The Birds of Pompeii

by John Ciardi

Poems deal with happiness, fragility, crime, education, parenthood, friendship, mortality, dreams, knowledge, and nature

Genres: Poetry

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1988

About the author

John Anthony Ciardi was an American poet, translator, editor, writer and etymologist.

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciardi's work puzzzles me. The work--I do not think the man--seems schizophrenic, an odd combination of, say, Kenneth Rexroth and John Ashbery. At times he tells a straight-forward tale, usually interesting, sometimes comic. This may be followed by the type of disjointed, incomprehensible poem written by the likes of Ashbery. Discarding the Ashbery-type poems raises Ciardi up several notches in my book.

I choose this book for the title. Surprisingly, it contains no poem of that title nor is Pompeii ever referenced. But I enjoyed it and am more fond of it than "39 Poems" which didn't melt my butter. Worth exploring.