Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetry as Pure Pleasure, March 1, 2001
The only problem I have seen with reviews of R.S. Gwynn's poetry is that they may concentrate a bit too much on the satire, which is understandable when the satire is so funny ("Letter from Carthage" and "Anacreontic" are two of my favorites). The serious, quieter poems are equally impressive, especially poems like "The Dream Again," "Train for Ill: A Ballad," "Release," and "Our Hearts were Growing Up." The _variety_ in the book is impressive: ballades, villanelles, dramatic monologues, short lyrics, satiric couplets -- when formal poetry is often accused of being conservative, straitlaced or predictable, it is wonderful to see all the possible variations of form displayed so well. However, the technique is not just there for its own sake, but always wedded to emotion, whether serious or hilarious, so that no poem reads as an exercise. In an age where many poets seem stuck writing the same poem over and over, pleasure at all the different forms in this life is only more sharply enhanced.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
i've waited a long time for this one, February 19, 2001
I have waited six months since I first heard about R.S. Gwynn's new and selected poems, to publication. And it was worth the wait. It's well-known that Gwynn is one of the best of the New Formalists, and now more people can see why. The collection begins with an introduction by Gwynn's friend, and another of the best of the New Formalists, Dana Gioia. Followed by If By Song, Gwynn's new poems, which contains several of my favorites ("1-800", "The Classroom at the Mall", "West Palm", and "Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins"), as well as other poems that showcase the poet's wit and skill with poetic form (such as "Black Helicopters," which holds your interest both in what it says as well as the form it says it). A section covering translations (which I was unaware Gwynn did any translating) and parodies. Once again, Gwynn shows his skill at humorous verse with "Versions for the Millennium" "The Professor's Lot" and the charming "Why They Love Us" (his tribute to the dog). Selections from "The Narcissiad" follows next. This is Gwynn's mock-epic about a poet who battles other poets in the effort to be the only surviving poet. (It's a great poem, I only wish it were still in print, so that I could pick up a copy) And the final section of the book is selections from _The Drive-In_, which is loaded with great poems, such as "Among Philistines", "Anacreontic" and "The Simplification" which are three of my favorites. It's such a strong selection, that I wish _The Drive-In_ weren't out of print so that I could pick that one up too (I'll be busy searching the used bookstores for copies of these two books). Why should you purchase _No Word of Farewell_? I leave with what Dana Gioia said in his introduction: "I should probably also note two other obvious qualities of Gwynn's poetry. First, he is ingeniously funny. Second, he is an effortless master of verse forms. No American poet of his generation has written better sonnets, and very few can equal him in the ballade, couplet, rondeau, or pantoum-not to mention the half dozen new forms he has invented. But, to be honest, it was neither Gwynn's considerable formal skill nor his wicked humor that first attracted me, though those qualities surely added to my pleasure. Instead, it was his depth of feeling and intense lyricality."
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wit and Compassion, July 30, 2001
R.S. Gwynn is not nearly as well known as he should be; if there is any justice in the world, No Word of Farewell will change that. The poems in this book are written in an impressive array of forms, but their attitude is far from formal. Gwynn writes about pistol-packing old ladies ("At Rose's Range"), Samson and Delilah ("Among Philistines"), conjoined twins ("Chang and Eng"), and much more. Like all the best satirists, Gwynn joins wit with compassion for the characters who people his poems. One of the many pleasures of No Word of Farewell is seeing Gwynn's humorous poems side by side with the more serious ones. My short list of favorite poems--both funny and serious--includes "Cleante to Elmire", "The Classroom at the Mall", "At Rose's Range", "Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins", "Body Bags", and "The Garden Parasol". And that's not to mention the hilarious "The Professor's Lot" (which can be sung to the melody of a certain Gilbert & Sullivan song). This is a wonderful book of poems, filled with warmth, wit, and variety. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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