The Complete Poems of Kenneth Rexroth

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Customer Reviews

Among the Best Works of the Century
Aftering having read the majority of this volume, I am immeasurably impressed. Kenneth Rexroth is the real deal and encompasses a vast array of human life including nature, mysticism, mathematics, science, social issues, history, various cultures and an incredible lyricism that weaves it all together. I find something lacking in most of the authors that I read, included many revered to be among the best, though I can't seem to get enough of Rexroth, especially the longer poems that unfold like great narratives bringing in abstraction to his poetic technique. It is evident that he does not use words to impress, but is incredibly well-studied and compassionate enough to have purpose in all that he wrote. This is what poety is all about. The entire thing reverberates with power and beauty from the early poems that he composed, to the bulk written at the height of his power, to the more reflective ones at the end of his career. The introduction by Sam Hamill is of short length and is excellent as well.

Support local bookstores if you can.

2005-04-30 | Publicagent | Helpful Votes: 11 | Rating: 5

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Highly Recommended
This collection of Rexroth's complete poetry is long overdue. Maybe this volume will force academia to revisit his work and finally place him among the greatest American poets of the last century, which is precisely where he belongs. His poetry is learned and has a deceptive simplicity. With the exception of his early cubist work, his poetry is remarkable for its clarity. He wrote some of the finest nature and love poetry of his generation. The beauty of Rexroth's poetry is that the reader gets to experience what it is like to engage with life fully. Buy a copy for yourself as well as one for a friend. You will not regret it.

2004-12-12 (USA) | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 5

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An entomologist, not a bug.
Kenneth Rexroth was one of the most significant and influential American poets of the last half of the 20th century. This long overdue volume collects all his published poetry, as well as a wealth of previously uncollected material. Rexroth's erudition is remarkable, and his strongly syllabic verse is sometimes subtle, sometimes didactic, but always richly musical and intellectually sophisticated. His long poems, particularly "The Phoenix and the Tortoise" and "The Dragon and the Unicorn" are especially recommended, as are the "translations" he wrote in the guise of a Japanese woman poet, "The Love Poems of Marichiko."

Rexroth has for too long been overshadowed by his brief association with the Beats. Hopefully, this collection will demonstrate the lasting contribution he made to American literature.

Now with any luck Sam Hamill and Company at Copper Canyon will see fit to publish a collected translations, and perhaps a collected prose...

2003-01-06 (Santa Cruz, CA United States) | Helpful Votes: 28 | Rating: 5

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The Selected Poems of Kenneth Rexroth

Product Details

• Brainwash: USED - Very Good
• ISBN13: 9780811209175
• Notes: BUY WITH Certitude, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and secondment to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Description

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Customer Reviews

Rexroth, A great Teacher in San Francisco
I am amazed whe I go into a bookstore in San Francisco and find that they don't carry any of Kenneth Rexroth' many books. For many of us that lived in San Francisco during his life he was the teacher. Very few creative artists have been as generous in praising other artists.

His poetry has it's own flavor. Particularly touching are the series written over many years about his first wife Andree. Go to the library!read him!

1999-11-25 (San Francisco, CA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

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One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Book)

Description

incl 35 poems by Tu Fu & other later poets

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Customer Reviews

An excellent translation of Chinese poems.
I have been a lover of poetry for most of my life. My favorite type of poetry is Japanese; however, I have grown to also love Chinese poetry. This fantastic book provides a series of Chinese poems that are both beautiful and meaningful. In most cases, Chinese poetry seems to have longer verses than Japanese poetry, but fortunately, they are still shorter than most western poetry. I have found myself reading this text numerous times because of the beauty and symmetry of the poetry. In conclusion, this book should be in the collection of everyone who loves Asian poetry. Rating: 4 stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Season of the Warrior: A poetic tribute to warriors)

2009-06-14 | warriorwriter (Chicago, Il) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Simply the Best!
Like several of the other reviewers I've had this book for years. Rexroth is simply terriffic! If for nothing else read this book for its superlative essays on the various poets given as end notes. Rexroth later included the essay on Tu Fu in his collection The Classics Reclassified. The final sentence reads "Poetry like Tu Fu's answers the question 'What is the purpose of art?'".

