The Life and Letters (Phoenix Poets) [Paperback]

Irving Feldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0226240681 | ISBN-13: 978-0226240688 | Edition: 1

In poems whose subjects range from theme parks to late-night radio, the aftermath of the Holocaust to television, The Life and Letters represents a celebrated poet-scholar at the height of his art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Feldman's strong ninth collection concerns morality, contemporary culture and a career in poetry. The poems in the first section are probing, written in a musical language. "Variations on a Theme by May Swenson," for example, touches on the loss of a father: "You understood at last that understanding/ him meant you had to do as he was doing." The middle section addresses politics and culture. In "In Theme Park America" Feldman uses simple phrases to evoke wonder at the violence we can endure. But he scants the results of violence elsewhere. Genocide enters the territory of the book in "The Little Children of Hamelin," where dead children plead, "Remember us lost on night's farthest shore." Feldman's roles as storyteller and hard-headed realist sometimes clash. The last group of poems makes light of some current critical theories ("Meta-cliche"); describes an encounter with a poet who questions the appropriateness of his name; tells of his relationship with a failed poet who sends him his archives. But overall, this is a rich collection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Irving Feldman, Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at the State University of New York, Buffalo, is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently of Teach Me, Dear Sister (1983) and All of Us Here (1986, 1991).

Product Details

• Paperback: 111 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (October 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226240681
• ISBN-13: 978-0226240688
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,766,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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