Recently, turning from poetry to prose, Stephen Dunn, acclaimed as one of the strongest poets of his generation, began to experiment with short, related prose pieces that played off each other in the manner of jazz improvisations. "I was interested in the tangentially related, each piece a discrete paragraph, sometimes an act of definition or redefinition, sometimes a description, occasionally a story." Throughout, Dunn takes a personal ownership of words that the dictionary merely defines objectively. The wisdom and startling verbal turns we've come to expect from his poetry are everywhere in the ninety miniatures (forty-five pairs) that compose this volume. There may be debts to Ponge and Calvino here, but Stephen Dunn has made prose pairs a fascinating genre of his own.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Known for his observant, carefully crafted works, Dunn takes a turn here both in style and content; writing prose poems, he's become more personal, more introspective. He works in pairs, matching "Hypocrisy" with "Precision," "Passion" with "Paradox," and "Anger" with "Generosity" to explore the boundaries of our existence. What results is "the most engaging and provocative work he's written in some time" (LJ 5/15/98).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
His work is important, for the clarity and depth of articulation which makes us confront ourselves and our fates. -- Poetry magazine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Let's Hope Dunn is Done with Prose Poetry,
This review is from: Riffs and Reciprocities: Prose Pairs (Paperback)
While certainly better than the majority of pseudo-philosophical goop that passes itself off as poetry (or even worse--"prose poetry"), Riffs and Reciprocities was a disappointment, especially given the heights Dunn is capable of reaching in his work. We have to admire Dunn for attempting new styles/directions in his work and for not just recycling the most reader-friendly version of himself for his audience (as Billy Collins and Stephen Dobyns have, unfortunately, done with their latest efforts). But these prose pieces never aspire to much more than passing ruminations, and, at times, they come dangerously close to imitating "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy. Stick with Landscape at the End of the Century if you want to read Dunn at his finest. His poem "On the Death of a Colleague" is better than anything in his last two books.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep and Accessible,
This review is from: Riffs and Reciprocities: Prose Pairs (Paperback)
This is poetry, prose, philosophy. These paired prose poems offer the reader a place to think and to feel. You get the best of what poetry and prose can do. All of them repay a second read. That rare kind of writer who goes deep but remains accessible. Excellent.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sparks and washings,
This review is from: Riffs & Reciprocities: Prose Pairs (Hardcover)
Stephen has been metamorphizing before our eyes. 'What is this? What is this?' we ask, and the answers, in his best moments, are never going to be simple. He is too good to us to allow us what we believe to be simplicity (and we may even be right about it). This book undulates in pairs that entertain with no boorish party manners. I laugh harder at the more serious mutterings, and I always feel the urge to sing. Excellent well, Stephen...excellent well.
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