Once I Gazed at You in Wonder: Poems [Paperback]

Jan Heller Levi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

Winner of the 1998 Walt Whitman Award of The Academy of American Poets.

Given in Memory of Eric Mathieu King

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"This is such a brave first book of poems! Levi delves into utmost intricacies of origins and destinies, as in mother, as in father, as in husband, as in self bound and un-bounded: A deeply lyrical pursuit sustained by an astonishing intelligence. . . " June Jordan

"In her beautifully realized first book, Jan Heller Levi testifies, with immoderate compassion, to the wonder that we are here at all, witnessing a now in which every moment is spacious. . . . Ardent yet free of gush, the spontaneity and conversational ease of her poems assure that the quality of wonder, like that of mercy, is not strained. In addition to unguardedness and heart, there is backtalk bite and edge, lip and lash. . . . [Once I Gazed at You in Wonder] draws upon the powers intrinsic to poetry and helps me remember its unextinguishable necessity." Alice Fulton, from the judge's citation for the 1998 Walt Whitman Award

"These are passionate poems growing through time into a rueful, black humorous self-knowledge and a constant, edgy love for life in spite of everything: as Zbigniew Herbert says, 'Sometimes you have to offer even the betrayed world a rose.'" Jean Valentine --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jan Heller Levi is the editor of A Muriel Rukeyser Reader and is working on a biography of Rukeyser. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Ploughshares, Antioch Review, New Orleans Review, and Pequod. She divides her time between New York City and St. Gallen, Switzerland. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080712365X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807123652
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,534,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long-awaited masterpiece, April 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once I Gazed at You in Wonder: Poems (Paperback)

For those of us who have followed her poetry over the past two decades, this book is a long-awaited reason for celebration. Heller Levi is among the best of the NY poets of the 70's and 80's, gifted with both the highest level of poetic craft and a piercingly insightful perspective on how people love.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best poetry book of this, or any other, season., April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once I Gazed at You in Wonder: Poems (Hardcover)

This book of amazing poems reads like a novel - the kind you can't put down. A thrilling, funny, sad, sexy, and incredibly moving collection. A poetry book that will convince and convert all of those people who think they can't read poetry. Already the recipient of the destinguished Walt Whitman award, "Once I Gazed at You In Wonder" will surely accumulate many more. A poetry book to read and reread.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent!, April 1, 2001

By 

LAURENCE C EGERTON (TRUMBULL, CONNECTICUT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once I Gazed at You in Wonder: Poems (Paperback)

I have re-read books before, but, never have I read the same book every week for 10 weeks running. You find more in Jan's words each time you read her book. She if gifted at expressing her feelings and experiences in life.I begin to shed tears just thinking of this book-[yes,men do cry! because we love more as we get older-see the book] I plan to buy many copies to share. I dropped the author a brief note congratulating her after my 8th re-read- I should have done it sooner. I am looking forward to breaking the cycle by moving on to her next work. Buy the book!