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Jack Gilbert

Born

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The United States

February 18, 1925

Died

November 13, 2012

Genre

Poetry

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Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.'s neighborhood of East Liberty, he attended Peabody High School then worked as a door-to-door salesman, an exterminator, and a steelworker. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he and his classmate Gerald Stern developed a serious interest in poetry and writing.

His work is distinguished by simple lyricism and straightforward clarity of tone. Though his first book of poetry (Views of Jeopardy, 1962) was quickly recognized and Gilbert himself made into something of a media darling, he retreated from his earlier activity in the San Francisco poetry scene (where he participated in Jack Spicer's Poetry as Magic workshop) and moved to Europe, touring from country to country while ...more

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Jack Gilbert’s books

Average rating: 4.28 · 6,453 ratings · 585 reviews · 29 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Great Fires 4.31 avg rating — 2,426 ratings — published 1994 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Refusing Heaven: Poems 4.22 avg rating — 1,743 ratings — published 2005 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Collected Poems 4.44 avg rating — 1,022 ratings — published 2012 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dance Most of All: Poems 4.14 avg rating — 492 ratings — published 2009 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Monolithos: Poems, 1962 and 1982 4.29 avg rating — 280 ratings — published 1982 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Views of Jeopardy by Jack Gilbert, Dudley Fitts (Foreword) 4.10 avg rating — 165 ratings — published 1962 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tough Heaven - Poems of Pittsburgh 4.22 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trangressions: Selected Poems 4.35 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deixem-me Ser Ambos by Jack Gilbert, Leonor Castro Nunes (Translator), Marcos Pereira (Translator) 4.61 avg rating — 18 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kochan by Jack Gilbert, Michiko Nogami (Contributor) 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1984 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jack Gilbert…

Series by Jack Gilbert

Seven Stray Cats Reading Their Poems (3 books)
by

Jack Gilbert

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Quotes by Jack Gilbert (?)

“Everyone forgets Icarus also flew.”
― Jack Gilbert, Refusing Heaven: Poems

1780 likes

“Suddenly this defeat.
This rain.
The blues gone gray
And the browns gone gray
And yellow
A terrible amber.
In the cold streets
Your warm body.
In whatever room
Your warm body.
Among all the people
Your absence
The people who are always
Not you.

I have been easy with trees
Too long.
Too familiar with mountains.
Joy has been a habit.
Now
Suddenly
This rain.”
― Jack Gilbert

tags: alone, defeat, loneliness, lonely, rain, sadness

547 likes

“I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can.”
― Jack Gilbert, The Great Fires

tags: language, poetry, words

259 likes

See all Jack Gilbert's quotes »

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Jack Gilbert’s Followers (314)

Jack Gilbert

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