generation of the New York School, Notley has become a poet with a completely distinctive voice. Grave of Light is a progression of changing forms and styles--an extensive panorama held together explicitly by the shape of the poet's times. Notley's poems challenge their subjects head-on, suffusing language with radiant truth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Over the last quarter-century, Notley has crafted an increasingly important body of work that mixes unabashed lyric beauty with jerky snippets from a capacious mind. Her books, however, have been haphazardly and often obscurely published by both small and major house; this collection brings together, for the first time, poems from all points in Notley's career, making available many pieces that have long been impossible to find. Beginning as a poet of the second generation of the New York School, Notley (who was married to the late Ted Berrigan, and, with their two sons, recently edited his Collected Poems) developed a mostly autobiographical, stream-of-consciousness style. Her meditations and sequences take an array of forms and modes, including collages of her children's voices ("These are my silver mittens Mommy"), short lyrics recalling famous figures ("The late Gracie Allen was a very lucid comedienne"), as well as absurdist poetic diaries and letters ("P.S. My own temperature is a perpetual 101 degrees"). More recent poems that come to terms with her marriage to Berrigan are among her best: " 'You haven't wanted to talk to me since I died,' he says." While somewhat idiosyncratically organized, this is an essential book. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Experimental in every sense of the word, Alice Notley has produced an extensive body of work over 30 years in print. This new collection unites previously unpublished poems as well as those from both small-press chapbooks and more widely distributed volumes. Arranged in chronological order while maintaining poetic sequences, Notley's poems tell the story of her artistic development and bear witness to the multitude of styles and influences that Notley has explored. From second generation New York School to "language" and prose poetry to mythical epics, Notley as artist is like a hero on a fantastical journey. She descends into subterranean worlds of dream and ascends to heights of philosophical thought, but also remains rooted in the dirt of politics and the tedium of the everyday life. Diversity is Notley's most consistent quality, and this makes her not only somewhat of an enigma aesthetically but also appealing to varying poetic tastes. Therefore, this is a collection that should have something for everyone. Janet St. John
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; First Edition edition (September 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819567728
• ISBN-13: 978-0819567727
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,576,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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