A colorful tour through the enthralling world of antique oriental carpets and its unusual characters that is also an honest and often humorous meditation about beautiful objects and our impulse to collect them.One day, the prizewinning poet George Bradley happened to take note of a carpet that had lain beneath his feet for decades. Carefully studying its weave and pattern, he was astonished by its complexity and allure. He became suddenly fascinated, and his newfound curiosity about oriental rugs sent him on a thrilling collecting adventure, introducing him to a little-known realm in which beauty, artistry, business, and history collide.Carpet Diem chronicles Bradley’s exploration of the world of oriental carpets, one in which he falls in love with a variety of captivating rugs and learns about the cultural background of the people who made them. A journey from innocence to experience, this entertaining account includes his encounters with the dealers, collectors, scroungers, restorers, and connoisseurs who inhabit an exotic and sometimes shady milieu. As he brings together his own story with those of these characters, he also tells some of the history of what is one of the world’s great art forms. Like Scheherazade, Bradley spins tale after tale about the sorts of gorgeous textiles found on the floors of mansions across Europe and America, in the portraits of Titian and Vermeer, in the faraway caves of Central Asia, and in bespoke shops of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Westport, Connecticut.A narrative nonfiction account that combines the mesmerizing storytelling found in The Arabian Nights with the pilgrimage into history that unfolds in The Silk Road and the dramatic compulsion to possess rare elegance that propels The Orchid Thief, Carpet Diem is an unusual and charming memoir that testifies to the intricate beauty woven into our world.Carpet Diem features eleven full-color photographs throughout.This captivating journey into the art of collecting includes:A Poet’s Eye for Detail: Join a prizewinning poet on his journey from innocence to experience as a chance discovery of a family heirloom sends him on an adventure into the beautiful, and sometimes shady, world of antique rugs.Humorous Memoir: With the mesmerizing storytelling of The Arabian Nights and the obsessive drive of The Orchid Thief, this account is an honest and often funny meditation on the impulse to collect beautiful objects.Unforgettable Characters: Meet the dealers, collectors, scroungers, and connoisseurs who inhabit the exotic milieu of one of the world’s great, and little-known, art forms.Rich Art History: Follow the author as he learns the cultural background of the people who made these gorgeous textiles and tells the story of an art form found in masterpieces by Titian and Vermeer.

The winning volume in the 1985 Yales Series of Younger Poets competition is George Bradley's Terms to Be Met. As James Merrill, distinguished poet and judge of the competition, has said: "George Bradley belongs to a tradition of philosophical poets that includes Lucretius and Wallace Stevens. His lines are long, unfreighted, the easier to lift us to high and distant places, and to teach us to listen for 'the sound of the sun.'"

In 1919 Yale University Press inaugurated the Yale Series of Younger Poets, designed to "afford a public medium for the work of young men and women who have not yet secured a wide public recognition." This anthology of the longest-running poetry series in the United States tells the story of American poetry in this century. At first a forum for a conservative taste in parochial college verse, the Younger Poets Series soon opened up to unconventional but profound young talents from across the country—such as James Agee, Muriel Rukeyser, Margaret Walker, William Meredith, Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, John Hollander, James Tate, Carolyn Forché, and Robert Hass. This anthology includes poems from the first book by each of the 92 winners of the annual Younger Poets contest.The selections are accompanied by an introduction by George Bradley, the 1986 winner of the contest. Bradley charts the course of the series under the aegis of such contest judges as Stephen Vincent Benét, W. H. Auden, and James Merrill, lacing his narrative with anecdotes about the judges and winners. He also establishes the series’ vital role in the development of American poetry and American publishing. The anthology is divided into two sections: "The Early Years," which briefly presents the first 31 winners of the contest, and "The Modern Series," which gives ample room to display the early work of some of America's finest poets. All poets are introduced by a biographical headnote, and in the second section Bradley has added a brief commentary directing the reader to the salient features of each poet's work.

George Bradley's A Stroll in the Rain is at once a retrospective volume and a new advance in the career of one of our most accomplished poets. Distilling more than thirty-five years of his work, this volume exhibits a wide variety of styles and forms, ranging from brief lyric to extended verse essay, establishing moods that encompass humor, tenderness, and surprise. The substantial section of new work shows Bradley deepening his exploration of the only two topics finally available to any author: the mystery of human consciousness and the unassimilable fact of death.From agriculture to astrophysics, from New England winters to Tuscan summers, and much else besides, A Stroll in the Rain presents spirited, often witty poetry that is skillful, rich, and fun.

