Not till we are lost : poems / William Wenthe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wenthe, William, 1957-

Language:

English

Physical Description:

56 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 2004.

Summary:

William Wenthe's second collection of poetry is a personal amplification of a passage from Henry Thoreau's Walden, "Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations." Beginning with the necessary dislocation and loss that accompany adulthood, these strong and moving poems tell of a man losing his way in the midst of personal tragedies -- the death of his parents and the end of a marriage -- only to discover the true depth of his connection with others and ultimately with the divine. In a variety of free verse, traditional forms, and sonnets, the poet begins to reassess his life and his art and considers the possibility that language may distance us from the real as much as bind us to it.

Contents:

Water Dish 1

After Moving to a Place Where I Do Not Know the Names of Plants and Birds 2

Sentimental Pictures 3

Descansado 5

Hammering Stones 7

Nostradamus 8

Trout Fishing in West Texas 10

Yerba Canyon 12

W. H. Auden, Leaving Lubbock, Texas, Writes a Sonnet 14

White Settlement 17

The Music Lesson 20

American Picture at Lumpkin's 22

A Photograph of Rilke 24

The Owl on Texas Avenue 26

The Daily News 28

Goldeneye 30

Gar 34

Story 35

Elegy in Waiting 37

Wildflowers 39

Redbud 40

Visitations 42

Bluebird and Comet 44

Poet after Stroke 46

The Red Sofa 47

The Ashes 49

The Mysteries 51.

ISBN:

0807129038

0807129046

OCLC:

52341562