The poem is perhaps the highest verbal form of communication. It illuminates and it conceals. It is as precise and as vague as a mirror."—David Meltzer
Two-Way Mirror is a classic book of poetics. Written in short remarks, autobiographical anecdotes, and inspirational quotations drawn from philosophical, ethnographic, and literary sources, Two-Way Mirror is both a nondidactic guide to the art Meltzer has devoted his life to, and a literary pleasure in itself. With its various writing prompts, Two-Way Mirror has proven to be both inspirational and practical, a teaching tool and a guide to creativity that makes the perfect gift for poets at any stage of development.
Attractively bound and printed in a deluxe gift edition, and featuring Meltzer's collection of found artwork collaged from thrift-store grammar books, this new and expanded edition retains the charm of the original while updating it for the present day.Building upon the version he self-published in 1977, Meltzer has written additional material that considers the effect of technological developments since the book's publication, as well as an afterword in which he reflects on the history of the volume, its inception, and its usefulness.
Praise for Two-Way Mirror
Reading Two-Way Mirror, I feel continually surprised, excited, alive. This book makes me want to make poems, and readers, beware: if you are not already a poet, this book could very well turn you into one."––Matthew Zapruder
"I know of no better amalgam of poetry & poetics & no better introduction to the ways in which poetry can emerge for us & lead us beyond ourselves & toward our own fulfillments. Meltzer’s grace of mind & the life of poetry that surrounds it make the case complete.”—Jerome Rothenberg
"A great book of learning from a lifetime's thoughts of the poem. Ramble, scribble, tickle, lightbulb! Timely and highly worthwhile."—Clark Coolidge
“Invaluable for anyone who reads or writes poetry, or has a restless desire of any kind, this wondrous, zany compendium gives us 'a biography of poetry’ that directly enters our veins, bypassing all the crud and restoring our sense of the art, and David Meltzer is a champion of the impossible to have compiled it … a gift of delight and wisdom—keep it in your bag by day and by your bed at night."—Mary Ruefle
David Meltzer is a poet associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance. He was the youngest poet included in Donald Allen's seminal anthology, The New American Poetry: 1945-1960. A child prodigy, Meltzer performed music on radio and TV in NY in the late '40s. In 1957, after a few years in L.A. as part of Wallace Berman's Semina circle, Meltzer moved to San Francisco. A pioneer of the jazz-poetry reading, Meltzer also formed the psychedelic folk-rock group Serpent Power in the late '60s, recording for Vanguard Records. In addition to writing many books of poetry and editing many anthologies, Meltzer has published 11 erotic novels, including the acclaimed Agency Trilogy. His most recent book, When I Was a Poet, was published in 2011 as volume 60 in the City Lights Pocket Poets Series.
