A Tree Within (A New Directions Paperbook) [Paperback]

Octavio Paz (Author), Eliot Weinberger (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation; Later printing edition (November 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811210715
• ISBN-13: 978-0811210713
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning achievement by a giant of 20th century poetry, December 28, 2000

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Tree Within (A New Directions Paperbook) (Paperback)

Octavio Paz wrote some of the most remarkable poetry and prose of the 20th century. The collection of poems entitled "A Tree Within" represents one of his most memorable achievements. A remarkable diverse blend of short lyrics and longer, Whitmanesque creations, "A Tree Within" is definitely a collection that bears careful reading and re-reading.

The book is richly studded with multicultural references and allusions--to Epictetus, Buddha, Gilgamesh, Jack the Ripper, the Aztecs, Don Quixote, and many, many, more. But Paz is not merely trying to dazzle us with his knowledge. He is also introspective and revealing. He struggles with deep questions about language, love, and other concerns.

Paz seems to be searching both for an ideal poetic language, and for a form of connectedness that transcends language--a paradoxical quest, yet pure Paz. When he writes "Man's word / is the daughter of death" (in the poem "To Talk"), it strikes me as both a tragically naked confession of inadequacy and a moment of serene liberation. At other times, Paz seems, like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, to be groping towards the creation of a sort of "secular scripture" for the (post)modern age.

In the poem "I Speak of the City," Paz writes, "I speak of our public history, and of our secret history, yours and mine." The histories recorded by this visionary genius are certainly some of the most important literary creations of the 20th century.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite Poetry in English y Espagnol, March 29, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tree Within (A New Directions Paperbook) (Paperback)

This bilingual text enhances the experience of reading Paz's poetry. His poetic form can be as spare and suggestive as tanka/haiku or dense with visual imagery as in the poem, A Fable of Joan Miro. The meditative tone of many selections suggests that beyond the accomplishments of art, literature and music, the essential composition is of oneself: "to learn to see so that things will see us and come and go through our seeing." Highly recommended.