The Deed of Gift [Paperback]

Timothy Murphy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

340 B.c.
After Thunder
Air
The Ant Lion
The Apotheosis Of General Count Deitrich Von Hulsen-haesler
Ash Wednesday
Babushka
Bad Medicine
Bedrock
Before The Fall
Betting The Ranch
Bitter End
Black Tuesday
The Blighted Tree
The Blind
Buffalo Commons
Canyon De Chelly
Carpe Diem
The Cave
Center Pivots
The Challenge
Chapter Seven
Chuang Tzu Takes A Nap
The Confession
Deconstruction
The Deed Of Gift
Diktynna Thea
A Dog Young And Old: 1.obedience
A Dog Young And Old: 2.first Spring
A Dog Young And Old: 3.skunked Again
A Dog Young And Old: 4.dog Heaven
Dreaming Of Li Po
The Drunken Sage
Eighty-eight At Midnight
Elegy For Diktynna
Et Tu Brute
The Expulsion
The Failure
Failures Of Promise
Faint Thunder
Fame
A Farmer's Prayer
Farming All Night
Father Of The Man
Feathers
February
The Fecund Coming
Felis Horribilis
For The Theban Dead
The Forsaken Isle
From The Courier's Pouch
Ganymede And The Eagle
The Gift Of Hera
The Godless Sky
Hadrian Bereaved
Handsome Dan
Harvest Of Sorrows
Haunted By Waters
Hoggerel
Infernal Sonet
The Irish Problem
Jasper Lake
Je Me Souviens
June Bugs
Kelly's Lament
La Fou Anglaise
La Langue Des Troubadours
Leonardo
Letter To A.d. Hope
The Limits Of Empire
Lonesome Peak
Martinique
Memo To Theognis
Montego Boy
Mother's Day
The Mustard Seed Garden
Next Year, Locusts
Nothing Goes To Waste
The Oats Of Wrath
Orchard In Bloom
Paddler And Dabbler
Passel O' Pups
The Path Mistaken
Paul Among The Corinthians
The Peg-leg Pig
The Philosopher-king
The Platonist
Poem For Noam
Precepts Of Governance
The Quarrel
The Rape Of Tibet
Razing The Woodlot
Requiem
The Resurrection
Return To The Beartooth
The Sacrifice
The Sage Hen
Scaling Parnassus
Shep's Last Stand
Sinfonietta: 1.an Oak In Amherst
Sinfonietta: 2.da Trowie Burn
Sinfonietta: 3.the Hatch
Sinfonietta: 4.a Love Of Kind
Songs Of The North: 1. The Weaver
Songs Of The North: 2. The Barrens
Songs Of The North: 3. Three Foxes
Songs Of The North: 4. Gronland
Songs Of The North: 5. Man Of The North
Spring Song
Summer Snow
Sunset At The Getty
The Temple Of Attis
Through The Looking Mask
To An Arrogant Young Man
To His Dead Master
Toast
The Track Of A Storm
Twice Cursed
Two Songs For Richard Wilbur: 1.lament For The Makers
Two Songs For Richard Wilbur: 2.the Last Believer
Waiting For Octavian
Yggdrasil
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Story Line Press; 1st Edition/1st Printing edition (July 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885266626
• ISBN-13: 978-1885266620
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,459,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Gay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brevity is the soul of witand so much more, February 3, 2001

By	Suzanne Noguere (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deed of Gift (Paperback)

"Brevity is the soul of wit," said Polonius. In the poems of Timothy Murphy it is that and so much more-mockery, tenderness, dread, humor, despair, charm, bitter wisdom, and serious whimsy. The compression of Murphy's art-short poems with short lines propelled by meter and rhyme-leaves no space for false moves or stylistic awkwardness. Each poem is pure muscle and breath molded to its task and exulting in its motion. And despite the short format, Murphy by turns unleashes and restrains an aural playfulness that delights in whole mouthfuls of sound. His engagement with life equals his engagement with language. The Deed of Gift, his first full-length book of poems, published at age 47 after a life grounded in the stark realities of farming in North Dakota, is divided into four parts: I. Farming All Night, about that way of life and the view of nature it compels; II. Je Me Souviens, with its poems each steeped in a sense of place ranging from the Arctic to Martinique; III. The Gift of Hera, in large part a meditation on the art of writing: IV. Father of the Man, an exploration of family and home; V. Early Poems, revealing that Murphy started as a witty and energetic classicist, educated to the hilt and wise in the ways of books. The theme of homosexuality that appears here in a flashy 3rd person voice reappears sparingly in the later poems in his own deeper, unforgettable 1st person. Every poem in this book is perfectly achieved. Marvel at the art of it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short and moving poems, July 27, 2000

By	Caleb Murdock - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deed of Gift (Paperback)

Timothy Murphy is one of my favorite living poets. He writes short, clear, accessible lyrics in meter and rhyme, most of them about the trials of farm life and prairie living. (But you don't have to be a farmer to appreciate them -- I live in New York City.) They are full of intensity and pathos. He has that magical ability to paint a vivid picture with just a few words. I would liken his writing to Emily Dickinson, but it doesn't have Dickinson's idiosyncracies. In my opinion, he is one of the best poets writing today. Please e-mail me a for a link where some of Murphy's poems can be viewed, and then come back and buy this book!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a different kind of poet, June 15, 2002

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: The Deed of Gift (Paperback)

A good sign that a poet is talented: Richard Wilbur writes the introduction to your first collection. Tim Murphy is different from the Formalist poets. Murphy has masted the short line--the dimeter or trimeter. Murphy's poems are metrically sound, without being sing-song. More often than not his rhymes are original and flow with the poem. And though the short line is often used for light verse, Murphy shows that it can be powerful when used seriously. Murphy's poems are the poems of the farmer (a highly educated and well-read farmer) and are easily accessible. The few poems that are of longer line length are also well done, showing that Murphy can write in pentameter as well. I didn't like the final section as much, titled "Early Poems" which I'm guessing he wrote in his youth. The poems are classical in nature and subject, their line lengths are longer, and though they are good, I think can see them as the poems he wrote while trying to find his voice. And I'm glad he did, because it is a strong voice. These poems are a joy to read, and I look forward to reading his new book. (My favorite poems: "The Peg-leg Pig", "Jasper Lake", "Lonesome Peak", "The Quarrel" and "A Dog Young and Old")