Hayden Carruth’s poetry is distinguished by the indelible presence of passion, compassion, and radical philosophy. Collected Longer Poems gathers the poet’s choice of his narrative work and poems in sequence, including the meditative poems on the rural northeast that have made him the most accessible “regional” poet since Robert Frost. Carruth’s renowned technical genius is perfectly matched to his ear for spoken language and narrative structure. His observations of life are by turns caustic and hilarious.
ISBN: 9781556590597
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781556590580
Format: Hardcover
Reviews
“The work here seems to break every rule of modern poetry, yet it succeeds… This volume displays the huge range, both in theme and form, of a poet who pushes his art to its limits, then beyond.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“As Carruth admits in his introductory note, not all the pieces here are among his most critically acclaimed, but certainly some are among his best and most ambitious.” —Library Journal, starred review
“This is work of high artistic and moral integrity.” —Harvard Review
“He writes of the two extremes—life and death—with such felicity. Hayden Carruth has spoken eloquently, and it is the language of a blessed trust in the imagination.” —Bloomsbury Review
“There are many fine poets writing in this country… but I think [Carruth is] one of the truest and one of the best.” —Poetry Flash
“[Carruth’s] poems have personality… They are lucid, astringent, sometimes abstract, and always… beautiful… [Carruth’s] works are strikingly original.” —American Book Review
“This is a work of high artistic and moral integrity.” —Harvard Review
“Hayden Carruth has loved the art and lived the life of poetry for many years… His best, truest poems have heartbreaking powers, and are part of our country’s poetic treasure.” —Adrienne Rich
“Hayden Carruth is one of our masters of the art of poetry. The range of his technical means is as diverse as the range of his subjects. In his poems, mind and heart speak as one, and his work has, in rare degree, the quality of trustworthiness.” —Wendell Berry
“Carruth is a poet of great ambition. Positioning himself in the American tradition, he aggressively explores our times, our places, our language.” —Kenyon Review
“Mr. Carruth draws us into the narrative like a good storyteller whose strength is his companionable stance both toward his reader and toward the world of nature… Something Hayden Carruth does as well as any living writer is to treat the reader as a friend, and to provide, through his poetry, hours of good company.” —New York Times Book Review