Overview

These poems exhibit the range of Sam Hamill's celebrated practice and vision, from philosophical and discursive elements to the intensely lyrical, from his continuing poems of praise (and elegies) for fellow poets to the clear influence of the Zen classics he has so notably translated.

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9781931896405

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"""Throughout Sam Hamill's large body of work, there are poems that reach the sublime. They are powerful, combining an exquisite sensibility with directness of speech. Some of his lines are at the heart of poetry, and to read them is pure joy: 'Sustained by a few metaphors-- / the tale, the telling, / the mind's music, the heart's vision.'"" --Grace Schulman ""What I like about Sam Hamill's poetry is its not being in the least laidback and cool. In it, tears, laughter, anger, and sorrow contend, all set forth with passionate candor. Hamill's deep intimacy with classical literature of the West and the Orient gives many of his poems a graceful concision--as in the second part of his book, 'Lessons from Thieves.' 'My poetry will very likely die with me, ' the poet declares; but that isn't going to happen if Ezra Pound was right and 'In poetry, only emotion endures.'"" --X. J. Kennedy ""Written from the point of view of a cranky, wandering poet of the old kind--part sage, part soul of the Buddha, and part rascal--these poems delight, surprise, and teach important lessons of love, compassion, generosity of spirit, and ultimate patience, which the great teacher called 'the supreme austerity.' Because of this, and because Sam Hamill is one of the essential poetic and political voices of our time, these are necessary, no, essential poems that you will go back to again and again."" --Bruce Weigl"

Written from the point of view of a cranky, wandering poet of the old kind--part sage, part soul of the Buddha, and part rascal--these poems delight, surprise, and teach important lessons of love, compassion, generosity of spirit, and ultimate patience, which the great teacher called 'the supreme austerity.' Because of this, and because Sam Hamill is one of the essential poetic and political voices of our time, these are necessary, no, essential poems that you will go back to again and again. --Bruce Weigl

Author Information

Sam Hamill was an American poet who authored fourteen volumes of original poetry. In addition, he published three collections of essays and two dozen volumes translated from ancient Greek, Latin, Estonian, Japanese, and Chinese. He was a founding editor of Copper Canyon Press and director of Poets Against War. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He died in 2018.

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