"The Structure of Desire" by W.F. Lantry, is a wonderful book of poetry for all those who have loved someone. But it is infinitely more than just a book of love poems. The author places his reader at a privileged crossroad of his poetic landscape that reveals the sanctum sanctorum of the multi-faceted magic that results from loving another. In this case Miranda, who he describes as: "A miraculous being, whose existence could be neither imagined nor predicted, who insists she's 'just a mortal woman.' A protean changeling, whose transformations, if revealed, would mystify the most jaded skeptic. The center of a whirlwind. A coloratura soprano. Also, by the grace of providence, my wife." Lovers of good poetry will find in Lantry a master craftsman of what can make the genre so powerful: At such times as when this world obeys its own internal physical logic. A world to which readers have traditionally escaped to read verses such as this, where, as in Plato's cave, we are indirectly shown the emotional reality in the author's heart. In this collection, his reader will have models of the pre-eminence of inspiration and talent. Lantry had his formal curriculum well in hand and his technical tools sharpened but nothing could surpass or replace the immediacy of the authenticity of finding his ultimate muse: Miranda. She is the idée fixe that powers his drive to capture her presence: Such as the de-incarnate wind or the fleeting spark of a lover's glance. Moments such as these permeate the best poems of this collection. Great loves and talent have always found echoes and correspondences of each other in other art forms and other artists. This book is an excellent example of this landscape.
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W.F. Lantry, native of San Diego, received his Licence & Maîtrise from L'Université de Nice, M.A. from Boston University and PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. He won the Paris/Atlantic Young Writers Award. Recent honors include the Lindberg Foundation International Poetry for Peace Prize (in Israel), Crucible Poetry Prize, CutBank Patricia Goedicke Prize, National Hackney Literary Award in Poetry, Atlanta Review International Publication Prize and in 2012 the Inspired by Tagore Publication Prize, Linnets Wing Audio Poetry Award, and the Old Red Kimono and Potomac Review Prizes. His work has appeared in The Wallace Stevens Journal, Descant, Asian Cha, Gulf Coast and Aesthetica. His chapbook, The Language of Birds (Finishing Line Press 2011), is a lyric retelling of Attar's The Conference of the Birds. The Structure of Desire is his first full-length collection. He currently works in Washington, DC.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book should be on everyones reading list. The cover photo is gorgeous and the layout inside the book, pure perfection. W. F. Lantry's poems are so heartfelt, sensual, and beautiful that they leave me breathless. This book is an emotional, tender book that just sings. This poet, this writing, a gift. I highly recommend "The Structure of Desire."
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Susan Tepper
Format:Paperback
"Desire" is a lush and beautiful word that encompasses many feelings, paths, wishes, dreams, the land and landscape, the sea, and all that we know of life and hope to know of the mystical life. Poet W.F. Lantry understands Desire at its core. These poems come to the reader as a rare kind of gift. You don't have to be a poet or even an avid poetry reader to sink into this book. His poem 'The Dark Wood' begins this way: "I wanted to write paradise. I would / create, with words, a space where each may dwell / who comes to read. A quiet song, small words / almost as calming as the wind.../
So HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for yourself or to give as a very fine gift.
So HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for yourself or to give as a very fine gift.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just read through Bill Lantry's long-awaited first full-length collection "The Structure of Desire." His is a poetry of "transport," in which everyday moments expand into mystic significance at the prompting of beauty in the form of a person, a dance or music. He reads as he writes, with each word thick with import, as if his poems were sacred texts. "Spiritual" poetry has been much discussed of late. If it does come back into vogue, I hope that its practitioners will follow Mr. Lantry's (and Mr. Stevens') example by grounding their ecstasies in realia. Mr. Lantry's recurring images--the dance, the mirror, sinuous drapery--never emerge from some vague poetic subconscious but from his visions of the world around him. As a poet of rapture, Mr. Lantry writes poetry dear to my heart. I recommend this book to all who enjoy mind-expanding mystical poetry and anyone who wants to be reminded what the selfless, helpless sort of love feels like.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A transcendant work of art
From cover to cover, this writing is a beautiful reminder that language and spoken word can be just as gorgeous as (if not more than!) the most brilliant works of art. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Beartato
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another beautiful book by a wonderful author.
After seeing this book, I want to say it's a very beautiful book, so I will. The pictures used to head many poems are fitting, the words themselves are incredible, the poems are... Read more
Published 11 months ago by BL
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