The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden [Hardcover]

Stanley Kunitz (Author), Genine Lentine (Author), Marnie Crawford Samuelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2005

"A graceful and moving glimpse into a rare and giving artist's refined poetics, garden aesthetics, and spirituality."—Booklist

Throughout his life (1905-2006) Stanley Kunitz created poetry and tended gardens. This book is the distillation of conversations, none previously published, that took place between 2002 and 2004. Beginning with the garden, that "work of the imagination," the explorations journey through personal recollections, the creative process, and the harmony of the life cycle. A bouquet of poems and a total of 26 full-color photographs accompany the various sections. The Wild Braid received a 2006 American Horticultural Society Book Award.

"A miracle."—Galway Kinnell "No one who has ever gardened passionately will be a stranger to the sentiments Kunitz expresses about this act of domestic creation, but very few of us will ever come close to writing about it with his grace and clarity. This is indeed a book to cherish."—Kate Tyndall, Raleigh News & Observer 26 color photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Kunitz, who will turn 100 years old in July, has twice been named Poet Laureate of the U.S. He is not only a distinguished and luminous lyric poet but also an ardent gardener. As he reflects on his callings in this lovely mix of prose, poetry, conversation, and photographs, he illuminates the many ways each practice nurtures the other. Kunitz traces his rapport with nature to his boyhood, when he found refuge from family tragedy in woods and fields. In describing his seaside Provincetown garden, he contemplates the garden as "the cosmos in miniature" and a "compressed parable of the human experience." He observes that both gardening and writing poetry depend on the "wild permissiveness of the inner life." In the aftermath of a serious illness and an amazing recovery, Kunitz talks radiantly about death and art, and how an artist's work expresses "gratitude for the gift of life." In all, this is a graceful and moving glimpse into a rare and giving artist's refined poetics, garden aesthetics, and spirituality. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A miracle. -- Galway Kinnell

Kunitz has gotten better as he has grown older: more emotionally present, more vulnerable, more alive. How is it possible? -- Mark Doty

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1ST edition (May 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393061418
• ISBN-13: 978-0393061413
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Gardening

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "We who are so young have neither seen so much..., June 5, 2005

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden (Hardcover)

Dinitia Smith interviewed Stanley Kunitz and Genine Lentine about this book. Her article appears in the NY Times Book- Review. In this article Kunitz speaks about the making of the book, about poetry, about gardening. The most moving part of the interview was a poem which he read to Smith, a poem written for his wife who died two years ago at the age of ninety- three.

He read the poem to Smith, and she comments in the middle.

Summer is late, my heart.

Words plucked out of the air

some forty years ago

when I was wild with love.

He came to the poem's haunting conclusion:

Darling, do you remember

the man you married? Touch me,

remind me who I am.

I was moved by the poem.

It is also moving to think of someone reaching one - hundred years of age, and still writing poetry.

Kunitz says that he understands the necessity of death as the world would become just ' old wrecks' were everyone to go on without end.

He speaks as Borges does of wanting to become 'language' or ' part of the language'.

Aside from the poetry I believe many people will want to possess this book simply because it in some way represents a triumph of the human spirit and will.

"We who are so young, have neither seen so much, nor lived so long."

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Book on Kunitz's Crown, October 14, 2005

By 

Juan Mobili (Valley Cottage, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden (Hardcover)

Stanley Kunitz is one hundred years old this year and, if that it's not enough reason to rejoice, he's also published a book, thoughtfuy aided by Genine Lentine, in which he shares his two loves, gardening and writing poetry. And if I name these two passions of Kunitz's in such order is because the garden is at the center of his thought here.

Accompanied by interesting photographs -some are remarkable portraits of Stanley- Kunitz words tell the story of his legendary Provincetown garden, and in the process he offers those lessons to his poetic insight.

The result is a brief book of love for craft, in this case what caring after trees teaches you and what writing a poem entails and demands from his maker.

I'm honored and elated to be reading some new words from such wise elder of the poetic word.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift for any parent or gardener!, July 25, 2005

By 

J. Torrentz (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden (Hardcover)

I was back "home" with my folks this weekend and my dad really has been enjoying this book (shipped to him for Father's Day)as well. Mr. Kunitz reflections on his amazing life experience are outstanding. I fell in love with the book as well. Definitely give it 5 stars. Enjoy :)