Synopses & Reviews
In this generous selection, Grace Schulman moves from the altering light” of earthly experience to the possibility of the miraculous. In the celebrated love poem The Present Perfect,” she sees wildflowers / poking through gravel cracks in our neighbors driveway / slender but fortunate, built to last their day,” and stanzas about an El Greco painting close with one beam that God devised, before the / sun, would have shown us the world in one glance.” Schulmans work so far evolves from a vision of unity expressed in her first collection, BURN DOWN THE ICONS. Her second book, HEMISPHERES, opens with a beautiful blessing, and has that first requisite of poetry the world comes alive in the work . . . There is nothing familiar about this poets genius” (New York Times Book Review). The selections from FOR THAT DAY ONLY contain vivid scenes of New York in the tradition of Whitman, Crane, and Moore. THE PAINTINGS OF OUR LIVES, Schulmans most recent book, includes a sonnet sequence that calls on the art of many cultures to illuminate the universality of grief. The ten new poems that complete this breathtaking volume attest to this poets gifts for her craft and for the expression of praise.
Synopsis
Attesting to Grace Schulman's gifts for her craft, Days of Wonder collects verse spanning nearly three decades, including ten new poems and selections from the poet's four previous collections. Schulman's well-crafted lyrics contain equal portions of reverence and lament, praise and joy. Many of her poems communicate a sense of wonder at the beauty of the world, with references to painters and poets and religion. As William Stafford has written, Schulman "renews our faith in ourselves and in the language we use for finding each other."
About the Author
GRACE SCHULMAN is the author many acclaimed books of poetry, including Days of Wonder: New and Selected Poems, a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. For her poetry she has received a Guggenheim fellowship, the Aiken-Taylor Award, the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award, New York Universitys Distinguished Alumni Award, and three Pushcart prizes. Schulman is a distinguished professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY. She is a former director of the Poetry Center (1978-1984) and a former poetry editor of The Nation (1971-2006).