And the Stars Were Shining - Softcover

Ashbery, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374524343 ISBN 13: 9780374524340

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1995

Synopsis

And the Stars Were Shining, John Ashbery's sixteenth collection, strikes out into new territory and engages the reader in unexpected ways. In their relative brevity they display all the valiant wit and rich lyric intensity which readers know from Ashberry's expansive longer work.

About this title

About the Author:

John Ashbery teaches at Bard College.

From Publishers Weekly:

Readers have at times confused Ashbery's ( Flow Chart ) interest in examining the appearances of things with a lack of poetic depth. The reasons? Perhaps that Ashbery is typically intrigued by surfaces because his main theme is the perception of reality; and, being of a more lyrical than critical inclination, he pursues philosophical investigation in, by and through poetry, so that his poems tend to embody the idea that is their subject. In his 16th collection, Ashbery once again addresses his chosen theme--and others--through many tightly bound short poems and a longer piece in 13 parts, the title poem. And while his main concern is the work of the imagination, he begins to sound a more narrative voice, while never allowing the poems to develop into true extended narratives. The poet is less reticent (though still far from explicit) in committing himself to the ideas sown in his work. Also, he takes up an unaccustomed subject: the discerning of a poem after the poet's passing, implying his own death. Characteristically, it is in his longer poems that Ashbery holds a situation up to the light and approaches it most variously and richly. Though readers may not grasp or even catch sight of every angle, they will be gripped.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0374524343
• ISBN 13: 9780374524340
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96