A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season [Hardcover]

Robert Atwan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2002

A beautiful gift book celebrating winter in all its guises

A Mind of Winter collects some thirty of the most moving poems on the experience of winter. Illustrated throughout with elegant period woodcuts, the poems range from the most traditional and formal ( James Russell Lowell’s “The First Snow Fall” and John Greenleaf Whittier’s “Snow-Bound”) to the more contemporary and diverse (Rafael Campo’s “Begging for Change in Winter” and Gertrude Schnackenberg’s “The Paperweight”). Each poem has a special gift to offer readers on a frosty night.

Other contributors include: Wallace Stevens (“A Mind of Winter” is taken from his poem “The Snow Man”), Rosanna Warren, Emily Dickinson, Richard Wilbur, Angelina Weld Grimké, Amy Lowell, Charles Simic, Peter Davison, Mary Oliver, Sylvia Plath, Marge Piercy, James Merrill, Maxine Kumin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Anne Sexton, Anne Bradstreet, and Jay Wright.

Acclaimed poet Donald Hall contributes a celebratory introduction; he lives in New Hampshire. Robert Atwan is the editor of the Best American Essays series.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Atwan is founding editor of the Best American Essays series. His previous poetry anthologies include Chapters into Verse, Divine Inspiration, A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season, The Language of Spring: Poems for the Season of Renewal, and The Heart of Autumn: Poems for the Season of Reflection.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (November 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807068586
• ISBN-13: 978-0807068588
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,790,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Atwan is the founder and series editor of the annual Best American Essays. The editor of numerous anthologies, he has written on the ancient literature of the Near East and his critical essays and poetry reviews have appeared in many national periodicals. Laurance Wieder is the author of several volumes of poetry, including The Coronet of Tours; No Harm Done; The Last Century: Selected Poems; and One Hundred Fifty Psalms, a complete psalter. He has taught Bible and Ancient Authors at Cornell University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SEE HOW WONDERFUL WINTER CAN BE, November 8, 2003

By 

"finch334" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season (Hardcover)

A MIND OF WINTER, like THE LANGUAGE OF SPRING, is one of those little gift books (for others and--why not--youself) that are works of art. In this one, you'll see how wonderful winter can be. Charming illustrations throughout and a great introduction by Donald Hall. For me, these anthologies are as important as having a set of encyclopedias or a good dictionary in your house. To be treasured for ever and handed down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep it Near the Fire, January 2, 2004

By 

Mark C. Aldrich (Carlisle, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season (Hardcover)

This is a warm little anthology that merits a spot on that little table next to the big armchair, not far from the fireplace. It's just small enough to be held by the hand that is not holding the coffee (or cognac). The selection by Robert Atwan is ecclectic; it focuses on contemporary poets, but also includes poems by Anne Bradstreet, Dickinson, Emerson, Longfellow, the Lowells (Amy and James Russell), and Frost, among others. The illustrations, woodcuts by Thomas Nason, are a delight. Readers will find a wide range of emotions here. Many of the poems are completely unsurprising and offer just what a reader would expect in an anthology of this sort. Others are wonderful surprises, especially, for example, Charles Simic's "Winter Night", a great little poem that captures the rich despair one might feel on a winter night in New England.