White Apples and the Taste of Stone collects 226 poems from across sixty years of Donald Hall's celebrated career, including new poems that recently appeared in the New Yorker. One of the most acclaimed poets of his generation, Hall has earned numerous accolades and honors, including the Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Ruth Lilly Prize. Much anticipated, White Apples and the Taste of Stone is Hall's first volume of selected works in fifteen years and the first to include poems from his seminal bestseller, <>i>Without.

A specially recorded CD of Donald Hall reading his favorite poems is included in the book. His distinctive voice and inimitable humor will provide a perfect audio companion for poetry fans, bookseller promotions, and classroom use.

"Hall's 60 years of much-honored work have made him an elder statesman among American poets and a much-honored exponent of the clear, plain style: this career retrospective (the first since 1990) finds room for all his strengths. Given to formal short work in the '50s, to lengthy verse essays and verse memoirs later on, Hall shows consistent topics and moods: adult life among New Hampshire's farms and mountains, childhood in the Connecticut suburbs, equanimity and nostalgia, satire and self-satire, middle age and old age, regret and reserve. Most original in his long poems from the '80s and '90s, Hall achieved popular success in recent years, in Without (1998) and The Painted Bed (2002), collecting elegies and laments for his late wife, the poet Jane Kenyon, whose life he chronicled in the prose memoir The Best Day the Worst Day (2005). In a month overcrowded with poetry releases, Hall's long-eminent reputation, and the persistent interest in Kenyon, should combine to help this book stand out. (Apr.) " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Since 1995, Donald Hall has been so closely associated with the untimely passing of his wife, the poet Jane Kenyon, that his long life's work in poetry, arcing over six decades, may be said to have become partially eclipsed by the shadow of her death. His tributes to her in 'Without' (1998) and 'The Painted Bed' (2002) created for Hall a reputation as a primarily elegiac poet. But Hall, as his loyal... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) readers know, is that and more.

The publication of 226 selected poems in 'White Apples and the Taste of Stone' comes, then, as a welcome and needed reminder of the expansiveness and weight of this poet's output. It is also an opportunity to enjoy the delightful variety of his work and the sheer charm of his voice. This hefty book, accompanied by a CD of Hall reading some of his work, is a physical and literary manifestation of his importance, not only as an authority on grief but as a major figure in the canon of contemporary American poetry.

Hall has long been placed in the Frostian tradition of the plainspoken rural poet. His reliance on simple, concrete diction and the no-nonsense sequence of the declarative sentence gives his poems steadiness and imbues them with a tone of sincere authority. It is a kind of simplicity that succeeds in engaging the reader in the first few lines. 'In October of the year,' one poem begins, 'he counts potatoes dug from the brown field.' Another opens: 'Looking through boxes/ in the attic of my mother's house in Hamden,/ I find a model airplane.' Many poems are further stabilized by Hall's love of storytelling, a narrative exuberance that produces anecdotal poems as well as longer, more complex weavings.

Hall himself may be as sophisticated as any American poet (he studied at Harvard, Oxford and Stanford and taught at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor), but his persona is agrarian. His decision to detach himself from academic life, with its slow but steady intravenous drip of a salary, and retire to a family farmhouse in New Hampshire gives him the barnyard credibility to write about the lives of farmers and their animals alike. Pig, hen, horse, sheep and cow — all are subjects of sympathetic meditations on the animals whose lives are taken to sustain ours. 'Eating the Pig' should be required reading for all literate carnivores.

In Hall's poetry, as in reality, the dead outnumber the living. The mood of loss that attends the passing of generations saturates this collection. In 'Traffic,' the poet returns to Earth after having 'wandered a lifetime among galaxies' to find 'the people gone, ruin taking their place. ... Freddie Bauer is dead. ... Agnes McSparren is dead. ... Harry Bailey is dead. ... Karl Kapp is dead,/ who loaded his van at dawn,/ conveyor belt supplying butter, cottage cheese, heavy cream.' In hindsight, it almost seems that Hall's long-standing elegiac preoccupations served as a kind of preparation for the loss of Jane Kenyon, whose protracted illness and death are assiduously and tenderly chronicled in poem after poem.

Death has long been poetry's favorite lens, but this collection also demonstrates Hall's versatility in form and subject and his ability to advance happily in a number of poetic and tonal gears. Witness the comic apostrophes of 'O Cheese' ('O village of cheeses, I make you this poem of cheeses'); the noble formality of 'Names of Horses'; the grim celebration of 'Praise for Death'; the whimsicality of 'On Reaching the Age of Two Hundred' ('It was the usual thing:/ dried grapefruit for breakfast'); or the imaginative bravado of 'The Impossible Marriage,' which enacts the fiasco of the wedding of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.

