Eternity in a Grain of Sand : The Most Perfect Silence of Jollyroger.com Poetry (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Elliot McGucken (Author), Becket Knottingham (Author), Drake Raft (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Jennifer Gross, a Duke freshman from California. . .met Raft while he was selling The After Dark Field Book Sonnets. "I read them nightly to my roommate." (Raft's The After Dark Field Book Sonnets are contained in Eternity in a Grain of Sand). -- The Daily Tar Heel

McGucken's definitely attempting to defy the stereotype of Generation Xers as disinterested layabouts. Hence Jollyroger.com's pirate theme. -- Book Magazine

McGucken's passion for his cause has caused some tension in his life. A woman he dated disagreed with his views. . . In reply, he wrote "Poetry for a Pristine Girl": And of the pristine feminine I am a fan,/But this culture taught her to live a lie,/ To trade her virtue and become a man." (Poem is included in Eternity in a Grain of Sand) -- The Pittsburgh Tribune

The irony of being a scientist who loves poetry is not lost on McGucken: "There's no way to write down a physical equation that explains love or laughter or tears." -- The Pittsburgh Tribune

Product Description

ETERNITY IN A GRAIN OF SAND consists of over 200 pages of rhyming, metered poetry taken from Jollyroger.com's treasure holds. This is the heart and soul of the WWW Renaissance as captained by the three sonneteers: Drake Raft, Becket Knottingham, and Elliot McGucken.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Classicals & Jollyroger.com LLC; 1st edition (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930151101
• ISBN-13: 978-1930151109
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,252,366 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On The Nature of Jollyroger.com Poetry, February 3, 2001

By	"redberretta" - See all my reviews

This poetry collection is another fine addition to the "crew's" renaissance. Becket's verse is perhaps the most refined as regarding prosodic elements, while Drake's subject matter and tone tend to be darker and thus more interesting (for me).

The general theme of this book is a renaissance, achieved via a revival of classical ideals and art forms, and thus it is fitting that the "Great God Abosolute" is consistently paid hommage to with a fairly adept iambic pentameter throughout the collection.

I felt that I was somewhat older than the intended audience for many of the poems, but the ones concerning the interplay between science, religion, and philosophy were my favorites, as well as the ones devoted to the silicon technology upon which all modern literature rests.

It is a good seafaring book, and if you're not on a beach when you read it, it'll take you there. I also enjoyed "The Most Perfect Silence."

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Fantastic--To See My Soul Expressed in Words, July 8, 2000

By	Krissy A (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Simply put, this is a great poetry anthology for our generation. I met Drake Raft while he was out filming his "What is Your Favorite Great Book" documentary on 6th Street here in Austin, and I had I read this book, I would have probably given its title as the answer. I greatly enjoyed the fluidity of the poetry, how the strict structure never compromised the meaning nor aesthetics. And there's a subtle, yet powerful messages which echos throughout the pages, along the lines of "to he who has, more shall be give, and to he who has not, even that shall be taken away." I felt like a lot of the poems had been written about me; it at times made me defensive, and at other times I wish they had been written for me. I especially liked "Poetry for a Pristine Girl," "In the Name of Freedom," "Eternity in Grain of Sand," and "The Most Perfect Silence."

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dawn of Something New, March 22, 2002

By	Bobo Paris (From Portland) - See all my reviews

I loved this book for its profundity of spirit, for its marriage of rhyme to reason to the deeper, everlasting, permanent things.
This is simply the best modern poetry book I've read to date.

As a girl, perhaps I am in better position to judge the love poems, written by men, and they work. The iambic pentameter which pervades throughout perhaps got a bit old, but it seems that the crew was sticking to a method they set out with--not an easy task. If one approaches the poems as a critic, or with a postmodern chip on one's shoulder, they will be sourly disappointed, or perhaps exhilarated, as postmodernists need things to deconstruct.

Three cheers for the three sonneteers--this is the poetry that will blossom when the postmodern inquisition relents.