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The Sea and the Honeycomb: A Book of Tiny Poems
The purpose of 'The sea and the honeycomb' is to provide examples of what has been done so far in Europe, America, and Asia with the poem of three or four lines. Epigrams have not been included. This book is interested in another sort of poem which tries, in the words of Juan Ramon Jiménez, to arrive at the greatest possible richness by the simplest possible means. The book contains English language poems, as well as poems translated from ancient and modern languages ... Significantly enlarged from the original Sixties Press publication, the book also includes foreign language texts, and an introductory essay by Robert Bly.
- From back cover.
- From back cover.
- GenresPoetry
107 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
Robert Bly
283 books424 followersRobert Bly was an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.
Robert Bly was born in western Minnesota in 1926 to parents of Norwegian stock. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and spent two years there. After one year at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, he transferred to Harvard and thereby joined the famous group of writers who were undergraduates at that time, which included Donald Hall, Adrienne Rich, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Harold Brodky, George Plimpton, and John Hawkes. He graduated in 1950 and spent the next few years in New York living, as they say, hand to mouth.
Beginning in 1954, he took two years at the University of Iowa at the Writers Workshop along with W. D. Snodgrass, Donald Justice, and others. In 1956 he received a Fulbright grant to travel to Norway and translate Norwegian poetry into English. While there he found not only his relatives but the work of a number of major poets whose force was not present in the United States, among them Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Gunnar Ekelof, Georg Trakl and Harry Martinson. He determined then to start a literary magazine for poetry translation in the United States and so begin The Fifties and The Sixties and The Seventies, which introduced many of these poets to the writers of his generation, and published as well essays on American poets and insults to those deserving. During this time he lived on a farm in Minnesota with his wife and children.
In 1966 he co-founded American Writers Against the Vietnam War and led much of the opposition among writers to that war. When he won the National Book Award for The Light Around the Body, he contributed the prize money to the Resistance. During the 70s he published eleven books of poetry, essays, and translations, celebrating the power of myth, Indian ecstatic poetry, meditation, and storytelling. During the 80s he published Loving a Woman in Two Worlds, The Wingéd Life: Selected Poems and Prose of Thoreau,The Man in the Black Coat Turns, and A Little Book on the Human Shadow.
His work Iron John: A Book About Men is an international bestseller which has been translated into many languages. He frequently does workshops for men with James Hillman and others, and workshops for men and women with Marion Woodman. He and his wife Ruth, along with the storyteller Gioia Timpanelli, frequently conduct seminars on European fairy tales. In the early 90s, with James Hillman and Michael Meade, he edited The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, an anthology of poems from the men's work. Since then he has edited The Darkness Around Us Is Deep: Selected Poems of William Stafford, and The Soul Is Here for Its Own Joy, a collection of sacred poetry from many cultures.
Robert Bly was born in western Minnesota in 1926 to parents of Norwegian stock. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and spent two years there. After one year at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, he transferred to Harvard and thereby joined the famous group of writers who were undergraduates at that time, which included Donald Hall, Adrienne Rich, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Harold Brodky, George Plimpton, and John Hawkes. He graduated in 1950 and spent the next few years in New York living, as they say, hand to mouth.
Beginning in 1954, he took two years at the University of Iowa at the Writers Workshop along with W. D. Snodgrass, Donald Justice, and others. In 1956 he received a Fulbright grant to travel to Norway and translate Norwegian poetry into English. While there he found not only his relatives but the work of a number of major poets whose force was not present in the United States, among them Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Gunnar Ekelof, Georg Trakl and Harry Martinson. He determined then to start a literary magazine for poetry translation in the United States and so begin The Fifties and The Sixties and The Seventies, which introduced many of these poets to the writers of his generation, and published as well essays on American poets and insults to those deserving. During this time he lived on a farm in Minnesota with his wife and children.
In 1966 he co-founded American Writers Against the Vietnam War and led much of the opposition among writers to that war. When he won the National Book Award for The Light Around the Body, he contributed the prize money to the Resistance. During the 70s he published eleven books of poetry, essays, and translations, celebrating the power of myth, Indian ecstatic poetry, meditation, and storytelling. During the 80s he published Loving a Woman in Two Worlds, The Wingéd Life: Selected Poems and Prose of Thoreau,The Man in the Black Coat Turns, and A Little Book on the Human Shadow.
