Days We Would Rather Know

by Michael Blumenthal

Now back in print after more than 20 years, Michael Blumenthal's DaysWe WouldRather Know, originally published by Viking-Penguin and sold out in both itsoriginal printings, was one of the most admired, and most influential, books ofAmerican poetry of the l980s, and marked the auspicious continuation of one ofthe decade's most promising debuts. Of Michael Blumenthal's first book,Sympathetic Magic, Howard Nemerov said, "The last first book I remember ashaving this strangeness anddistinction was called Harmonium."That comparison to the work of Wallace Stevens was, if anything, more apt inthe case of this astonishing second collection, a collection that helpedestablish Mr. Blumenthal as a master of language in his own right. He worked hisbrand of magic with unforgettable imagery ("When your wife uttered your son likea large syllable into this world"), a lambent humor ("I wish Robert Rauschenbergwould take back his bathtub and his floating goat"), and a playful eroticism("My mouth puddles with bourbon and the taste of your thighs"). He revealed asensibility that conflates the present with the past, irreverently aligningpsychiatrists, baseball, and word processor courses alongside Odysseus,Rapunzel, and Rembrandt, and that lavishes on its subjects a vigorous andrefreshing sensuality.While different in scope, subject, and style, these seventy poems all bodyforth a central that-as reality is dissatisfying and satisfactionelusive-hope is in itself an antidote, and possibility is always invigorating."Love is rarely as exciting as the wish for love," writes Blumenthal; Days WeWould Rather Know suggests that we are as fulfilled,as animated, by ourlonging as by the resolution of those wishes.

Genres: Poetry

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tony Snyder]

Another achingly beautiful collection from Michael Blumenthal. Read it and find many reasons to be grateful for our place in the world as human beings.