Strand's poems occupy a place that exists between abstraction and the sensuous particulars of experience. It is a place created by a voice that mov...
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reviews
May 07, 2008
Philip
rated it: 
I'm guessing Strand won the Pulitzer more for the work he did BEFORE this book, rather than for this book itself. Not that the book was bad, I just don't think it was deserving of the Pulitzer.
The man is obviously brilliant. I particularly liked "Next Time," and the last of his "A Suite of Appearances." ("Will the same day ever come back, and with it Our amazement at having been in it, or will only a dark haze Spread at the back of the mind, erasing events More...
The man is obviously brilliant. I particularly liked "Next Time," and the last of his "A Suite of Appearances." ("Will the same day ever come back, and with it Our amazement at having been in it, or will only a dark haze Spread at the back of the mind, erasing events More...
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Dec 30, 2008
s
rated it: 
in Mark Strands' words:
I looked at Jane, whose brow was suddenly furrowed with concern. "Surely, Professor, the role of poetry is not just about helping us to remember what we felt at a particular time. This may happen to a poet as he's writing a poem, but certainly I don't read poems that way."
Jane was right. What I had told her and Dick was a fiction. I had invented inadequacy on the public's part and limitation on the poet's part. I knew very well that what More...
I looked at Jane, whose brow was suddenly furrowed with concern. "Surely, Professor, the role of poetry is not just about helping us to remember what we felt at a particular time. This may happen to a poet as he's writing a poem, but certainly I don't read poems that way."
Jane was right. What I had told her and Dick was a fiction. I had invented inadequacy on the public's part and limitation on the poet's part. I knew very well that what More...
Sep 10, 2010
Monte
rated it: 
Some Last Words
1
It is easier for a needle to pass through a camel
Than for a poor man to enter a woman of means.
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
2
Eventually, you slip outside, letting the door
Bang shut on your latest thought. What was it anyway?
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
3
"Negligence" is the perfume I love.
O Fedora. Fedora. If you want any,
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
4
The More...
1
It is easier for a needle to pass through a camel
Than for a poor man to enter a woman of means.
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
2
Eventually, you slip outside, letting the door
Bang shut on your latest thought. What was it anyway?
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
3
"Negligence" is the perfume I love.
O Fedora. Fedora. If you want any,
Just go to the graveyard and ask around.
4
The More...
Mar 01, 2010
Mia
rated it:
this whole collection of poetry did not grab me...but this line "Our masterpiece is the private life" and the poem it comes form stayed with me. I love the idea of a world created by two and in this world, unknown to the rest of the world, a masterpiece is created. He...re is the poem that this line comes from:
"And now, while the advocates of awfulness and sorrow
Push their dripping barge up and down the beach, let's eat
Our brill, and sip this beautiful w More...
"And now, while the advocates of awfulness and sorrow
Push their dripping barge up and down the beach, let's eat
Our brill, and sip this beautiful w More...
Aug 02, 2011
Jeremy Allan
rated it:
This was not the Mark Strand that I wanted to read. There are moments of beauty, of unique vision, of the well-wrought line and the inspired attention. There are fine fine poems. But this is not a book like Reasons for Moving or Darker, where every word seems placed with purpose and at the expense of a thousand lines that had been erased. Where there are meditations, they are meandering, to my mind. This book is loose.
Which is not to say that Blizzard of One contains bad poems, flabby More...
Which is not to say that Blizzard of One contains bad poems, flabby More...
Jul 08, 2010
Justin
rated it:
These are the poems of a man in his twilight years: cyclical, preoccupied with terminability, results of the conclusion that life doesn't make much sense. Little joy escapes the labored breathing. Each poem seems to erase itself as it is read. Strand's trademark strict scope doesn't help to differentiate pieces, his long lines, while masterful, lack moments, and the collective hum of the book is monophonic. By no means "at the peak of his career," Blizzard of One does indeed document a
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Jul 23, 2009
Bonnie
rated it:
The former poet laureate of the US, Mark Strand writes his Blizzard of One beautifully. Simple, complicated, plain, overwhelming, a regular dichotomy. Perhaps that's why I liked this small book of poetry so much. Only regret is I wish it were more voluminous and that I had the time to read it again and again. Well, I have the time, but being my usual unsatisfied self, am moving on to the stack of books that weep at my bedside for me.
Jul 28, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
There's something about Mark Strand. A polished elegance, I guess you might say, or a pleasing monotony of structure and subject. If there is a Blizzard of One to be found, it's the similarity of everything Mr Strand writes. It's good, but don't expect wild leaps of invention here.
Aug 01, 2011
Ronald
rated it: 
This book of poetry had more variety than the poet's Dark Harbor, which I had just read, but once again I was able to enjoy only momentary glimpses at meaning from its contents. I learned of this book of poetry from a tribute to Strand's birthday (04/11/1934) on Garrison Keilor's Writer's Almanac.
Feb 28, 2009
Harold
rated it:
I read a few of these poems every time I am near a copy of this book. I have yet to read all of them but I suppose I should get my own copy. (I love the way this edition is printed, by the way.)
Sep 07, 2010
Katie
rated it:
Smooth poems; easy to read. Each poem is a little thought that thinks itself out, a little abstractly, in a likable voice. Halfway through, I wanted them each to have more development.
Jul 14, 2011
Davina
rated it:
The first book of poetry that I could genuinely appreciate and take on its own terms without caviling about "meaning" or "subjectivity." Really, really beautiful.
Aug 08, 2011
Dan
rated it:
I thoroughly enjoyed half the poems and felt indifferent towards the rest. Don't miss "A Suite of Appearances", "Precious Little", "The Next Time", and "The View".
Mar 01, 2009
Jess
rated it:
When it's good, it's very very good. The kind of poetry where you say "whoa" after reading it. The rest of the time it's OK.
love, love, love the title
Feb 22, 2010
Sunny
rated it:
One of my favorite poets. There is very little Strand that I do not find worth the read.
Jun 27, 2008
Jeffrey
rated it:
OK, he's great. A genius. A Pulitzer Prize winner. He's damn good but . . . I just can't get Simic's singularity out of my head when I read other poets. Don't get me wrong, there are others (Sorry, Chalres): Russell Edson, Wislawa Szymborska. But it's kind of like listening to Led Zeppelin and then you go to Deep Purple or Ozzie. Great stuff, but thunderhead genius is so rare.
Dec 09, 2008
Miriam
rated it:
I settled on 4 stars because I would give some of the poems 5 and others 3 or maybe 2. The section which opened the collection was amazing but I felt the works got steadily lower in quality as the book progressed.
Jun 01, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
Mark Strand quickly became one of my favorite poets. This work deals with temporality, impermanence, and life all with a light touch. It's similar to Zen koans.
Jan 22, 2008
I hadn't read Strand in years and then a friend, Steve Gibson, said I had to read this collection. He was right. "The Delirium Waltz," especially, is a favorite.
Feb 10, 2008
Kristine
rated it:
What can I say? It's Mark Strand. His poems are simultaneously insightful, witty, and lyrical.
Mar 05, 2007
Dominic
rated it:
Like i said, i'm not a big fan of poetry. but this was quite readable. at least a few pages a night.
Sep 17, 2008
Alexa
rated it:
If ever there was an author who could write my dreams, it would be Mark Strand.
