Ruins of Index and Other Places - Softcover

Altman, Lee Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0998993107 ISBN 13: 9780998993102

Publisher: Lee Michael Altman, 2017

Synopsis

Lee Michael Altman's book of poems is about growing up in the Pacific Northwest and then visiting other places in the U.S., Mexico and Europe. A common thread throughout the book is nature mysticism combined with a deep feeling for humanity and how such combinations have resulted in his spectral poetry and understanding of the world. The illustrations in the book by the author are evocative of his poetic themes (16 images and cover art). He is a Stanford graduate in the Fine Arts.

About this title

About the Author

Lee Altman was raised in Washington state. He belonged to an early ecological sportsman group and spent time in the woods hiking, fishing, and understanding nature. His artistic influences were the nature mysticism of the painters Tobey and Graves and the poet Roethke. In the early 60s he studied poetry with Elizabeth Bishop and Galway Kinnell. Lived in San Francisco in the late 60s during the artistic cultural revolution. Traveled and lived in Mexico and the Southwest. Received his BFA at the University of Washington. He completed his MFA degree at Stanford University where he studied with the painters and printmakers Nathan Oliveira and Frank Lobdell. Went on to teach at Stanford, CCA, SFAI, and Saint Mary's College.

Review

Jeffrey Gray, Author, Seton Hall University, NJ - Altman's artwork is not the mimesis of the given world but of its becoming, which is to say also the world in us that he has always gone after. His is not an imitation of forms - though that's there, certainly, in the sudden grasping of a bird out of potentiality -- but of Nature in the moment of apprehension.

Richard Shaffer, Artist, Felton, CA - Altman's surface is accessible; it is full of layers underneath, capturing the editorial work of simplification. Slipping easily between the layers is like entering the best poetry from the middle ground where it is fullest. Yes, indeed, there is a beginning and an end to all narratives, but the heart of the matter is more central, closer to when the author begins to say what is really meant. Somersaulting from antiquity across to the new poetry, Lee Altman is forever looking and reading his texts for those sudden surprises. Whether he is accessing etymology in the Oxford dictionary or just perusing a child's tale, Altman remains a literary artist, sourcing his imagery in the contemporary mixtures of our time.

Nathan Oliveira, Artist, Stanford University, CA - Color, form and images are much like words to him that convey poetry and content. One engages that talented multi-level mind, and visual art is not reduced to a simple art metaphor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lee Michael Altman
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0998993107
• ISBN 13: 9780998993102
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144