The Really Short Poems of A. R. Ammons [Paperback]

A. R. Ammons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1992

“Filled with sharp irony and passionate insight, the more than 100 poems in the collection span the career of one of the deans of contemporary poetry. . . . Ammons makes you laugh and forces you to think hard about the way humans relate to natural phenomena and to themselves. From such simple, short expression emerge complex, often confounding ideas. New readers of poetry as well as those with an active interest in lyric verse will love this volume.”—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

These short pieces frequently combine the discipline and precision of haiku with the assured and humorous tone of cracker-barrel philosophy. Ammons, who has been known to have plenty to say, cuts to the heart of the matter in poem after poem, suggesting worlds of unspoken wisdom and humor. "Success Story" is a good example of the project, as Ammons explains why he never "got on good" with the rest of the world: "First I had nothing / the world wanted / then the world had / nothing I wanted." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

The best short poems return much more than they demand, and these insightful brevities culled from 40 years of Ammons's work require a steamship to haul their pleasures home to the reader. Rarely venturing beyond a terse tenth line, they encompass wit ("It's hard/ to live/ living it/ up/ down"), paradox ("I have nowhere/ to go and/ nowhere to go/ when I get/ back from there"), koan -like mystery ("What lightning/ strikes/ in an/ instant/the boulder hums/ all year"), and an unusual understanding of nature's processes and politics ("The reeds give/ way to the/wind and give/ the wind away"). Perfect for those who claim no time for poetry, this can be savored in bits or in batches. Hope and expect to spot it frequently at subway stops and luncheonettes.
- Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393308502
• ISBN-13: 978-0393308501
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb selection of the author's most concise works, January 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Really Short Poems of A.R. Ammons (Hardcover)

Ammons is a poet who has excelled in free verse in both large and small doses. This collection, drawn from the briefest poems throughout his career, includes many not previously published in book form. The overall arrangement makes the book highly satisfying as a sequential experience,with each little poem part of an overall summing up; but the volume is also quite amenable to being taken up, read about in and put down at will, for those brief moments that may be gainfully filled with poetry. For those interested in nature, philosophy and ironies of life

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Natural meditation and fun lyrics, November 24, 2003

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Really Short Poems of A.R. Ammons (Hardcover)

There are some fun and expressive poems and lyrics here. Perhaps the ones I enjoyed best are the nature meditations, as "When the bee lands the morning glory bloom dips some and weaves". Some have the feel if not the rules of haiku. There are also more playful and bawdy poems here as in "Their sex life: One failure on Top of another" or "Coward: Bravery runs in my family". Others such as Chasm or Cleavage use the arrangement of the words on the page to complement the poetry. If you're not up for Ammon's book-length poems (e.g. Sphere or Garbage), this provides a good introduction.