Customer Reviews

Jumping Out of Bed

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"Jumping Out Of Bed" is some of the most comfortable, yet biting poetry I have ever read. It is a collection of simple but no less meaningful poems inspired by Bly's interest in Toaism. If you have tried to read some of the popular Toaist texts, such as the writings of Loa-Tzu, and felt as if it went over your head, this is the book for you.

But These poems are not restricted to an exploration of Toaism, they also redefine solitude. Bly transforms solitude into a glorious, desirable experience, rather than the miserable affliction that the word has come to represent today in the minds of most people. The truth is that solitude is an essential food for poets, and "Jumping Out of Bed" could not have been written unless Bly had tasted solitude.

The subtlty and depth with which he explores the simple (often overlooked) pleasures of being is well appreciated. Also, the "woodcuts" by Wang Hui-Ming not only make the book beautiful, they offer a freshness not found in most books of poetry. Too often, a book of poems is just a boring display of black words on white page after white page. Wang Hui-Ming takes this book to a different level. If you enjoy Bly's poetry and do not have this book, get it. If you want a book of poetry free of confessional or self-congratulatory muck and full of importance, this is for you.

By the way, if you ever have the opportunity of seeing Robert Bly read in person, DO IT! He's fantastic.

'Jumping Out of Bed' is a collection of poems by Robert Bly. It also is an unusually attractive collaboration of verbal and visual images. Wang Hui-Ming's splendid woodcuts illustrate the poems with his own bestiary of avian and marine life.

The joys of solitude, the discovery of correspondences among all forms of life and matter, the delights of being -- rather than striving -- are themes which run through the book.

Bly has also included several exquisite translations from the Chinese. Each translation is appropriately accompanied by the original text, in calligraphy by Wang Hui-Ming.

Robert Bly won the National Book Award for poetry in 1968. He is the publisher of the poetry magazine, 'The Seventies,' and author of a number of critically-acclaimed books. He has tranlated many poets, among them Tomas Transtromer and Pablo Neruda.

Wang Hui-Ming is a painter and a wood cutter. He selected and engraved on wood the poems in 'The Land on the Tip of a Hair' and translated from Chinese the poetry collection 'The Boat Untied and other Poems.'

Barre Publishers, 1973.