Hall must also be credited with the distinction of being America's best baseball poet. In this collection, each of the nine innings gets its own poem — composed of nine nine-line stanzas — and for those who want more balls and strikes, the poetic game stretches into four extra innings as the poet continues to stitch his sports metaphor into the fabric of his life. 'Baseball is not my work. It is my/ walk in the park, my pint of bitter' is an interesting declaration coming from a poet well-known for locating happiness in work.

One quibble for the more scholarly reader is that the poems are not listed by date or grouped by their books of origin; rather, though chronological, they are creatively but unhelpfully presented in sections bearing their own sometimes puzzling titles.

Still, 'White Apples and the Taste of Stone' offers the most generous array of this poet's work to date, plus a bonus of almost 20 new poems. If you are interested enough in contemporary poetry to have read this review to the end, then the collected poems of Donald Hall should have a place on your night table and, later, on a shelf within easy reach.

Billy Collins' latest collection of poetry is 'The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems.' He is a former U.S. Poet Laureate." Reviewed by Billy Collins, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
(hide most of this review)

One of the most acclaimed poets of his generation presents his first volume of selected works in 15 years and the first to include poems from his seminal bestseller, "Without." Includes a specially recorded CD of Hall reading his favorite poems from the book.

White Apples and the Taste of Stone is the definitive lifetime work of an American master — with a bound-in audio CD of selections read by the author.< BR> < BR> One of the most significant poets of his generation, Donald Hall has garnered numerous accolades and honors, including the Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. White Apples and the Taste of Stone collects more than two hundred poems from across sixty years of Hall's celebrated career, with new poems recently published in The New Yorker, the American Poetry Review, and the New York Times. Greatly anticipated, this is Hall's first selected volume in fifteen years, and also the first to include poems from his seminal bestseller, Without.< BR> < BR> The bound-in audio CD was specially recorded by Hall for this publication — more than an hour of favorite poems from throughout the book. Hall's distinctive, sonorous voice and inimitable humor provide a perfect companion for fans of his work and for classroom use.

DONALD HALL, poet laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007, has received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in poetry, the Lenore Marshall Award, the 1990 Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Contents

1. Early Poems Old Home Day · 3 Love Is Like Sounds · 3 Wedding Party · 3 Exile · 4 Exile (1968) · 7 Elegy for Wesley Wells · 8 My Son My Executioner · 10 The Sleeping Giant · 11 Je Suis une Table · 11 Dancers · 12 By the Exeter River · 13 T.R. · 14 The Hole · 14 Religious Articles · 15 The Foundations of American Industry · 16 Cops and Robbers · 17 Sestina · 18 Waiting on the Corners · 19 “Marat’s Death” · 20 “The Kiss” · 21 “Between the Clock and the Bed” · 22 Christ Church Meadows, Oxford · 22 Christmas Eve in Whitneyville · 23

2. The Musk Ox The Long River · 29 The Snow · 29 The Farm · 31 The Moon · 32 The Child · 33 The Poem · 34 Wells · 34 An Airstrip in England, 1960 · 35 New Hampshire · 35 Self-Portrait as a Bear · 36 Orange Knee Socks · 36 Sleeping · 37 “King and Queen” · 38 “Reclining Figure” · 38 Digging · 39 The Pilot of 1918 · 40 Letter to an English Poet · 40 Stump · 42 In the Kitchen of the Old House · 45 The Days · 46 Swan · 47 The Man in the Dead Machine · 49

3. I Am the Fox The Alligator Bride · 53 Sew · 54 The Coal Fire · 55 The Blue Wing · 55 Woolworth’s · 56 The Repeated Shapes · 57 Crewcuts · 58 Tall Women · 59 The Table · 60 Mount Kearsarge · 61 The Young Watch Us · 62 Gold · 62 Waters · 63 Nose · 64 Stones · 64 The Dump · 65 The High Pasture · 65 The Green Shelf · 66 Adultery at Forty · 67 To a Waterfowl · 67 Fete · 68 Eleanor’s Letters · 69 The Raisin · 70 The Town of Hill · 71 White Apples · 72

4. Root Cellar Maple Syrup · 75 The Toy Bone · 77 O Cheese · 78 Kicking the Leaves · 79 Eating the Pig · 82 Wolf Knife · 86 On Reaching the Age of Two Hundred · 89 The Flies · 90 Ox Cart Man · 94 Stone Walls · 95 Old Roses · 99 Traffic · 100

