The Wild God of the World: An Anthology of Robinson Jeffers (Hardcover)

by Robinson Jeffers (Author), Albert Gelpi (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For too many decades Jeffers has been the forgotten giant of American poetry. The Wild God of the World gathers his best and most central work. For those who would discover Jeffers, the intense beauty of his poems of the California coast; the reach of his meditations on history, science, and God; and the lyricism of his personal poems, this is the place to start—and a place to return again and again.” —Tim Hunt, Washington State University

“Of all the poets of his generation, [Robinson Jeffers] made our relation to this earth and sea and sky and wheeling seasons and the evolutionary processes that made trees and salmon runs and hunting hawks, his subject. As that relation grows more troubled, his words become more necessary. To have this beautifully edited and freshly seen anthology is a gift.”
—Robert Hass,University of California, Berkeley

Product Description

Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) is not only the greatest poet that the American West has produced but also a major poet of the twentieth century in the tradition of American prophetic poetry. This anthology serves as an introduction to Jeffers’s work for the general reader and for students in courses on American poetry.

Jeffers composed each volume of his verse around one or two long narrative or dramatic poems. The Wild God of the World follows this practice: in it, Cawdor, one of Jeffers’s most powerful narratives, is surrounded by a representative selection of shorter poems.

At the end of the book, the editor has provided revealing statements about Jeffers’s poetry and poetics, and about his philosophy of nature and human nature.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (January 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804745919
• ISBN-13: 978-0804745918
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,303,639 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appropriate Title: Excellent Collection, April 8, 2003

By	Flounder (Substitution Instance) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild God of the World: An Anthology of Robinson Jeffers (Paperback)

This brief collection of poetry by the former Carmel, CA resident Robinson Jeffers contains some of his strongest lyrical work. Although suited for an introductory course on poetry, I'm not sure why the publishers (Stanford UP) would think that this volume ... is a better deal than the other recent Stanford UP volume, The Collected Poetry, which includes some of Jeffers's prose (Prefaces/Letters) and is more comprehensive ...

This is a slim volume--about the size of Hass's previous collection (Rock and Hawk, now out-of-print). But it is vastly superior in text and style to The Selected Poems (thin book, red and blue cover, ...).

I highly recommend this text. It contains the "Best Of" Jeffers's poetic gems, such as "Shine, Perishing Republic," (apropos for our current times), and "For Una," to name a couple.

Jeffers was an amazing American poet. For once I disagree with Vendler's estimation of his poetic merits and craft. I would recommend Jeffers to a reader in the same spirit that Hass, C. Milosz, Wm. Everson, and Bukowski recommended that we listen to his prophetic voice. Jeffers's work embodies the Carmel landscape and cosmic essence of Northern California. Yet his voice is universal and resounds with tragic wisdom.

I also recommend Hass, Milosz, Everson, H. Miller, and the academic treatments of Jeffers's work by Robert Brophy.