New and Selected Poems 1974-1994 (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephen Dunn has produced a very impressive body of work which avoids grand themes and focuses on the details. His "Essay on the Personal," could almost serve as his poetic mission statement: "Because finally the personal / is all that matters, / we spend years describing stones, /chairs, abandoned farmhouses." These personal obsession aren't the whole picture, though. They lead, ultimately, outward, in the individual's wish to understand others and to be understood. Of the new poems, "Decorum," about an argument over a profane word in a creative writing class, is the standout.

From Publishers Weekly

"I love abstractions, I love / to give them a nouny place to live, / a firm seat in the balcony / of ideas, while music plays." Dunn ( Landscape at the End of the Century ) doesn't lapse from the human in his affection for ideas or in his playful working with them; his poetry can read like a conversation held within the generous confines of an unusually abundant self. He and his ideas are good company for us. Part of the persuasion is accomplished with images: in "Nova Scotia," jellyfish "washed up / like small blue parachutes"; in "The Snow Leopard" a girl is "half rockette" and "half American flag." But so much depends upon the billowing up and the resting of Dunn's thoughts, on their sheer movement. That's what forms and opens the poems, makes reading them seem like hobnobbing with someone who is both more observant and more precise than you could have been. We may hardly notice the skill of the movement, how fluent the monologue, but it marks us again and again: "Last night Joan Sutherland was nuancing / the stratosphere on my fine-tuned tape deck, / and there was my dog Buster with a flea rash, / his head in his privates. Even for Buster /this was something like happiness." The collection includes work from eight past books and 16 new poems.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (May 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039331300X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393313000
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,267 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have bought this book four times!, September 7, 2004

By	areyouentertained "writer & musician" (North Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews

I was first introduced to Stephen Dunn in college creative writing classes. I bought this collection first, and have read it over and over. When I have had close friends that appreciate the arts come into or leave my life, or go through a tough or introspective stage, I have passed on this collection to them--hopefully, to inspire them as it has me. Dunn has brilliant observations on the human condition, from the silly everyday things to the most life changing events that we all ultimately share. He is one of the few poets that I have read that can combine the headiness of abstract and philosophical ideas with descriptive and moving personal details to craft poems you will want to read many times throughout your life. Beautifully delicate, honest and thoughtful.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight to rediscover over and over again, April 5, 2000

By	Matt Uhler (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read most of Dunn's poetry, and in particular, having read this book several times, I find that Dunn is a writer I can always come back to. His style is unique, and always gets to the crux of what seems to drive human actions. Not only are his poems accessible and inspiring but they exemplify why I read poetry.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I were to own only one book of poetry, this would be it!, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: New & Selected Poems 1974-1994 (Hardcover)

Whether you're a novice of poetry or the next "Great One," you'll connect with these poems by Dunn. Not only is he truly a master of the language in free verse form, but also a master of bringing any subject matter to life. He has an understanding beyond what many poets often do, but at the same time he communicates this understanding through very accessible and clear writing. I am always going back to this book of poetry by Dunn.

(in particular, be sure to read "The Routine Things Around the House" and "At the Smithville Methodist Church")