In his seventh book, Carl Dennis explores the ways in which our wishes - those in our power to fulfill at any moment and those that have no chance of ever being realized - define who we are. While some of the poems view wishing as a failure to do justice to the world we have, others regard it as a recognition that no present, however rich, can satisfy the imagination, and suggest that one of the functions of poetry is to keep significant wishes alive. In showing with moving clarity how wishes are essential to giving shape and direction to the moment, these poems make use of a rich variety of genres: elegy, advice, meditation, warning, consolation, and prophecy.
Carl Dennis is the author of 13 previous works of poetry, as well as a collection of essays, Poetry as Persuasion. In 2000 he received the Ruth Lilly Prize for his contribution to American poetry. His 2001 collection Practical Gods won the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Buffalo, New York.
View titles by Carl Dennis
Ranking the WishesFall Cedar Point Time Zones Loss Days of Heaven To Reason Gifts Pendulum Parley Seven Days Sarit Narai Holy Brethren Swindle Say It Night Drive The Line Tune-Up The Canvasser Knocks Aunt Celia As If The Messenger The Great Day The Pond in Winter All I've Wanted Inventory The Pancake Hour To the Soul Distinctions Land and Sea Grace Consolation Bivouac Near Trenton Genres Two or Three Wishes Integer Writing at Night Still Life Starry Night Your City
In his seventh book, Carl Dennis explores the ways in which our wishes - those in our power to fulfill at any moment and those that have no chance of ever being realized - define who we are. While some of the poems view wishing as a failure to do justice to the world we have, others regard it as a recognition that no present, however rich, can satisfy the imagination, and suggest that one of the functions of poetry is to keep significant wishes alive. In showing with moving clarity how wishes are essential to giving shape and direction to the moment, these poems make use of a rich variety of genres: elegy, advice, meditation, warning, consolation, and prophecy.
Carl Dennis is the author of 13 previous works of poetry, as well as a collection of essays, Poetry as Persuasion. In 2000 he received the Ruth Lilly Prize for his contribution to American poetry. His 2001 collection Practical Gods won the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Buffalo, New York.
View titles by Carl Dennis
Table of Contents
Ranking the WishesFall Cedar Point Time Zones Loss Days of Heaven To Reason Gifts Pendulum Parley Seven Days Sarit Narai Holy Brethren Swindle Say It Night Drive The Line Tune-Up The Canvasser Knocks Aunt Celia As If The Messenger The Great Day The Pond in Winter All I've Wanted Inventory The Pancake Hour To the Soul Distinctions Land and Sea Grace Consolation Bivouac Near Trenton Genres Two or Three Wishes Integer Writing at Night Still Life Starry Night Your City