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Dewey Decimal Number: 821.008 EAN: 9780847819584 ISBN: 0847819582 Label: Rizzoli International Publications Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 372 Publication Date: March 15, 1997 Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications Release Date: March 15, 1997 Studio: Rizzoli International Publications Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: A poet is a poet for such a very tiny bit of his life; for the rest he is a human being, one of whose responsibilities is to know and feel, as much as he can, all that is moving around and within him. --Dylan Thomas This unique volume celebrates poetry by providing a personal, intimate connection with the act of its creation. Based on an enormously successful exhibition at The New York Public Library, The Hand of the Poet draws the reader into the real world of the poet-- ink spots, tobacco stains, and all-- by presenting a wide range of working drafts, letters, diary entries, photographs, and memorabilia. One hundred writers from the seventeenth century to the present day are represented, from John Donne to Mark Strand, Samuel Coleridge to Anne Waldman, Lord Byron to Julia Alvarez, William Blake to Lorine Niedecker and Stanley Kunitz. Writers better known for their prose are included here as well-- Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov, among others. This book records the place of poetry in daily life and how, exactly, we turn to it as, in the words of Allen Ginsberg, not "just pretty or just beautiful," but "basic to human existence." As Dana Gioia notes in his introduction, "The Magical Value of Manuscripts," contact with handwritten manuscripts speaks to the same desire manifest in the explosion of poetry readings occurring today nationwide. Biographies and portraits of each poet-- alongside manuscripts of such legendary works as Yeats's "The Wild Swans at Coole" and W. H. Auden's "Stop All the Clocks"-- make up a mosaic that offers powerful and often surprising revelations of the person behind the poem. Illustrated with over three hundred black-and-white photographs, The Hand of the Poet is for those new to poetry as well as those for whom poetry has been a life-long passion. Following both the inspiration and the labors of these writers, readers may find themselves in the position of Ralph Waldo Emerson following the travels of Henry David Thoreau: "It was a pleasure and a privilege to walk with him. He knew the country like a fox or a bird, and passed through it as freely by paths of his own...." Average Rating:
 Rating:  - For the aspiring poet, a good readThere is something magical about seeing well known and loved poems in the poet's own hand... this book provides an interesting insight into the works of a good number of well-known poets. A must-have for those who read poetry with more than just a passing interest, this book is also a good starting point for biographical information. Nice photographs, and, when necessary, captions transcribing the poets' sometimes illegible handwriting make this book a gem. Perfect for browsing. Rating:  - Interesting, but is it worth it?I bought the book, and interesting as it is, I'm just not sure what it's worth to me as a lover of literature and as a writer. I like seeing some of the original manuscripts, the various pictures, and such, but that really didn't enlighten me to anything. Yes, there is a small biographical introduction to each writer, but it's so short as to be almost pointless. This is the kind of book you check out of the library, not buy. I don't want anyone to think it's not a good collection. It is. But I can't ... Read More Rating: - from the exhibitionthis was a nicely done book that helps show you the importance of the poet's original manuscript. all poets and poetry lovers should pick this one up. Rating: - a good representation of an excellent exhibitThis book is based on an 1996 exhibit in the New York Public Library which featured original material from one hundred poets, covering centuries of work, including poets as diverse as John Donne and Allen Ginsberg. Part of the appeal of the exhibit was seeing the actual original manuscripts, jotted notes, and correspondence right in front of you, and in that regard, the book can not live up. It is, nonetheless, excellent in its scope and interesting in its reproductions of the material from the exhibit. ... Read More Rating: - A nice gift bookContains reproductions of original manuscripts, about one page each, of a wide range of well known authors. Nicely bound and wrapped, a good gift especially for aspiring authors or people very involved in literature. 
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