Shadow of Sirius - Softcover

Merwin, W. S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1852248548 ISBN 13: 9781852248543

Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

WS Merwin may be the most influential American poet of the last half-century - an artist who has transfigured and reinvigorated the vision of poetry for our time. Bloodaxe published his "Selected Poems" in 2007. Now 81, Merwin has produced 'his best book in a decade - and one of the best outright' ("Publishers Weekly"). The nuanced mysteries of light, darkness, presence, and memory are central themes in his latest collection. 'I have only what I remember,' Merwin admits, and his memories are focused and profound - the distinct qualities of autumn light, a conversation with a boyhood teacher, well-cultivated loves, and 'our long evenings and astonishment'. In "Photographer", Merwin presents the scene where arm loads of antique glass negatives are saved from a dump cart by 'someone who understood'. In "Empty Lot", Merwin evokes a child lying in bed at night, listening to the muffled dynamite blasts of coal mining near his home, and we can't help but ask: How shall we mine our lives?

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Featured on NPR's "Fresh Air" and "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS.Honored as one of the "Best Books of the Year" from Publishers Weekly."In his personal anonymity, his strict individuated manner, his defense of the earth, and his heartache at time's passing, Merwin has become instantly recognizable on the page; he has made for himself that most difficult of creations, an accomplished style." —Helen Vendler, The New York Review of Books “Merwin is one of the great poets of our age.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review "[The Shadow of Sirius is] the very best of all Merwin: I have been reading William since 1952, and always with joy." —Harold Bloom "[Merwin's] best book in a decade—and one of the best outright... The poems... feel fresh and awake with a simplicity that can only be called wisdom." —Publishers Weekly "Merwin's gentle wisdom and attentiveness to the world are alive as ever. These deeply reflective meditations move through light and darkness, old love and turning seasons to probe the core of human existence." —Orion "[The Shadow of Sirius] shows the earthly possibilities of simple completeness in a writer's mature work. More than an achievement in poetry, this is an achievement in writing." —Harvard Review The nuanced mysteries of light, darkness, presence, and memory are central themes in W.S. Merwin’s new book of poems. “I have only what I remember,” Merwin admits, and his memories are focused and profound—the distinct qualities of autumn light, a conversation with a boyhood teacher, well-cultivated loves, and “our long evenings and astonishment.” In “Photographer,” Merwin presents the scene where armloads of antique glass negatives are saved from a dumpcart by “someone who understood.” In “Empty Lot,” Merwin evokes a child lying in bed at night, listening to the muffled dynamite blasts of coal mining near his home, and we can’t help but ask: How shall we mine our lives?

About the Author:

W.S. Merwin has been awarded most of the principal prizes in American poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Bollingen Prize and the Tanning Prize and a Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award. Bloodaxe published his Selected Poems in 2007, prior to which his poetry had been unavailable in Britain for over 35 years. As well as being an internationally renowned poet, W. S. Merwin is the author of many classic translations, including editions of Neruda, Dante, The Song of Roland, The Poem of the Cid, and (from Bloodaxe) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. His latest titles from Bloodaxe are Selected Poems (2007) and The Shadow of Sirius (2009). Neil Astley's anthology Bloodaxe Poetry Introductions: 3 (2007) includes a selection of his poems with extracts from interviews and other prose. Born in New Jersey City in 1927, he taught at several universities, and now lives on the Pacific island of Maui, where he tends to his writing and to his garden of rare and endangered palm trees.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1852248548
• ISBN 13: 9781852248543
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120