Items related to A Short History of the Island of Butterflies
Synopsis
Poems consider the night, mortality, the past, writers, sunlight, winter, travel, love, politics, memory, and blizzards
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From Publishers Weekly
While Christopher's second lyric collection is as bright and scintillating as his 1982 On Tour with Rita, he relies less on cleverness and more on skill in imagemaking for its effects. Christopher has a marked taste for the exotic, whether Paros, Verona, Albania or the imaginary island of the title. Even the Middle American prairie land of "Sunday, Looking Westward" takes on a strange light and coloration under his scrutiny, just as his "Public Gardens" has a Rousseau-ian aspect. At home in his native Manhattan, "I could be in Atlantis, plunging to sea-bottom/ atop a mass of towers and rubble . . . Or what I think I see already may have disappeared,/ transposedlike Rome's powerto Byzantium. . . . " He cast himself in the role of the traveler who must "pay close attention/ to the intricate landscapes unfolding/ beyond the eye." The poetry is lush and adventurous. Christopher is both original and gifted. U.K. rights: Viking Penguin; translation rights: Melanie Jackson. January
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Christopher's poems display the qualities of Romantic landscape painting: luxuriant detail, a grand solemnity, intimations of the fantastic. Together, they compose an orchard of exotic, richly colored fruit that can be described but never tasted, poems meant to be seen "not as reflections/ but fiery constructions rushing across/ the imagination's map in search of definition" ("Crossing Pharos at Dawn"). Such genteel invention works best when applied to incongruous subjects ("Cardiac Arrest," "Construction Site, Windy Night") but risks preciousness elsewhere. An over-reliance on declarative sentences and phrase-broken lines makes one wish for more rhetorical variation. As objects for the mind's eye, however, these poems canlike scenic vistas"fuel/ our passage away from ourselves." Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Poems: A Short History of the Island of Butterflies
Seller: Dan Pope Books, West Hartford, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. New York: Viking Press [1986]. Hardbound. First edition. First printing. Near Fine/Fine. Binding is a bit slack. Smoke-free. Comes with mylar dust jacket protector. Seller Inventory # jean116
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A Short History Island Butterflies
Published by
Penguin Publishing Group, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
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Condition: Very Good. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 57682559-6
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A Short History of the Island of Butterflies
Seller: Books Anonymous, Hudson, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. DJ: Very Good+++ w/ very minute tanning. Protected w/ clear plastic cover. The Book: Very Good+++minute fading on a cover edge. A press release photo & a promo card with a poem, Radium, inserted. Seller Inventory # 005966
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A Short History of the Island of Butterflies AND Radium
Published by
Viking, New York, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Clayton Fine Books, Shepherdstown, WV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Very good in boards and dust jacket with two tiny short closed tears. Laid into this copy is card with "Radium" (a poem) printed on one side and an anouncement of the book's publication on the verso. Seller Inventory # b23221
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A Short History of The Island of Butterfiles
Published by
Viking Press, New York, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Jeff Hirsch Books, ABAA, Wadsworth, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Dust Jacket Condition: dj. First Edition. First edition. Hardcover. 81 pages. A review copy with laid in slip and promotional material. A collection of poems. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a tiny tear to the top of the rear panel. Seller Inventory # 140525
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A Short History of the Island of the Butterflies
Published by
Penguin Books, (New York), 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. Fine in near fine dustwrapper with spine faded, small chip on top edge of rear panel. Poet's first book. Seller Inventory # 409085
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A Short History of the Island Butterflie Poems
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Viking, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Garys Books-Log Cabin Books, Apache Junction, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Printing. Author's second book of poetry. The book is a REVIEW COPY with the slip laid in and publishers material. Author of ON TOUR WITH RITA. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 009110
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A Short History of the Island of Butterflies: Poems
Published by
Viking Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: Poor. First Edition. New York. 1986. January 1986. Viking Press. 1st Edition. Very Good in Worn Dustjacket With Some Small Tears. 0670808997. 81 pages. hardcover. Jacket painting by Henri Rousseau - 'The Flamingoes'. keywords: American Literature Poetry. DESCRIPTION - Nicholas Christopher's first book of poetry, ON TOUR WITH RITA, established him, in the words of Anthony Hecht, 'as a major poet of his generation, and. eminently one of the most gifted.' This second collection delivers on all the promise of the first. Crafted with a masterly elegance and brilliance that recall the work of John Ashbery or James Merrill, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ISLAND OF BUTTERFLIES displays a lush and vivid imagery that nonetheless never appears indulged in for its own sake. Although most of these poems are what one would properly call lyric, a surprising number display a dramatic and narrative tension that is rare among lyric poets, and others express a vision that is both dark and magical. Yet Christopher's voice is original and versatile-he is as at home with the stark urban landscape as he is with the sunny Mediterranean-and with this collection it takes on a truly distinctive edge. Nicholas Christopher was born in 1951 in New York City, where he now lives, and was educated at Harvard College. His first book of poems, ON TOUR WITH RITA, was published in 1982, and his novel, THE SOLOIST, was published this year. His poetry and criticism have appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, Grand Street, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, and The Paris Review In 1985, he was awarded the Amy Lowell Travelling Fellowship. He has traveled widely and taught at several universities. He is currently Adjunct Professor of English at New York University. inventory #23875 Very Good in Worn Dustjacket With Some Small Tears. Seller Inventory # z23875
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A Short History of the Island of Butterflies
Published by
Viking, (New York), 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First edition. Slightly bowed boards else about near fine in a fine dust jacket. Advance Review Copy with publisher's slip and printed poem laid in. Seller Inventory # 562025
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A Short History Of The Island Of Butterflies
Published by
Viking Penguin, New York, New York, 1986
ISBN 10: 0670808997
ISBN 13: 9780670808991
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First Edition
Signed
Seller: Mike Murray - Bookseller LLC, East Windsor, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine (price-clipped). First Edition/First Printing. This copy has been SIGNED by Nicholas Christopher on the title page! This second collection of poetry delivers on all the promise of his first collection "On Tour with Rita." Crafted with a masterly elegance and brilliance "A Short History of the Island of Butterflies" displays a lush and vivid imagery that nonetheless never appears indulged in for its own sake. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 7530