What We Pass On: Collected Poems: 1980-2009 (Essential Poets Series) [Paperback]

Maria Mazziotti Gillan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1550713043 | ISBN-13: 978-1550713046

Maria Mazziotti Gillan weaves a tapestry of one woman's life - wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, grand-daughter, Italian American. Reading these poems in one volume makes us acutely aware of how memory is layered, each new poem adding another detail, another colour, another perspective so that we watch as the poet and the people around her change. With increasing clarity and honesty, Gillan peels away all the self-protective layers and invites us in so we can see in her story a reflection of our own. Her work in all its texture and exuberance, its passion and power, forces us to care about what matters and teaches us to be human. This is a poet who, in these courageous poems, teaches us why poetry matters and why it can change us.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Guernica Editions (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550713043
• ISBN-13: 978-1550713046
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredibly moving and memorable, December 9, 2010

By 

Marcia Burns - See all my reviews

This review is from: What We Pass On: Collected Poems: 1980-2009 (Essential Poets Series) (Paperback)

What We Pass On encompasses everything a great book of poetry should: moving , powerful and vibrant poems that are unforgettable.

If you read one major book of poetry this year, this is the book to buy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gorgeous work from a powerful poet, October 24, 2010

By 

dragonfly "dragonfly" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What We Pass On: Collected Poems: 1980-2009 (Essential Poets Series) (Paperback)

This new and collected volume outdoes even Maria Gillan's previous and beautiful book. There are some especially heartbreaking poems about her late husband, but as always with Gillan's work one finds family, warmth, humor, compassion, and always a world-wideness of view that is incredibly refreshing. I had the pleasure of hearing her read from this book recently, and it was a great experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Heart Felt Poetry, This Book Will Lift Your Spirit!, May 26, 2010

By 

A. M. Kesling (Mansfield Township, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What We Pass On: Collected Poems: 1980-2009 (Essential Poets Series) (Paperback)

What can I say Maria Mazziotti Gillan is an incredible poet. She can take a moment in time, a small event and present it so clearly you will know exactly how she felt and most of the time you have felt that same way before but did not know the words to describe it. Her background and heritage are nothing like my own but I can still feel an absolute kinship with her experiences and at times I think she is talking about my own fears, my own love, my own regrets and expectations. If you do not own any of her books, buy this one now, or buy it to complete your collection. It includes almost all of her published poems and some great new ones too a truly excellent Collected Poems.