His work Iron John: A Book About Men is an international bestseller which has been translated into many languages. He frequently does workshops for men with James Hillman and others, and workshops for men and women with Marion Woodman. He and his wife Ruth, along with the storyteller Gioia Timpanelli, frequently conduct seminars on European fairy tales. In the early 90s, with James Hillman and Michael Meade, he edited The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, an anthology of poems from the men's work. Since then he has edited The Darkness Around Us Is Deep: Selected Poems of William Stafford, and The Soul Is Here for Its Own Joy, a collection of sacred poetry from many cultures.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 14, 2021
A selection of extremely short poems by male authors.
Poetry Review: The Sea and the Honeycomb is subtitled "A Book of Tiny Poems," which appealed to me as I'm a great admirer of short poems. I love haiku. With a brief poem I figure the reader has a fighting chance of getting somewhere. The Sea and the Honeycomb is a random collection of short poems, seemingly only guided by the editor's whims as to which poems he's chosen to collect or translate (many are translated by the editor). Bly seems to like poems that appear mystical or at least open-ended. As when "the poet takes the reader to the edge of a cliff, as a mother eagle takes its nestling, and then drops him." (A telling sentence.) By no stretch would I say it's a collection of the best short poems. But there is some variety here. The Sea and the Honeycomb is divided into various themes such as "Divinities of the Snow," "The Hill in the Mist," or "Love Poems." There are several haiku and poems influenced by haiku. Surprisingly, Walt Whitman has a number of entries and quite a few are by Sixties poet Saint Geraud (one-time pen name of Bill Knott). There are Spanish, French, Arab, Japanese, and American poets. One selection is by a British author and none are by women. [3★]
Poetry Review: The Sea and the Honeycomb is subtitled "A Book of Tiny Poems," which appealed to me as I'm a great admirer of short poems. I love haiku. With a brief poem I figure the reader has a fighting chance of getting somewhere. The Sea and the Honeycomb is a random collection of short poems, seemingly only guided by the editor's whims as to which poems he's chosen to collect or translate (many are translated by the editor). Bly seems to like poems that appear mystical or at least open-ended. As when "the poet takes the reader to the edge of a cliff, as a mother eagle takes its nestling, and then drops him." (A telling sentence.) By no stretch would I say it's a collection of the best short poems. But there is some variety here. The Sea and the Honeycomb is divided into various themes such as "Divinities of the Snow," "The Hill in the Mist," or "Love Poems." There are several haiku and poems influenced by haiku. Surprisingly, Walt Whitman has a number of entries and quite a few are by Sixties poet Saint Geraud (one-time pen name of Bill Knott). There are Spanish, French, Arab, Japanese, and American poets. One selection is by a British author and none are by women. [3★]
January 9, 2025
There was something about this book that drew me in from among the hundreds of others in my university library, and I'm so glad I took the time to read and savor each poem. It's incredible to see how ordinary words are woven together to create deep, vibrant meaning and forge a connection with the reader. This collection is also a reminder to look for beauty everywhere, whether in stressful or peaceful moments. As the poet wisely notes, 'The strength of a new form is that it makes both poet and reader aware of feelings they'd hardly noticed before. Most of the emotions we experience are fleeting—they appear suddenly and vanish.'
January 1, 2025
I haven’t read a poetry book in a while and decided to conquer one of the few I had on my shelf— this was a composition of a lot of short poems. I’m always amazed by the ability to put so much imagery and meaning into so few words. I enjoyed several poems from this collection and the note at the beginning, did not connect with all of them though.
November 23, 2021
Bly was a great anthologist and translator. I don't think I necessarily would have found my way to Kabir, Tranströmer, Vallejo or Machado without his guidance. His book of "tiny poems" The Sea and the Honeycomb in particular was a revelation.
June 22, 2018
Read in college and recently re-read.
November 1, 2018
The poems are short but beautifully rendered. Each one is worthy of long contemplation. A poetry lover's delight!
October 4, 2010
Hard to criticize a book that has poems from Basho to Whitman -- who knew Walt could write tiny poems? -- but I found this a very masculine collection.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews