How Much Earth: The Fresno Poets

by Christopher Buckley (Editor), David Oliveira (Editor), M.L. Williams (Editor)

In 1958, Philip Levine arrived at what is now known as California State University, Fresno, fresh from his studies with Yvor Winters at Stanford, and set out to build a poetry curriculum. Soon, he invited other talented poets to join him. What emerged over the next forty years became one of the most important regional American poetry movements of the second half of the twentieth century. Some of these writers were born or grew up in Fresno or the surrounding communities in the Central Valley. Some came to Fresno to study. Some were not students at all, but poets who were caught up in the excitement that spilled over to the community at large. Many have gone on to careers as poets, teachers, and editors influential in contemporary poetry.

_How Much Earth_ is a definitive collection of the best of the "Fresno School." Over fifty poets are represented, among them Levine, Larry Levis, Gary Soto, David St. John, Juan Felipe Herrera, Luis Omar Salinas, Peter Everwine, Lawson Fusao Inada, Dixie Salazar, and Corinne Hales. Author photos and statements on how Fresno influenced them are included. The introduction explores the impact of Levine’s influence on the American poetry scene far beyond the Central Valley, providing concise historical context.

Characterized by an observant tone—clear-eyed, pragmatic—the poems here are informed by the scene and excitement generated by Levine, his colleagues and visiting poets, and the fields and orchards surrounding Fresno. _How Much Earth_ is a crucial record of this major American literary movement.

Genres: Poetry

268 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2001

About the author

Christopher Buckley is a poet. For 2007-2008 he was a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry at the University of California Riverside.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Janet Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it that I personally know many of these poets!