The Wild God of the World: An Anthology of Robinson Jeffers [Paperback]

Robinson Jeffers (Author), Albert Gelpi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2003

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.

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

From the Inside Flap

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (January 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804745927
• ISBN-13: 978-0804745925
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 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

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing selection ..., February 7, 2011

By 

A reader in Louisiana - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

A disappointing selection of an indispensable poet. But head and shoulders over the old Vintage paperback--except for one omission: "Roan Stallion," one of the great poems of the Modern Age (found in the Vintage but not in this). And I cannot understand Gelpi's failure to include poems from DESCENT TO THE DEAD. Anyhow, if this selection enjoys another printing, perhaps Gelpi can correct, in his excellent introduction, the mislocation of Jung's house: not on Lake Geneva but on Lake Zurich.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bleak, cold and beautiful, October 19, 2009

By 

Tom M (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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

Jeffers somehow captures the spirit of the California coast at night. Its actually somewhat disturbingly cosmic, not in the hippy sense, but in the Greek sense: immense, infinite and terrifying. No wonder Jeffers' appeal is limited. I love him.