Monday 20 July 2009

New on my bookshelf

John Ashbery's Collected Poems 1956 -- 1987

It's a mountain of Ashbery. It's magnificent, vital, fun. Defies description. An absolute must have.

And it's Library of America, so the binding is GORGEOUS!














Chronic by D.A. Powell


Those who know me well enough know of my fascination with the poetics of the physical body and its relation to the natural, physical world. Powell addresses similar preoccupations in his new collection (actually it seems like somewhat of a departure for him; his previous work struck me more as "social poetry" in its aims... think O'Hara, think Hoagland, only the aesthetic was Powell's own), so naturally I was drawn to it.

I'm really enjoying the fluidity of his syntax and his ability to roll along in little eddies of image and sound.







T.S. Eliot's Collected Poems 1909 -- 1962

Okay, so he's a bit of a poncey wanker... but he has chops.

I needed it... you know... for reference.















Douglas Dunn's Selected Poems 1964 -- 1983

Out of print. Used.

I picked this up in Balfour's and read about a dozen poems while standing in the ailse. I quite liked them, so I bought the book. I'm looking forward to digging into it when I get the chance.

It has since been supplanted by a more recent selected.