2009-03-15 (West Haven, CT USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound.
Since I returned from my first trip to China, I have become fascinated with Chinese culture and history.

I don't know much about poetry except that I like what I like (what moves and inspires me).

Something tells me that these translations are as much Kenneth Rexroth as they are the Chinese masters, which is fine with me because it is obvious that Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound.

I think it does justice to the integrity of this body of literature.

Particularly moving to me are the translations of Mei Yaochen whose poems dealing with his dead wife reveal a passion and respect for wamnhood that bellies our general notion of woman's treatment and subserviant place in China; and the poems of Madame Chu Shu Chen who is also very passionate in her feeling as a woman in China.

Comparisons: translations by Greg Wincup; Xu Yuan Zhong; Tony Barnstone

2007-06-19 | Joe Anthony (Massachusetts, USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Rexroth helped usher in a new era of great translations
This highly portable collection demonstrates the posture a translator must take when approaching the rich body of ancient Chinese poetry. Rexroth masterly retains the playfulness and humanity that allow these poems to endure through the centuries and yet he regards these rare artifacts with reverence.

These poems are a great introduction to several key poets, both male and female, from several Chinese dynasties.

2005-08-29 (Lancaster, PA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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A genuine delight
You *NEED* this book. Every library ought to have a heart. And this book is an excellent place to start.

2005-07-23 (Suburbia) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

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The Relevance of Rexroth

Description

Topics include Life and Literature, Magnanimity and Mysticism, Society and Revolution. Bibliographic Remarks.

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Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth

Description

one third of the book devoted to his translations

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Customer Reviews

Clear as spring water reflecting the night sky
There's no mistaking a Kenneth Rexroth poem -- intelligence, erudition, intensity, and precise beauty are always present. These qualities are demonstrated to magnificent effect in this collection of love poems ... but forget about any vapid associations the phrase "love poems" might have, because these pages are a contained universe of life & emotion. This is adult work in the best sense of the word, intended for a thoughtful & passionate audience.

All of Rexroth's learning is in these lines, but he never flaunts it or calls attention to it. No, it's simply there, like the grain in a fine piece of carved wood. The tone is both observant and intensely engaged, reminiscent of the Chinese & Japanese poets he loved & translated so superbly. Yet it's always his own distinctive voice we hear, never just a pale imitation of those other poets. These are poems about nature, about love, sexuality, the modern world, literature, spirituality -- all woven together into an intricate golden braid, apparently without any effort.

If you're looking for "nice," obvious greeting card verse, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you want poetry that's as rich & complex as love itself, then you'll find it in this volume -- most highly recommended!

2008-07-11 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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One of the greatest books of love poetry ever published
Rexroth's poems are expansive, lucid, and human. His is a great heart, a great mind, and a consummate poetic talent. These are poems for the ages and the fact that they are in print 20 years after his death attests to that fact.

2003-10-24 | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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At the heart of Rexroth is Rexroth's heart
Rexroth's relationships with women were equal parts passion and turmoil. He was married four times. In addition, both during and between marriages he indulged in numerous affairs. Interestingly, his love poetry stands in stark contrast to the rather painful bent of his personal romantic life. "Sacramental Acts" culls the best of Rexroth's love poetry from his entire career. The result is an ode to a romantic ideal. Given the accessible style of Rexroth's love poetry, this title makes a wonderful library addition for even the most casual poetry fan. On a more scholarly plane, Rexroth viewed human awareness and interaction as threefold concetric circles. At the center was the individual. The next ring was the "beloved". Outermost was society et al. "Sacramental Acts" is the heart and voice of the second ring.

1998-03-20 | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 5

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One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

Product Details

• Notes: BUY WITH Certitude, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and utilization to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780811201810
• Acclimatize: New

Description

Rexroth's classic best-selling anthology

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Customer Reviews

A feast for the heart, soul and mind.
I have loved almost anything Asian most of my life. May be this is why I have not only been a life-time student of several martial arts, but also of Asian philosophy, art and poetry. One of my favorite books of poetry has been this collection. Unlike much of western poetry, which sometimes rambles on and on with no purpose, most of the Japanese and Asian approach to poetry is to have you experience a slice of life in a short sentence. The beauty of this book is that the author has each selection written in English, Japanese and in Kanji characters. Over the years, I have read this volume numerous times and it is always a joy. In conclusion, this is a book for anyone who is interested in Japanese poetry. Rating 4 stars. Joseph J. Truncale

2009-06-13 | warriorwriter (Chicago, Il) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Spare Beauty
I won't even begin to pretend that I can critique a book that is so beautiful in the art of Japanese poetry....but I will say that the spare, disciplined beauty of the the poems evoke such emotion from me.

When I was falling in love, my love was in the UK...I sent him this book because I loved it so much and wanted to share it. We tried (clumsily) to text each other in the Haiku style when we thought of something...a sweet memory!

Anyway this book is a must have. Also, there is a great preface by the man who collected the poems and it's very educational.

2009-01-10 (Milford, PA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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And Now For Something Completely Different
Many decades ago as I was standing in a seemingly endless line at the college bookstore waiting to pay for my texts, I happened to pick up a copy of Kenneth Rexroth's 100 POEMS FROM THE JAPANESE and started thumbing through it in order to kill some time while I waited...and waited...and waited for my turn at the register. By the time I finally made it up there I couldn't have cared less, I was totally engrossed in the small volume that had been meant merely to keep me from thoughts of violence as I continued to wait...and wait...and wait. I knew that I had to have this book, I had fallen in love with Japanese poetry. Since that day I've had 3 copies of the book in all. The first was stolen by a "friend", the second died from over-work, and the third is sitting in front of me as I try to cobble together this review.

I had long hated poetry since its writers tended to exhume every archaic word they knew and went on for as long as they possibly could until they had finally beaten what ever sentiment, or thought they had tried to express into into a gelatinous pulp and left it and the reader whimpering on the floor in helpless submision. Writers of Western and European poetry that is. For when I openned Rexroth's book I learned there was an alternative to the pompous florid verbosity of Western poets and it could be found in the powerful, exquisitely crafted yet extremely economical poetry of Japan.

There are several different poetic forms and a great many shadings and other things to be concerned with, as in the works of all poets, and Rexroth deals with these things both in his introduction as well as in individual notes in the back of the book. He explains everything you need to know in order to understand these poems if you're interested in going beneath their surface beauty. Each poem is presented in romanized Japanese as well as English, which is a nice bonus, and each poet has his own little section. Every poet's name is presented in calligraphy down the side of each page.

This is an extraordinary collection of poems translated by a man who himself is an extraordinary poet. Perhaps the best way to convice you might be to offer one or two of my favorites and let you see for yourself what treasures this book has to offer.

A strange old man
Stops me,
Looking out of my deep mirror. HITOMARO

Although I hide it
My love shows in my face
So plainly that he asks me,
"Are you thinking of something?" TAIRA NO KANEMORI


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2008-08-05 | Nickname: Queen B (the inner reaches of the outer limits) | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 5

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Delicate, fragile, elegant
In freshman year of high school, I went through an "Asian" phase, I guess, and this was one of the books I bought. The poetry carried me to a world (or rather, Japan) of times past. It's amazing how such short pieces could impact so much. I especially liked that Rexroth included the Japanese words with the poems (even though I know about 20 words of Japanese). However, then (and now), many of the references to various objects and places in the poems went over my head since I have little background in Japanese history or literature (everything I know about Japan, I learned from anime and the three week unit on Asia in World History class). For instance, I never heard of the River Izumi and plains of Mika nor did I know the importance of the Isle of Awaji (let alone where it was). So some of the poems, though they sounded beautiful, were little more than entertaining to me. I lost the significance and meaning. Fortuneately, Rexroth provides a guide in the back to the poets and some of the works in this collection.
If you've never read Japanese poetry before (or read very little), this book is a good introduction. However, having familiarity with Japanese places, literature and symbols helps, since you won't have to flip to the back every other poem.

2004-12-22 | Beginner Teacher (Chicago, IL) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Simply beautiful
Rexroth neither adds or takes anything away. The book is brilliantly styled, and his notes are truly informative. A definite must have.

2003-08-18 | calliope (Richmond, Virginia United States) | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

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