Graywolf Press,U.S. – förlag

With incredible insight and love, Kim Stafford offers a view into the remarkable life of his father, the poet William StaffordThe unspoken deep affection he lived by was like the idea in his poem about the Eskimos—their disdain for "People who talk about God." In his world, a fact so pervasive as love never need be named.William Stafford wrote a poem nearly every day of his life, most often before dawn, as he lay on a much-used couch that bore the imprint of his body after years of use. He was a prolific, highly acclaimed poet, famous pacifist, and extraordinary friend to nearly everyone he met. But Kim was given perhaps his father's greatest gift—and greatest challenge—to be his literary executor. Carefully sifting through his father's papers—thousands of poems written on napkins, grocery receipts, letters—Kim follows a copious trail of words matched only by his father's silences. Kim is able to visit his father's life in a deeply personal way and, as a result, beautifully illuminates William Stafford as someone who was unafraid to stare into emptiness and to live a life so fully in the moment that he was able to touch countless lives with a single poem.

An eagerly awaited new collection of poems by contemporary favorite Tony Hoagland, author of Donkey GospelHow did I come to believe in a government called Tony Hoagland?With an economy based on flattery and self-protection?and a sewage system of selective forgetting?and an extensive history of broken promises?--from "Argentina"In What Narcissism Means to Me, award-winning poet Tony Hoagland levels his particular brand of acute irony not only on the personal life, but also on some provinces of American culture. In playful narratives, lyrical outbursts, and overheard conversations, Hoagland cruises the milieu, exploring the spiritual vacancies of American satisfaction. With humor, rich tonal complexity, and aggressive moral intelligence, these poems bring pity to our folly and celebrate our resilience.