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Stars Which See, Stars Which Do Not See
tars which see, stars which do not Poems [paperback] Bell, Marvin [Jan 01, 1977] … 068910779X
- GenresPoetry
54 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
36 people want to read
About the author
Marvin Bell
67 books59 followersMarvin Bell was born in New York City on August 3, 1937, and grew up in Center Moriches, on the south shore of eastern Long Island. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Alfred University, a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa.
Bell’s debut collection of poems, Things We Dreamt We Died For, was published in 1966 by the Stone Wall Press, following two years of service in the U.S. Army. His following two collections were A Probable Volume of Dreams (Atheneum, 1969), a Lamont Poetry Selection of the Academy of American Poets, and Stars Which See, Stars Which Do Not See (1977), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Since then, Bell has published numerous books of prose and poetry, most recently 7 Poets, 4 Days, 1 Book (Trinity University Press, 2009), a collaboration with six other poets, including Tomaz Salamun, Dean Young, and Christopher Merrill, and Mars Being Red (Copper Canyon Press, 2007) , which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
Bell’s other collections include Rampant (2004); Nightworks: Poems, 1962-2000 (2000); Ardor: The Book of the Dead Man, Volume 2 (1997); A Marvin Bell Reader: Selected Poetry and Prose (Middlebury College Press, 1994); The Book of the Dead Man (Copper Canyon Press, 1994); Iris of Creation (1990); New and Selected Poems ( Atheneum, 1987);
He has also published Old Snow Just Melting: Essays and Interviews ( University of Michigan Press, 1983) , as well as Segues: A Correspondence in Poetry with William Stafford (Godine, 1983).
About his early work, the poet Anthony Hecht said, “Marvin Bell is wonderfully versatile, with a strange, dislocating inventiveness. Capable of an unflinching regard of the painful, the poignant and the tragic; but also given to hilarity, high-spirits and comic delight; and often enough wedding and blending these spiritual antipodes into a new world. It must be the sort of bifocal vision Socrates recommended to his drunken friends if they were to become true poets.”
Later in his career, Bell created the poetic form known as the “Dead Man poem," about which the critic Judith Kitchen has written: “Bell has redefined poetry as it is being practiced today.”
Beginning in 2000, he served two terms as Iowa’s first Poet Laureate. His other honors include awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The American Poetry Review , fellowships from the Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts, and Senior Fulbright appointments to Yugoslavia and Australia.
Bell taught for forty years for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, retiring in 2005 as Flannery O’Connor Professor of Letters. For five years, he designed and led an annual Urban Teachers Workshop for America SCORES. Currently he serves on the faculty of Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program. He has also taught at Goddard College, the University of Hawaii, the University of Washington and Portland State University.
Bell has influenced generations of poets, many of which were his students, including Michael Burkard, Marilyn Chin, Rita Dove, Norman Dubie, Albert Goldbarth. Robert Grenier, Joy Harjo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Mark Jarman, Denis Johnson, Larry Levis, David St. John, and James Tate.
Marvin Bell also frequently performs with the bassist, Glen Moore, of the jazz group, Oregon. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Iowa City and Port Townsend, Washington.
source: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/ma...
Bell’s debut collection of poems, Things We Dreamt We Died For, was published in 1966 by the Stone Wall Press, following two years of service in the U.S. Army. His following two collections were A Probable Volume of Dreams (Atheneum, 1969), a Lamont Poetry Selection of the Academy of American Poets, and Stars Which See, Stars Which Do Not See (1977), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Since then, Bell has published numerous books of prose and poetry, most recently 7 Poets, 4 Days, 1 Book (Trinity University Press, 2009), a collaboration with six other poets, including Tomaz Salamun, Dean Young, and Christopher Merrill, and Mars Being Red (Copper Canyon Press, 2007) , which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
Bell’s other collections include Rampant (2004); Nightworks: Poems, 1962-2000 (2000); Ardor: The Book of the Dead Man, Volume 2 (1997); A Marvin Bell Reader: Selected Poetry and Prose (Middlebury College Press, 1994); The Book of the Dead Man (Copper Canyon Press, 1994); Iris of Creation (1990); New and Selected Poems ( Atheneum, 1987);
He has also published Old Snow Just Melting: Essays and Interviews ( University of Michigan Press, 1983) , as well as Segues: A Correspondence in Poetry with William Stafford (Godine, 1983).
About his early work, the poet Anthony Hecht said, “Marvin Bell is wonderfully versatile, with a strange, dislocating inventiveness. Capable of an unflinching regard of the painful, the poignant and the tragic; but also given to hilarity, high-spirits and comic delight; and often enough wedding and blending these spiritual antipodes into a new world. It must be the sort of bifocal vision Socrates recommended to his drunken friends if they were to become true poets.”
