Toward the Distant Islands - by Hayden Carruth (Paperback)

About the Book

This "portable Carruth" gathers the unignorable poems by an American master; introduction by Sam Hamill.

Book Synopsis

This "portable Carruth" gathers the essential poems from a major American poet. Toward the Distant Islands presents lyrics, short and long narratives, comic, meditative, erotic poems, and reflections on the natural world. Ever engaged with radical politics, rural poverty, and the poet's cultural responsibility, Carruth's work is alive with a rare courage and clear-eyed conviction. Over his prolific and celebrated writing career, Hayden Carruth has been one of the most rigorous and inventive technicians of a generation that has been acknowledged for its brilliance and variety. Like the jazz he so loves, his poetry ranges from the formal to the spontaneous, from local speech to righteous oratory, from sublime complexity to elegant understatement. This volume features an introduction by Carruth's longtime friend and editor, Sam Hamill.

About the Author

Hayden Carruth is the author of twenty-five books of poetry, a novel, four books of criticism, and two anthologies, and has held fellowships from the Bollingen, Guggenheim and Lannan foundations, as well as the NEA. His many awards include the National Book Award for Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Lenore Marshall/The Nation Award. Poet and translator Sam Hamill was the Founding Editor of Copper Canyon Press and is currently the Director for Poets Against War.