The Other Life: Selected Poems of Herbert Scott - Softcover

Scott, Herbert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0887485219 ISBN 13: 9780887485213

Publisher: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2010

Synopsis

The Other Life is testament to a quiet force in American poetry, to a generous soul who bore witness to the world with goodwill and good humor. While Herbert Scott was a modest man, this collection is not a modest accomplishment. Reading these wonderful, rich poems spanning his entire career gathered together in one book feels like a warm home we enter from the cold. We can take our boots off, sit down and calmly ease into

the sustaining light of these poems.

About this title

About the Author

Herbert S. Scott (1931–2006) was the founding editor of New Issues Poetry & Prose. His books of poetry include Sleeping Woman (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2005), Durations (Louisiana State University Press, 1984), Groceries (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976), and Disguises (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1974). A limited edition letterpress book, In the Palm of Space, came out from Sutton Hoo Press in 2001. Scott taught at Western Michigan University, where he was the Gwen Frostic Professor of Creative Writing.

Review

I’m struck by the wide range of Scott’s work, from the stunning complexity and beauty of the long poems, “Dinosaurs” and “In the Palm of Space,” to Groceries, the groundbreaking collection of poems about work in a supermarket. Here is a poet who was committed to his own evolution as a writer, regardless of current trends or fashions. These unpretentious poems reflect the vision of someone always listening, always paying attention, looking slightly askew at our absurd, at times heartbreaking world. When Scott writes in the “we” voice, he is speaking for all of us, and when he takes on the persona of a butcher or an apprentice gravedigger, a minister or an assassin, he does so with empathy and respect. His rich portraits of ordinary men and women are simply unforgettable. These poems sing with their spare, clean lines. They sing with quiet humility and gentle grace. They sing with the music of secular prayer. They bless us all.

Edition details

• Publisher: Carnegie Mellon University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0887485219
• ISBN 13: 9780887485213
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240