Later in his career, Bell created the poetic form known as the “Dead Man poem," about which the critic Judith Kitchen has written: “Bell has redefined poetry as it is being practiced today.”
Beginning in 2000, he served two terms as Iowa’s first Poet Laureate. His other honors include awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The American Poetry Review , fellowships from the Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts, and Senior Fulbright appointments to Yugoslavia and Australia.
Bell taught for forty years for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, retiring in 2005 as Flannery O’Connor Professor of Letters. For five years, he designed and led an annual Urban Teachers Workshop for America SCORES. Currently he serves on the faculty of Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program. He has also taught at Goddard College, the University of Hawaii, the University of Washington and Portland State University.
Bell has influenced generations of poets, many of which were his students, including Michael Burkard, Marilyn Chin, Rita Dove, Norman Dubie, Albert Goldbarth. Robert Grenier, Joy Harjo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Mark Jarman, Denis Johnson, Larry Levis, David St. John, and James Tate.
Marvin Bell also frequently performs with the bassist, Glen Moore, of the jazz group, Oregon. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Iowa City and Port Townsend, Washington.
source: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/ma...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 14, 2020
A wonderful poet. This seemed especially important right now:
“Now it seems to me the heart
must enlarge to hold the losses
we have ahead of us. I hold to
a certain sadness the way others
search for joy, though I like joy.”
“Now it seems to me the heart
must enlarge to hold the losses
we have ahead of us. I hold to
a certain sadness the way others
search for joy, though I like joy.”
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February 24, 2024There were two poems I really liked:
"The Self and the Mulberry"
"New Students"
"The Self and the Mulberry"
"New Students"
January 5, 2021
I recieved this book from my great aunt for Christmas this year, and based on the note she included in the package, let's say I was weary going into this collection of poetry. Especially because my political views, ethics and morality are very different then hers, and she wanted me to read this to further all of said things. So knowing her views, lets just say I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy this book.
But nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. While there were a few poems that stood out as prominent disagreements with my ideologies, overall this collection was good. There were a few poems about how women are treated different then men and also anti war poems that I didn't enjoy as much there were several poem I enjoyed a ton. In regards to my previous statement, I am not a feminist, at least in the terminology it now signifies. If anything I am a first wave feminist, like Mary Wollstonecraft. I believe in equal rights between men and women, however, I also believe there are common things men should do and common things women should do, and there are things that should not intersect that line. Also, the anti war poem, it is not that I am pro war, it is that I believe war is necessary and an inescapable part of life. "It is in vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: we must have action, and we will make it if we cannot find it"(Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte).
The one poem I really enjoyed was "Gradually, It Occurs to Us" I love the idea this poem presented about materialistic things clouding the love and eventually causing its downfall. I think the reason I liked this poem so much is because of its relevance in my own life. I am a sophomore in college and I have feelings for a person I probably won't ever be able to be with, because of our societal and moral differences, and the fact that I am not the type of woman he wants to marry. Despite his feelings for me, it will likely never work. That being said, this poem makes me think of the fact that the love is all that should matter in a relationship, but often times because of other things--trivial, unimportant things, a relationship ends. And it spoke to me on a personal level. But overall this collection of poetry was pretty good. I usually give poetry collections three stars, and this one was no different.
But nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. While there were a few poems that stood out as prominent disagreements with my ideologies, overall this collection was good. There were a few poems about how women are treated different then men and also anti war poems that I didn't enjoy as much there were several poem I enjoyed a ton. In regards to my previous statement, I am not a feminist, at least in the terminology it now signifies. If anything I am a first wave feminist, like Mary Wollstonecraft. I believe in equal rights between men and women, however, I also believe there are common things men should do and common things women should do, and there are things that should not intersect that line. Also, the anti war poem, it is not that I am pro war, it is that I believe war is necessary and an inescapable part of life. "It is in vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: we must have action, and we will make it if we cannot find it"(Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte).
The one poem I really enjoyed was "Gradually, It Occurs to Us" I love the idea this poem presented about materialistic things clouding the love and eventually causing its downfall. I think the reason I liked this poem so much is because of its relevance in my own life. I am a sophomore in college and I have feelings for a person I probably won't ever be able to be with, because of our societal and moral differences, and the fact that I am not the type of woman he wants to marry. Despite his feelings for me, it will likely never work. That being said, this poem makes me think of the fact that the love is all that should matter in a relationship, but often times because of other things--trivial, unimportant things, a relationship ends. And it spoke to me on a personal level. But overall this collection of poetry was pretty good. I usually give poetry collections three stars, and this one was no different.
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August 1, 2025randomly picked this up while chilling at my university library because i liked the sound of the title. i really enjoyed some of the poems.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews