Types of Shape, New, Expanded Edition [Hardcover]

Professor John Hollander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 1991

This book is a collection of pattern poems - poems whose printed format presents a picture of some familiar object that is also the subject of the text. Patterned poems, also called shaped verse, are part of a long tradition that extends from Alexandrian Greek poets to Lewis Carroll and beyond. The poems in this book, written by the poet John Hollander, are on subjects ranging from a beach umbrella and a popsicle to time, love and idea. First published in 1969, the book has now been expanded to include ten recent poems in addition to the original 25, plus an introduction in which Hollander reflects on what a shaped poem is and how and why he wrote them. There are also explanatory comments for each poem.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Arrow's Winged Word
Bell Curve
Blots
Broken Column
Crise De Coeur
Doomed Edifice
Eskimo Pie
The Figure In The Carpet
Floating Signifier
Four-in-hand
Graven Image
High Upward
Idea
Kitty
Kitty And Bug
Last Quarter
Lazy Susan
Love Letter
Midwinter Tree
Playing An Obsolete Instrument
A Possible Fake
Shadow Of Noon
Skeleton Key
Squares
Stable Ego
A State Of Nature
Swan And Shadow
Tekiah Gedolah
This Way Next
The Thread Of Life
Under The Beach Umbrella
Vanished Mansard
A View Of The Untersberg
A Watched Pot
Work Problem
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; Expanded edition (April 24, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300049749
• ISBN-13: 978-0300049749
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,643,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine Hollander release., July 7, 2005

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Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Types of Shape, New, Expanded Edition (Paperback)

John Hollander, Types of Shape, revised edition (Yale, 1991)

John Hollander first appeared in the public eye way back in the fifties, when his first book was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. Since then, Hollander has carved himself an exceptionally distinguished career in American letters, and deservedly so. Types of Shape is a worthy addition to the Hollander bookshelf, with the revised 1991 edition (it was originally published in the late sixties) just adding more of a good thing.

Types of Shape collects a number of Hollander's shape poems (these days perhaps better known as calligrammes, after Guillaume Apollinaire's term for them). In essence, it's a poem that takes the shape of whatever it is the poem is written about, be that a harpsichord, New York state, an arrow, etc. You probably wrote one of these back when you were in grade school, didn't you? (It's okay to admit it. Writing poetry is manly now, didn't you know?) Don't make the mistake, however, of passing this type of thing off as exclusively kid stuff; Hollander more than capably shows here that form can enhance the meaning in an already good piece (he states in the introduction that if it's not a good poem when the lines are flush left, then it's not going to be a good shape. Amen), not to mention lending it an air of playfulness and artistry.

If you're not yet familiar with Hollander, the thirty-five pieces here are a great start. If you're already a fan, you should already have this.