A Difficult Grace: On Poets, Poetry, and Writing (The Life of Poetry: Poets on Their Art and Craft)

Ryan, Michael

ISBN 10: 0820322318 / ISBN 13: 9780820322315

Published by University of Georgia Press, 2000

About this Item

The item is in good condition and works perfectly, however it is showing some signs of previous ownership which could include: small tears, scuffing, notes, highlighting, gift inscriptions, and library markings.

Seller Inventory # 4BQGBJ011UDE

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Difficult Grace: On Poets, Poetry, and Writing (The Life of Poetry: Poets on Their Art and Craft)
• Publisher: University of Georgia Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820322318
• ISBN 13: 9780820322315
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

“[In] preliterate societies, even those as late as ancient Greece and Anglo-Saxon England, the poet is the ideologue, historian, theologian, philosopher, TV, newspaper, Internet, and megamultiplex cinema rolled into one”―so begins Michael Ryan’s lively description of the cultural context of ancient poetry, in pointed contrast to that of poetry now. Informed by his own experience as a poet and writer, A Difficult Grace examines the lives and works of Dickinson, Yeats, Pound, Eliot, Williams, Whitman, Frost, Bishop, and Stevens (as well as other poets and writers before and since), deftly combining literary history, critical writing by the writers themselves, and Ryan's expert understanding of their work. The result is a collection of powerfully argued essays written in a style easily accessible to a wide range of readers. Attending to the difficult graces of form, structure, rhythm, and technique, Ryan illuminates the unifying subject of his book: the vocation of the poet and the writer in the contemporary world. This is an essential book for both writers and readers.

About the Author

MICHAEL RYAN is the author of three poetry collections, including In Winter and God Hunger, and of the memoir Secret Life. His work has been honored by the Lenore Marshall Prize, a Whiting Writers Award, the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many other awards. Ryan is a professor of English and creative writing at the University of California, Irvine.