A colorful tour through the enthralling world of antique oriental carpets and its unusual characters that is also an honest and often humorous meditation about beautiful objects and our impulse to collect them.One day, the prizewinning poet George Bradley happened to take note of a carpet that had lain beneath his feet for decades. Carefully studying its weave and pattern, he was astonished by its complexity and allure. He became suddenly fascinated, and his newfound curiosity about oriental rugs sent him on a thrilling collecting adventure, introducing him to a little-known realm in which beauty, artistry, business, and history collide.Carpet Diem chronicles Bradley’s exploration of the world of oriental carpets, one in which he falls in love with a variety of captivating rugs and learns about the cultural background of the people who made them. A journey from innocence to experience, this entertaining account includes his encounters with the dealers, collectors, scroungers, restorers, and connoisseurs who inhabit an exotic and sometimes shady milieu. As he brings together his own story with those of these characters, he also tells some of the history of what is one of the world’s great art forms. Like Scheherazade, Bradley spins tale after tale about the sorts of gorgeous textiles found on the floors of mansions across Europe and America, in the portraits of Titian and Vermeer, in the faraway caves of Central Asia, and in bespoke shops of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Westport, Connecticut.A narrative nonfiction account that combines the mesmerizing storytelling found in The Arabian Nights with the pilgrimage into history that unfolds in The Silk Road and the dramatic compulsion to possess rare elegance that propels The Orchid Thief, Carpet Diem is an unusual and charming memoir that testifies to the intricate beauty woven into our world.Carpet Diem features eleven full-color photographs throughout.This captivating journey into the art of collecting includes:A Poet’s Eye for Detail: Join a prizewinning poet on his journey from innocence to experience as a chance discovery of a family heirloom sends him on an adventure into the beautiful, and sometimes shady, world of antique rugs.Humorous Memoir: With the mesmerizing storytelling of The Arabian Nights and the obsessive drive of The Orchid Thief, this account is an honest and often funny meditation on the impulse to collect beautiful objects.Unforgettable Characters: Meet the dealers, collectors, scroungers, and connoisseurs who inhabit the exotic milieu of one of the world’s great, and little-known, art forms.Rich Art History: Follow the author as he learns the cultural background of the people who made these gorgeous textiles and tells the story of an art form found in masterpieces by Titian and Vermeer.

The winning volume in the 1985 Yales Series of Younger Poets competition is George Bradley's Terms to Be Met. As James Merrill, distinguished poet and judge of the competition, has said: "George Bradley belongs to a tradition of philosophical poets that includes Lucretius and Wallace Stevens. His lines are long, unfreighted, the easier to lift us to high and distant places, and to teach us to listen for 'the sound of the sun.'"

In 1919 Yale University Press inaugurated the Yale Series of Younger Poets, designed to "afford a public medium for the work of young men and women who have not yet secured a wide public recognition." This anthology of the longest-running poetry series in the United States tells the story of American poetry in this century. At first a forum for a conservative taste in parochial college verse, the Younger Poets Series soon opened up to unconventional but profound young talents from across the country—such as James Agee, Muriel Rukeyser, Margaret Walker, William Meredith, Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, John Hollander, James Tate, Carolyn Forché, and Robert Hass. This anthology includes poems from the first book by each of the 92 winners of the annual Younger Poets contest.The selections are accompanied by an introduction by George Bradley, the 1986 winner of the contest. Bradley charts the course of the series under the aegis of such contest judges as Stephen Vincent Benét, W. H. Auden, and James Merrill, lacing his narrative with anecdotes about the judges and winners. He also establishes the series’ vital role in the development of American poetry and American publishing. The anthology is divided into two sections: "The Early Years," which briefly presents the first 31 winners of the contest, and "The Modern Series," which gives ample room to display the early work of some of America's finest poets. All poets are introduced by a biographical headnote, and in the second section Bradley has added a brief commentary directing the reader to the salient features of each poet's work.

George Bradley's A Stroll in the Rain is at once a retrospective volume and a new advance in the career of one of our most accomplished poets. Distilling more than thirty-five years of his work, this volume exhibits a wide variety of styles and forms, ranging from brief lyric to extended verse essay, establishing moods that encompass humor, tenderness, and surprise. The substantial section of new work shows Bradley deepening his exploration of the only two topics finally available to any author: the mystery of human consciousness and the unassimilable fact of death.From agriculture to astrophysics, from New England winters to Tuscan summers, and much else besides, A Stroll in the Rain presents spirited, often witty poetry that is skillful, rich, and fun.