5. Lady Ghost The Black-Faced Sheep · 105 Names of Horses · 107 Great Day in the Cows’ House · 109 The Henyard Round · 112 New Animals · 114 Scenic View · 115 Old Timers’ Day · 115 The Baseball Players · 116 Granite and Grass · 117 A Sister on the Tracks · 118 A Sister by the Pond · 120 The Day I Was Older · 124 For an Exchange of Rings · 125 The Impossible Marriage · 126 Mr. Wakeville on Interstate 90 · 127 My Friend Felix · 128 Merle Bascom’s .22 · 129 Cider 5? a Glass · 131 Oliver at Thirteen · 136 Edward’s Anecdote · 137

6. The One Day Shrubs Burnt Away · 143 Four Classic Texts · 156 To Build a House · 169

7. The Height and House of Desire Tubes · 181 Moon Clock · 183 Carol · 183 Persistence of 1937 · 184 Six Naps in One Day · 184 The Coffee Cup · 185 This Poem · 186 Praise for Death · 189 Speeches · 196 The Night of the Day · 200 Another Elegy · 208

8. Baseball The First Inning · 217 The Second Inning · 219 The Third Inning · 222 The Fourth Inning · 224 The Fifth Inning · 227 The Sixth Inning · 230 The Seventh Inning · 232 The Eighth Inning · 235 The Ninth Inning · 237

9. The Museum of Clear Ideas Decius — Whose Guileful · 243 We’ve Come to Expect · 244 Let Engine Cowling · 246 Winter’s Asperity Mollifi es · 247 Who’s This Fellow · 249 I’m Not Up to It · 249 Let Many Bad Poets · 250 In the Name Of · 252 Mount Kearsarge Shines · 252 Camilla, Never Ask · 253 The Times Are Propitious · 254 Drusilla Informs · 256 Ship of State, Hightide · 257 When the Young Husband · 258 Old Woman Whom I · 260 When the Fine Days · 261 When I Was Young · 262 Flaccus, Drive Up · 263 Let Us Meditate the Virtue · 263 We Explore Grief’s · 264 I Suppose You’ve Noticed · 265 Sabina — Who Explored · 266 Go Write a Poem · 267 Nunc Est Bibendum · 268 I, Too, Dislike · 269

10. Extra Innings The Tenth Inning · 273 The Eleventh Inning · 276 The Twelfth Inning · 280 The Thirteenth Inning · 284

11. The Old Life Spring Glen Grammar School · 295 The Hard Man · 297 Venetian Nights · 298 Blue · 299 My Aunt Liz · 299 Screenplay · 300 The Profession · 301 Edit · 302 The Girlfriend · 303 The Giant Broom · 303 Mr. Eliot · 304 Le Jazz · 305 Just Married · 306 Dread · 307 The Fragments · 307 Fame · 308 Forty Years · 309 What Counts · 310 Moon Shot · 311 7? · 312 Elbows · 312 The Wedding Couple · 313 Rain · 314 Beans and Franks · 314 Revisions · 315 Routine · 316

12. ALL Her Long Illness · 319 Barber · 331 The Porcelain Couple · 332 The Ship Pounding · 333 Folding Chair · 334 Her Intent · 335 Without · 335 After Life · 337 Retriever · 341 The Painted Bed · 342

13. Letters Without Addresses Letter with No Address · 345 Midsummer Lettter · 348 Letter in Autumn · 352 Letter at Christmas · 355 Letter in the New Year · 359 Midwinter Letter · 363 Letter after a Year · 366

14. Throwing Away Weeds and Peonies · 373 After Homer · 374 Her Garden · 374 Summer Kitchen · 375 Wool Squares · 375 Pond Afternoons · 376 Hours Hours · 377 The Wish · 377 Another Christmas · 378 Sweater · 379 Distressed Haiku · 380 Throwing the Things Away · 381 The Perfect Lifffffe · 383 Deathwork · 384 Ardor · 385 Kill the Day · 386 Razor · 391 Conversation’s Afterplay · 392 Charity and Dominion · 393 Sun · 394 Villanelle · 394 Love Poem · 395 Affirmation · 395

15. Recent Poems Secrets · 399 The Angels · 400 The Master · 401 Surveyor and Surface · 401 North South · 402 The Mysteries · 404 Olives · 405 After Horace · 406 Tea · 407 Safe Sex · 407 Tennis Ball · 408 1943 · 409 Usage · 409 White Clapboard · 410 Witness’s House · 410 Gospel · 412 We Bring Democracy to the Fish · 413 Fishing for Cats, 1944 · 413 The Hunkering · 414

Note · 416 Index of Titles and First Lines · 417