Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth [Paperback]

Kenneth Rexroth (Author), Sam Hamill (Editor), Elaine Laura Kleiner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

one third of the book devoted to his translations

Editorial Reviews

Review

By turns revolutionary and conservative, simultaneously spiritual and worldly, Asian and Western, Kenneth Rexroth created what must surely be regarded as the most original synthesis of transcendent metaphysical and erotic verse ever written by an American poet.... He achieved something almost impossibly simple--a glimpse of sacramental grace within our temporal flesh in a fragile, perishing world. -- From the introduction

Homecoming Of Love On The Summits Of The Wind
I Am So Lost
Didyme Waved Her Wand At Me
It Is Sweet In Summer To Slake
A Faithful Wife
Creamy Breasts
Canzone: 1
Equation
The Morning Sun Shines
You Held My Lotus Blossom
When I Gathered Flowers
Married Love
Two Springs: 2
When Will I Be Home? I Don't Know
In The Spring Garden
10.
The American Century
Among The Cypresses At The End Of The Way Of The Cross
Andree Rexroth
Andree Rexroth (died October, 1940)
Andree Rexroth: King River Canyon
Andree Rexroth: Mt. Tamalpais
Aspen Meadows
At Least That Abandon
Autumn Rain
Between Myself And Death
Camargue
Cinque Terre
Clear Autumn
Coming
Confusion Of The Senses
Confusion; For Nancy Shores
Delia Rexroth (died June, 1916)
A Dialogue Of Watching
Dry Autumn
An Easy Song
Floating
A Flute Overhead
For The Chinese Actress, Gardenia Chang
Golden Section
Gradualism
Growing
Incarnation
Inversely, As The Square Of Their Distances Apart
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: A Maze Of Sparks Of Gold
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: A Sword In A Cloud Of Light
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: Blood On A Dead World
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: Halley's Comet
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: Protoplasm Of Light
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: The Great Nebula Of Andromeda
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars: The Heart Of Herakles
Like Queen Christina
Loneliness
Lute Music
Lyell's Hypothesis Again
Maroon Bells
Maximian Elegy 5
Mocking Birds
Northampton, 1922 - San Francisco, 1939
Oaxaca 1925
On A Flyleaf Of Rime - Gaspara Stampa
On What Planet
Only Years
Open The Blind
Organization Of Men In Affluent Society
Pacific Beach
Procession Of The Equinoxes
Quietly
The Reflecting Trees Of Being And Not Being
Rosa Mundi
Runaway
She Is Away
A Singing Voice
Spring Rain
Still On Water
Survival Of The Fittest
This Night Only (eric Satie: Gymnopedie #1)
Travelers In Erewhon
The Wheel Rovolves
When We With Sappho
Yugao
The Red Kite
The Cicada Cries Out
The First Time I Saw You
I Did Not Want You, Candida
I Will Remember Forever
In The Passing Summer
My Lover Will Soon Be Here
Naked Out Of The Dark We Came
The Nightingale On The Flowering Plum
Out Of Doors, I Think
The Sound Of My Laughter
When I Look At Her
When I Went With You To Your Ship
You Are Like The Moon Except
Bitter Rain In My Courtyard
Once, Far Over The Breakers
Over The Old Honeymoon Cottage
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

About the Author

Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) was one of the world's great literary minds. In addition to being a poet, translator, essaysist and teacher, he helped found the San Francisco Poetry Center and influenced generations of readers with his Classics Revisted series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556590806
• ISBN-13: 978-1556590801
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,101,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At the heart of Rexroth is Rexroth's heart, March 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth (Paperback)

Rexroth's relationships with women were equal parts passion and turmoil. He was married four times. In addition, both during and between marriages he indulged in numerous affairs. Interestingly, his love poetry stands in stark contrast to the rather painful bent of his personal romantic life. "Sacramental Acts" culls the best of Rexroth's love poetry from his entire career. The result is an ode to a romantic ideal. Given the accessible style of Rexroth's love poetry, this title makes a wonderful library addition for even the most casual poetry fan. On a more scholarly plane, Rexroth viewed human awareness and interaction as threefold concetric circles. At the center was the individual. The next ring was the "beloved". Outermost was society et al. "Sacramental Acts" is the heart and voice of the second ring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear as spring water reflecting the night sky, July 11, 2008

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William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth (Paperback)

There's no mistaking a Kenneth Rexroth poem -- intelligence, erudition, intensity, and precise beauty are always present. These qualities are demonstrated to magnificent effect in this collection of love poems ... but forget about any vapid associations the phrase "love poems" might have, because these pages are a contained universe of life & emotion. This is adult work in the best sense of the word, intended for a thoughtful & passionate audience.

All of Rexroth's learning is in these lines, but he never flaunts it or calls attention to it. No, it's simply there, like the grain in a fine piece of carved wood. The tone is both observant and intensely engaged, reminiscent of the Chinese & Japanese poets he loved & translated so superbly. Yet it's always his own distinctive voice we hear, never just a pale imitation of those other poets. These are poems about nature, about love, sexuality, the modern world, literature, spirituality -- all woven together into an intricate golden braid, apparently without any effort.

If you're looking for "nice," obvious greeting card verse, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you want poetry that's as rich & complex as love itself, then you'll find it in this volume -- most highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest books of love poetry ever published, October 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth (Paperback)

Rexroth's poems are expansive, lucid, and human. His is a great heart, a great mind, and a consummate poetic talent. These are poems for the ages and the fact that they are in print 20 years after his death attests to that fact.