When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone [Paperback]

Galway Kinnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1990

A collection of poems ranging from melancholy meditations of a solitary mind concerning estrangement and the longing for reconnection to the natural world and its creatures closely observed.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In Pulitzer Prize-winner Kinnell's tenth book of poems, the author, now in his seventh decade, confronts his own mortality: "everything sings and dies,/ But it could be, too, everything dies and sings." There is a somber, reflective tone to most of this collection except for the wildly humorous "Oatmeal," in which Kinnell creates a tableau of himself sharing a bowl of porridge with John Keats. There are many of Kinnell's trademark long poems, including the title poem, where phrases pile on top of one another to evoke a vivid world. But there are several short gems as well, including "Divinity," in which conciseness helps forge the very intensity of the poem. Nature, love, the long arm of memory; these poems prove that for the poet "time suffered/ is not necessarily time destroyed." Recommended.
- Doris Lynch, Oakland P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Agape
The Auction
The Cat
The Ceiling
Divinity
Farewell
Flower Of Five Blossoms
Judas-kiss
Kilauea
Last Gods
The Man On The Hotel Room Bed
The Massage
Memories Of My Father
Oatmeal
The Perch
The Room
Shooting Stars
Street Of Gold
The Tragedy Of Bricks
The Vow
When One Has Lived A Long Time Alone
Who, On Earth
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (October 31, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679732810
• ISBN-13: 978-0679732815
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Topple back into singing...", July 30, 2000

By 

Daniel Polsby (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone (Paperback)

In this, Kinnell's 10th book of poetry, one could either bemoan the book's unevenness or be dazzled by its range; I'd recommend the latter. By turns humorous, erotic, and melancholy, Kinnell here explores many of the themes that have consumed him over his 40+ years of writing -- but in a style that is less taut, less compressed. Long compared to Whitman for the rolling electricity of his language, Kinnell also shares many of his forefather's concerns: "How could anyone/willingly leave a world where they touch you/all over your body?" Kinnell writes, and he seems genuinely perplexed.

At times there's a prosier voice here than those familiar with his Selected Poems or his Book of Nightmares would expect; when in "The Cat" he surreally details the exploits of a feline saboteur ("when the cat is around something goes wrong"), for example, or, in "Oatmeal," muses on the benefits of eating porridge with imaginary partners, one is reminded of the narrative-propelled poems of Stephen Dobyns, the wry humor of Billy Collins....

But Kinnell's project has always been a bit more ambitious than those of the aforementioned, and there are poems in here that will simply stun you. The title poem itself is among Kinnell's best writing ever, and to read the 11-part poem aloud, and straight through, well it'll have your head ringing like a prayer bowl.

1 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Show me your hum-na", June 12, 2002

By 

Shadow Woman - See all my reviews

This review is from: When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone (Paperback)

I stole this book from my local Chapters and when I got home was greatly disappointed. I took it upon myself to return it to the store, I just didn't want this piece of garbage cramping my style. Kinnell is up to his usual hijinks, talking about the ins and outs of Life and Love in our time, but this one lacks the charm of his earlier works. I haven't read his earlier works, by the way, but they can't be as bad as this.