At the Palace of Jove: Poems

by Karl Kirchwey

"Our favorite 'unsung' poet," were the words Chapters Bookstore used when including Karl Kirchwey's The Engrafted Word among their 1998 favorite books. Now, in this new volume, Kirchwey -whose work has garnered high praise from such poets as Richard Wilbur, John Hollander, and James Merrill and who has been the recipient of prestigious prizes and fellowships-continues his explorations into the impact of the past on the present. But he also adds a strong dimension of moral gravity and social satire along with a deeper-and deeply moving-element of the personal. At the Palace of Jove displays Kirchwey's great gifts, offering poems of uncommon wit, piercing intelligence, visionary clarity, and generous emotional power.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2002

Reviews

[Christina M M Rau · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have a strong grasp of myth and history and politics and you can easily decipher one from the other, then At The Palace Of Jove can be for you. I was swimming in confusion because the use of myth in these poems is not accessible as it can be when you don't know the details. I don't mind being confused when the poems have other qualities like striking images or word play, but, though these poems have those, they are not the strongest elements. Not even the section titles could help me. When I finished the first section, I went back and saw that it was called Satires, and I was like, That was satire? I usually "get it." Here, not so much. Then I got to the section called Imitations, which may as well be called "poems about the penis" because that's what I got from them, and I was happy that I finally understood something. Had Karl Krichwey included a study guide along with his collection, I would have liked it more since he's obviously a very skilled poet and knowledgable person.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very smart book. That's all.