The Wilds (New California Poetry)

By Mark Levine and Mark Levine

Book Overview

In his third book of poems, Mark Levine continues his exploration of the rhythms and forms of memory. The Wilds is set in the border regions between natural and cultivated states, childhood and adulthood, past and present. "We were boys," says the speaker of the opening poem, "boyish, almost girls./Left alone on the roof, we would have dwindled." Austere and lyrical, the music of these poems resonates with echoes of poetic tradition-Wyatt, Jonson, Milton, Eliot-yet is singularly modern.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520240413
• ISBN13: 9780520240414
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 74 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.9" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Different than different, but certainly not indifferent

These poems are inspiring in their unique voice. Tired of the same-old, same-old? Try these. Passionate in their pursuit of reality, poignant in their descriptions of a coming of age, and lighthearted in their playfulness with rhythm, lyric, and wit. Unashamed of occasional awkwardness in both expression and content, elevating that awkwardness to grace in the light of honest attempts to see just what is really going on. Each one is a stylish riddle. Some are grotesque, yet somehow manage to mitigate their dark subject matter with the stark gravity of observation itself. Some are a testament to the uncomplicated wisdom of the natural world. Some force you to acknowledge the unlikely interdependencies of underestimated characters, avoiding the distractions of cultural judgment. All through clever yet casual arrangements of words that reflect the clever yet casual arrangement of the world we all experience. Try out these poems and you'll find a door opened where the poetic form has new possibilities.