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Jersey Rain: Poems

Average customer rating:

There's a hidden depth here, at least in most of the poems
Hmmmmm.....
Pinsky's Vision
"Sweet Time Unafflicted"
Hey, man--I'm from Jersey too

Jersey Rain: Poems
Robert Pinsky
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

20th Century | Poetry | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

United States | Single Authors | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Pinsky, Robert | ( P ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0374527725

Book Description

Cathartic, refreshing new work by the American favorite

Tiptoe on the globe. Gazing
nowhere in particular, the slender
Thunderer surrounded by thunder,

Fire zigzag in his grasp, labeled "Spirit
Of Communication"---unhistorical,
Pure, the merciless messenger.

--from "A Phonebook Cover Hermes of the Nineteen-forties"

Innovative, engaging poems from a leading American poet.

Stone wheel that sharpens the blade that mows the grain,Wheel of the sunflower turning, wheel that turnsThe spiral press that squeezes the oil expressedFrom shale or olives. Particles that turn mudOn the potter's wheel that spins to form the vesselThat holds the oil that drips to cool the blade.--from "Biography"Jersey Rain takes up a central American subject: the emotional power of inventions, devices, and homemade imaginings -- from the alphabet and the lyre through the steel drum and piano to the record player, digital computer, and television. Formally innovative and highly readable poems like "ABC," "Ode to Meaning," "To Television," and "The Green Piano" meditate a life guided by the quick, artful tinkerer-god Hermes: deity of music and deception, escort of the dead, inventor of instruments, brilliant messenger, and trickster of heaven.

Tiptoe on the globe.
Gazing
nowhere in particular, the slender
Thunderer surrounded by thunder,

Fire zigzag in his grasp, labeled "Spirit
Of Communication"---unhistorical,
Pure, the merciless messenger.

--from "A Phonebook Cover Hermes of the Nineteen-forties"

Jersey Rain -- at once complex and aboveboard -- marks a new, strong, lyrical stage of Robert Pinsky's work. Assembled here are poems -- some of the finest of his career -- that together compose a sweeping and embattled meditation on the themes of a life guided by Hermes: deity of music and deception, escort of the dead, inventor of instruments, brilliant messenger and trickster of heaven.

Customer Reviews:

There's a hidden depth here, at least in most of the poems.......2003-12-03

When I received "Jersey Rain" as a gift last year, I initially read it through once and put it down for a few months, deciding that Pinsky (more so even than Seamus Heaney or Derek Walcott) was a poet more concerned about pretentious mythological name-dropping than about true depth. I have since decided that my judgment was too harsh, and I've gone back and re-read some of the poems many times. I think "Samurai Song" stands as the strongest poem in here (not coincidentally, it makes no references to Greek mythology...) and is the one that I read most often. The other poems I especially enjoy are "The Knight's Prayer," "Victrola," "Steel Drum Variations," "Biography," "Song," "Ode to Meaning," "The Haunted Ruin" and "Vessel." Pinsky is able to achieve profundity in the most surprising ways, and is even able to poke fun at himself and his craft (witness "Ode to Meaning").

Contrary to some other reviewers, I find that "ABC," while it's a clever and fun experiment, fails in the last line ("X = your zenith" What the hell does that mean?). Nevertheless, for those looking for some breathtaking poetry with a good balance between pretension (which, as I've come to realize, is not always a bad thing), lyricism and depth, "Jersey Rain" is a decent bet.

Hmmmmm............2001-09-08

A few good, solid poems here. Is it just me, however, or does anyone else out there feel the emperor is wearing increasingly fewer clothes? The technical control is masterful, yes, but I miss the greater vision of AN EXPLANATION OF AMERICA and Pinsky's other earlier works.

Pinsky's Vision.......2001-02-21

In what turns out to be quite an interesting collection of Poems, Robert Pinsky uses his stripped down style to convey his messages clearly, but with a sense of symbolism. In each writing, the point is introduced pretty early in the reading, and then expounded upon in ways that few poets I have encountered are able to. In addition, the length of each one is nearly perfect, keeping the reader's attention while still expressing exactly what Pinsky wants to say. I certainly recommend this book to anyone who has read poetry before and is interested in a slight change of pace.

"Sweet Time Unafflicted".......2000-11-10

First got cued to this book by Shawn Penn who took an extensive amount of time on Charlie Rose to explain the significance of "Sweet Time Unafflicted" from Pinsky's ABC in his own life. It is a simple, accesible beauty that Pinksy strives for and delivers, many of his poems focusing on contemporary themes and keeping their lexicon to the modern. As in ABC Pinsky builds several stanzas throughout the book on 26 word strings in alphabetical order. If as a reader you are interested in expanding your present interests into contemporary poetry the work of this Poet Laureate may be a sublimely fufilling place to begin.

Hey, man--I'm from Jersey too.......2000-04-04

A thin volume, full of jewles--dark-colored jewles, like rubies and emeralds, lit by candlelight inside a church. The secret to reading a Pinsky poem is to read it very slowly, out loud, annunciating each syllable as though it were its own line: you will realize that the slimness of this book is misleading. Pinsky seems to construct each of his poems out of perfect sound, so carefully that each line--free verse or otherwise--resonates with meaning and memorability, as anyone who has read THE FIGURED WHEEL will probably already know. A worthy addition to Pinsky's already rich body of work. I'm grateful to have read it.

JERSEY RAIN: POEMS

Average customer rating:

JERSEY RAIN: POEMS
ROBERT PINSKY
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OWT9KG

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