Synopses & Reviews
This all-new collection by former Alaska poet laureate smoothly blends his life in Maine, his years in Alaska, and his love of Chinese poetry—which has been a key influence on his work—into a lyrical fantasy that will enchant lovers of verse. These tightly rhythmic, compact eight-line poems demonstrate a rare deftness with—and an even more uncommon ear for—language, revealing poetic form to be neither a puzzle nor an accomplishment in itself, but a compositional tool and a spur to creativity.
Review
“This is a book to be read and returned to. There are fine poems here, all from the hand of someone who for many years has read and listened to the enduring voice of ancient Chinese poets. We have here the result of that attention.”—John Haines, former poet laureate of Alaska
John Haines
Review
“In these poems, Tom Sexton weaves ancient Chinese poetry with an Alaska back country he knows intimately. The poems have teeth, and just when we feel them against our necks, we’re given a moment of reprieve, a moment of sweetness. These poems make you catch your breath over and over again.”—Emily Wall, author of
Freshly Rooted Emily Wall
Review
“Tom Sexton’s front door opens into the universe. In the company of ancient Chinese poets he generously invites us to step out with him to see how stars, moon, tides, and time connect with yellow warblers, wild berries, dragonflies, and weather to give us meaning. . . . These poems are as wise and important as they are lovely.”—Sheila Nickerson, former poet laureate of Alaska
Sheila Nickerson
Review
"
I Think Again of Those Ancient Chinese Poets is a strongly recommended read. Not to be missed."—
Midwest Book Review
Midwest Book Review
About the Author
Tom Sexton was appointed Alaskas Poet Laureate in 1995 and served until 2000. He is the author of eight books of poetry.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Hurricane Station House
Aurora Borealis
Brown Bear
On Our Anniversary
Yellow Warblers
The Wolves of Denali
Baneberry
I Think Again of Those Ancient Chinese Poets
Winter Night
Clearing After Snow Over Mountains and River
Woodcut of a Crane
River Otters
Thinking of a Friends Cold Words
Snow
Strawberries
No Moon Tonight
Lilac
Grasses in the Marsh
Yet Another Poem About the Moon
Glacier
Mountain Spinach
Denali
Thinking of a Friend
August
To Wang Wei
An Empty Bowl
Arctic Char
Crossing a Marsh by Train
Watching Winter Light from Chulitna Butte
Morning Landscape, Early Spring
Coming Down from the Mountains into Mist
No Time for Metaphor
Ephemeral
Ermine
Leaving Again
Washington County, Maine
By Passamaquoddy Bay
Witch Hazel
Starlings
Late Afternoon
Robert Frost in Winter
Larch
Blackberries
Sedge Wren
Winterberry Holly
Tu Fu
House Sparrows
Decoy of a Snow Goose
Pasque Flower
Travelers Moon
Alder Thicket
Equinox
Su Tung Po
Bohemian Waxwings
Liqueur
A Painting of the Poet Meng Hao Jan
For Frances Gramse, Age 3, on the Winter Solstice
Winter Landscape: Fish Creek
To Wang Wei After Reading a New Translation of His Poems