The Night Abraham Called to the Stars: Poems - Softcover

Bly, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060934441 ISBN 13: 9780060934446

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2002

Synopsis

“The poems of The Night Abraham Called to the Stars mark the ripening of a new current in Bly’s career: Now in his mid-70s, he is writing with tremendous energy and clarity and force, and producing some of the best work of his long career.” — The Nation

A volume of poetry with an emphasis on spirituality from the National Book Award winner.

Drawing on the profound influence that Islamic poetry, such as Rumi's, has had on his work, Robert Bly transmutes the remarkable ghazal form into a stunning series of poems. In this form, the poet can change the landscape in each stanza, ranging from a love poem to wisdom literature to a complaint about the poet's private life.

A cultured form with many references to other poems and poets, ghazal poetry challenges and involves the reader. In this volume, Bly's poetry resonates with deep spirituality while sounding the major themes of modern life. Merging wildness and a beautiful formality, this collection assures the reputation of one of the major poets of our era.

This powerful collection finds meaning in the grand and the granular, exploring:

• The Ghazal Form Reimagined: An ancient poetic structure where each stanza is a new landscape, shifting from earthy complaint to divine praise.
• Sufi-Inspired Spirituality: Follow in the tradition of Rumi as Bly seeks the sacred in muddy fields, weeping potatoes, and the light of the setting stars.
• Myth in Modern Life: Ancient figures like Abraham, Moses, and Rembrandt walk through a contemporary landscape, grappling with the same timeless sorrow and longing that shape our world.
• A Master Poet at His Peak: The culmination of a celebrated career, these poems showcase the tremendous energy and force that define Robert Bly as one of the major poets of our era.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Bly's books of poetry include The Night Abraham Called to the Stars and My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy. His awards include the National Book Award for poetry and two Guggenheims. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Night Abraham Called to the Stars

PoemsBy Bly, Robert W.

Perennial

Copyright © 2004 Robert Bly
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0060934441

The Night Abraham Called
to the Stars

Do you remember the night Abraham first called
To the stars? He cried to Saturn: "You are my Lord!"
How happy he was! When he saw the Dawn Star,

He cried, "You are my Lord!" How destroyed he was
When he watched them set. Friends, he is like us:
We take as our Lord the stars that go down.

We are faithful companions to the unfaithful stars.
We are diggers, like badgers; we love to feel
The dirt flying out from behind our hind claws.

And no one can convince us that mud is not
Beautiful. It is our badger soul that thinks so.
We are ready to spend the rest of our life

Walking with muddy shoes in the wet fields.
We resemble exiles in the kingdom of the serpent.
We stand in the onion fields looking up at the night.

My heart is a calm potato by day, and a weeping,
Abandoned woman by night. Friend, tell me what to do,
Since I am a man in love with the setting stars.

Continues...

Excerpted from The Night Abraham Called to the Starsby Bly, Robert W. Copyright © 2004 by Robert Bly. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060934441
• ISBN 13: 9780060934446
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112