The Great Fires: Poems, 1982-1992

Jack Gilbert, in all probability, is the last of his kind. He is one of those exceptionally gifted poets who are almost completely oblivious of the power of their own poetry. That being true, his poetry is completely devoid of vanity, untouched by pedagogy and far from the commercial. However, at the same time, it borders on solipsism. Reading Gilbert, one realizes the joys of solitude as well as the pleasures of companionship. Gilbert sees poetry where others pontificate; he is astonishingly aware of the world around himself and would constantly surprise you by talking about something absolutely mundane in a completely refreshing way. That, for me, is the best kind of poetry because I can 'learn' something from it. Having read thousands of poets from all eras, I have realised that poetry has to go beyond pretty words -- it has to, in the end, mean something. I do not care much for the absurdism of poets like Paul Auster or John Ashbery because I do not wish to spend two days figuring out what Ashbery meant when he said:It was domestic thunder,The color of spinach. Popeye chuckled and scratchedHis balls: it sure was pleasant to spend a day in the country.(ref: ([...])The Great Fires is a book that will take you deep into the kernel of a man's grief and the simple pleasures of his life -- a life that he led far from everyone on remote greek islands, in unknown villages.Reading Gilbert _will_ change your life, if you are ready for him. He is a study in a life well lead: full of love, loss and a constant document of both.Allow yourself to be touched and moved forever. Get this book.

a purposeful poet who, while a contemporary of the beats, holds up far better after the reader turns 25. Bought this years ago and have read it if not every day then every week since. If you have doubts, find an interview by him (Paris Review or otherwise) and you'll get a sense of what he's about.

This is one of my favorite books of poetry ever. I wanted a fresh copy for my new home, but it came badly worn/damaged and I was super disappointed. It looks very used. Not a good experience buying from here. Would definitely look elsewhere to purchase this one!

I read this book because it was required for an advanced modern literature class. I didn't think I would like it but really enjoyed the content. Amazon definitely has the best prices and super fast shipping. Thanks again for a great Amazon purchase!

Here are some beautiful lyrical poems that contail a lot of narritive and personal moments. They are sad but in a way that diverts loneliness. I would recomment this book to anyone. Looking forward to his collected poems!

Great, but slow delivery.

Arrived early, Great Book!

Poet Jack Gilbert wrote his first book of poetry in 1962, "Views of Jeopardy," which attracted considerable media and critical acclaim and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. And then - retreat and isolation, almost as if the attention was too overwhelming for the then 37-year-old (and what do you for an encore?).In the intervening years, Gilbert continued to write and publish in various journals, and produced several other volumes of poetry, including "Monolithos" (1984), "The Great Fires" (1994), "Refusing Heaven" (2005), "Tough Heaven: Poems of Pittsburgh" (2006), "Transgressions" (UK, 2006), and "The Dance Most of All" (2009). He's now 84, and lives in Northampton, Mass.My introduction to Glibert's poetry has been "The Great Fires," which falls approximately in the middle between his triumphant first volume and the works published in the current decade. His poems are lyrical and clean, like clear ice. They suggest a distance, a separation. The poet is sitting on the side, detached, watching and not participating. From "The White Heart of God:"The snow falling around the man in the naked woodsis like the ash of heaven, ash from the cool fireof God's mother-of-pearl, moon-stately heart.sympathetic but not merciful. His strictnessparses us. The discomfort of living this waywithout birds, among maples without leaves, makesdeath and the world visible. Not the harshness,but the way the world can be known by pushingagainst it. And feeling something pushing back.The whiteness of the winter married to this riverMakes the water look black. The water actuallyis the color of giant mirrors set along the marblecorridors of the spirit, the mirrors emptyof everything. The man is doing the year's accounts...And there's a reason for the detachment - the poet, and the poems are haunted. All of these poems, some directly but most indirectly, even the ones about an affair with a Danish woman named Anna, are about the death of Gilbert's wife, Michiko Nogami, in 1982. The poem in the collection that bears her name:Michiko Nogami (1946-1982)Is she more apparent because she is notanymore forever? Is her whiteness more whitebecause she was the color of pale honey?A smokestack making the sky more visible.A dead woman filling the whole world. MichikoSaid, "The roses you gave me kept me awakeWith the sound of their petals falling."Haunted and haunting, indeed.

All good.

Such a beautifully honest set of poems, probably my favourite poetry book I've read this year.