Thing of Beauty: New and Selected Works

by Jackson Mac Low

This landmark collection brings together poetry, performance pieces, "traditional" verse, prose poems, and other poetical texts from Jackson Mac Low's lifetime in art. The works span the years from 1937, beginning with "Thing of Beauty," his first poem, until his death in 2004 and demonstrate his extraordinary range as well as his unquenchable enthusiasm. Mac Low is widely acknowledged as one of the major figures in twentieth-century American poetry, with much of his work ranging into the spheres of music, dance, theater, performance, and the visual arts. Comparable in stature to such giants as Robert Creeley, John Ashbery, and Allen Ginsberg, Mac Low is often associated with composer John Cage, with whom he shared a delight in work derived from "chance operations." This volume, edited by Anne Tardos, his wife and frequent collaborator, offers a balanced arrangement of early, middle, and late work, designed to convey not just the range but also the progressions and continuities of his writings and "writingways."

Genres: Poetry

504 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2007

Reviews

[Evan Pincus · Rating 3 out of 5]

As to be expected from any posthumous reader-type collection, it's got some good poems and some pretty bad ones (the cycle written about his first wife leaving him - woof!), but unlike most poets, Mac Low offers a veritable wealth of interesting processes to chew on and read through and reconfigure. Really liked the Stein poems - am looking forward to that complete series being published later this year!

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skipped or skimmed most of the book. The avowedly experimental pieces seem to be mostly a waste of paper—either just visually appealing (on occasion) or just intellectual games-playing. But some of the more traditional works are nice and a few of the Kurt Schwitters pieces are worthwhile. A book to flip through and see what catches your eye.

[Maria Regina]

Poetry and Pleasure, Jack Mac Low
for Anne Tardos

pp. 27 – 36

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of the poems in this book intrigues me, but to read them is just boring. I like my poems to MEAN something, to come from a person's heart. These poems are to cerebral, too much like a science or sociology experiment. I realize this is just my personal taste, so if you like poetry still check this one out just to see what MacLow was all about. I just couldn't finish it.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

for a reader like me, i couldn't escape this book once i picked it up. pan fried ostensible pragmatics

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm almost finished this book, and it's a great introduction to Mac Low's work. Anne Tardos does a wonderful job of introducing and presenting his work over several decades.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mac Low is a lesson in what is possible. So extraordinarily inventive, and so humane.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

It really doesn't get any better than this. I pick this book up on a daily basis and consistently find something new to love, laugh at, or consider. It can change how you approach poetry.

[Jason Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

a masterpiece! a very substantial collection from one of america's most industrious poets.

[Mills College Library]

811.6 M1659t 2009