Lives of the Poets

Schmidt, Michael

ISBN 10: 0375406247 / ISBN 13: 9780375406249

Editore: Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York, 1999

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SUPERB: TOUR DE FORCE: INVALUABLE: ASTONISHING VIEW OF THE WHOLE OF POETRY IN ENGLISH: A DAZZLING account of the entire history of poetry in the English language (from the 14th century to the present) by one of the most intelligent & passionate critics in the field * FINE First American Edition (Orig Oct 1999) First Printing: AS-NEW unclipped mylar-protected jacket w/ EXCELLENT sharp AS-NEW edges & corners & showing $35.00 orig. pub. price at top-right inside-front flyleaf, EXCELLENT text-block exterior w/ smooth-cut top & bottom edges & w/ cut-page-style "deckle" side-edging, AS-NEW strikingly handsome cover w/ chocolate paper wrapping spine & extending 1.24" onto front & back panels elegantly covered in spinach-green paper w/ titles handsomely gilt-stamped on spine, AS-NEW sewn binding w/ tight signatures & green-brown-checked cloth bands at spine-caps, IMPECCABLE cream-lime card-stock end-papers, PRISTINE interior printed in modern Caslon on SUPERB unblemished silk-finish paper * 6.50" x 9.50" x 2.26", 1.56 kg, xii+975 (987) pp * ABOUT THE BOOK: Setting out to write his own homage to Samuel Johnson's legendary "Lives of the English Poets" of more than 200 years ago, Michael Schmidt introduces us to the world tradition of poets who have written in English. From the rustic rhythms of "Piers Plowman" to today's post-modernists, from 15th-century Scotland to the contemporary Caribbean, Schmidt explores the lives & creations of more than 300 poets, discussing their best (& sometimes worst) poems, their triumphs & tragedies, their individual genius. Here is the shared universe & work of so many great poets, including Chaucer, Donne, Blake, Behn, Burns, Wordsworth, Whitman, Dickinson, Rossetti, Yeats, Stevens, Lowell, Bishop, Ginsberg, Rich & Heaney, to name but a few. Schmidt also embraces the extraordinary poetry now emerging from Australia, New Zealand, India & other countries, & shows how these varied landscapes & cultures make their contributions to our common language. Tracing the themes & achievements of each poet's work, Schmidt demonstrates w/ wit & erudition how poets overshadow & inspire one another across the centuries. En route, he champions some unjustly neglected voices & outlines the ways in which history & politics intervene to shape (or sometimes misshape) the poetic imagination. W/ infectious enthusiasm & avoiding all fashionable jargon, Schmidt speaks without apology for a common language: the language of poetry, which unites people across continents & across the ages. For anyone who has ever been moved by a poem, this is a rich & important book. * HIGH CRITICAL PRAISE: "In addition to giving the analytical part of the reader's brain a good workout, as he parses everyone from Spenser to Ashbery to Walcott, Schmidt offers up plenty of idiosyncratic opinion that will alternately raise hackles or set heads nodding in vigorous agreement. This may not be the most objective treatment of poetry to come down the pike, but it is an invaluable (& deeply entertaining) reference. -Margaret Prior * "'Lives of the Poets', written w/ great verve & candor, erudition & insight, is a tour de force, an astonishing view of the whole of poetry in English, a superb read." -Mark Strand, Pulitzer prize-winning author of "Blizzard of One" * "The descriptions of the achievement & significance of a poet's work are masterly exercises of cogency & compression, & their excellence has an excellent effect: one goes away & reads the poetry." -TLS * MICHAEL SCHMIDT was born in 1947 in Mexico where he grew up. He studied at Harvard & Oxford & is now director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. He edits the magazine 'PN Review', which he established in 1972, & is founder & editorial director of Carcanet Press, which publishes poetry & fiction. His books include two novels, collections of poetry, works of criticism, & several important anthologies. He has translated Nahuatl (Aztec) poetry, & poems & essays by Octavio Paz. Codice articolo 010733

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Titolo: Lives of the Poets

Casa editrice: Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York

Data di pubblicazione: 1999

Legatura: Hardcover

Condizione: Fine

Condizione sovraccoperta: As New

Edizione: 1st American Edition

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto:

Encompassing the works of more than three hundred poets, a definitive history of poetry in English ranges from the fourteenth century to the present day and explores the lives, poetry, and inspiration of these masters of the English language. 15,000 first printing.

Informazioni sull?autore:

Michael Schmidt is the editor of <i>PN Review</i>, which he established in 1972; the founder and editorial director of Carcanet Press, which publishes poetry and fiction; and the director of the writing school at Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England.