If religious poetry may be thought of as a great river fed, in the English language, by two main streams--the devotional tradition, leading in recent times to Anne Sexton and John Berryman, and the contrastingly philosophical tradition, exemplified by William Blake--it is to the latter that this new book by Kelly Cherry belongs. In the poems of God's Loud Hand , Cherry conducts--often not at all devotionally, often with an honesty that precludes the emphasis on self that tends to be present in devotional poetry ("Lord ...
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If religious poetry may be thought of as a great river fed, in the English language, by two main streams--the devotional tradition, leading in recent times to Anne Sexton and John Berryman, and the contrastingly philosophical tradition, exemplified by William Blake--it is to the latter that this new book by Kelly Cherry belongs. In the poems of God's Loud Hand , Cherry conducts--often not at all devotionally, often with an honesty that precludes the emphasis on self that tends to be present in devotional poetry ("Lord save me," "Lord forgive me," "Lord help me")--a metaphorical investigation of the theological ideas. These are fiercely intellectual poems, which, in the way of T.S. Eliot, are more akin in their stringent analysis to Tillich or Niebuhr, perhaps, than to someone like Simone Weil. At their base in a willingness to ask Abraham's great question, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth judge wisely?" This intellectual boldness reveals itself in a formal argumentation rare in contemporary poetry. Like Donne or Hopkins, Kelly Cherry defines her terms, orders her points logically--no vagary or sentimentality appears here. The result of such exactitude is a kind of clarity, a grace, that seems to lift the poems off the page, to cause them to rise, make their own kind of ascension. It is as if these poems were larks--an exaltation of larks, as they say--that rise each morning to heaven's gate, but instead of singing hymns, they sing philosophy's own music. And in what a remarkable variety of keys, what a range of modes and moods. From the opening poems of historical and mythological drama, through the passionate love songs of the second sections, through the dark night of the soul that takes place in the third, to the orchestral outburst of the final group of poems--poetry celebrating its own freedom ot be poetry--in all these parts ("a chorus of lyrics," one might say) there is a symphonic unity that astonishes, an ode to joy.
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Add this copy of God's Loud Hand: Poems to cart. $9.95, very good condition, Sold by Eighth Day Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Wichita, KS, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of God's Loud Hand: Poems to cart. $14.12, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1993 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of God's Loud Hand: Poems (Southern Literary Studies) to cart. $15.00, very good condition, Sold by Chaparral Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by LSU Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 5x0x9; Flat-signed by the author on the title page. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Minor shelf wear to wraps. Corners of text block lightly bumped. Text is unmarked.
Add this copy of God's Loud Hand: Poems (Southern Literary Studies) to cart. $18.00, very good condition, Sold by Small World Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rochester, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by LSU Press.
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Near Fine. Book. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall. Signed by Author(s) Inscribed by author to former owner (Signature is not very legible), otherwise unmarked, clean and bright copy. Photos available on request.
Add this copy of God's Loud Hand to cart. $20.00, like new condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of Hazard and Prospect: New and Selected Poems to cart. $25.00, like new condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Louisiana State University Press.
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Fine. First edition, wrappered issue. Fine in wrappers. Compliments of the Author card laid in. Also laid in is a retained copy of a letter to Cherry from another noted poet.
Add this copy of God's Loud Hand: Poems to cart. $33.81, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1993 by LSU Press.
