What do you think?
Rate this book
A Phone Call to the Future: New and Selected Poems
Superb new poems from one of the major poets of her generation, along with a selection of the best from Mary Jo Salter’s previous award-winning collections.
In Mary Jo Salter’s poetry we have a unique blend of domestic drama and the grittier wider world. In the title poem, she reimagines the technological simplicities and humanistic verities of the past with a brilliantly disorienting detachment. Here are poems imbued with the violence of modern life—a mother slapping her child on the subway, a child losing everything in the Iraq war—and others that bring a witty luminosity to peacocks in the park, to shoe-shine “thrones” at the airport, and to poetry itself. A tender elegy for the poet Anthony Hecht is followed by poems about the Baroque sculptor Bernini and the German Expressionist painter August Macke, which add to Salter’s already impressive list of poems about image-making. Although in many of the poems Salter looks back wistfully at what is lost, she also sets her sights on the "Lord, surprise me with even more to miss," she writes in “Wake-up Call.”
Among the selected older poems are the much-anthologized “Welcome to Hiroshima” and “Boulevard du Montparnasse”; her historical narrative “The Hand of Thomas Jefferson”; and moving elegies for her mother (“Dead Letters”), her friend (“Elegies for Etsuko”), and her psychiatrist (“Another Session”). Here, also, are such light verse delights as “Video Blues” (“My husband has a crush on Myrna Loy”) and “A Morris Dance”; poems that bring a deeper insight into foreign settings and cultures (from “Henry Purcell in Japan” to “Icelandic Almanac” to “The Seven Weepers,” set in the Australian outback of 1845); and poems that reflect on the art of seeing, as in “Young Girl Peeling Apples” and “Trompe l’Oeil.”
A Phone Call to the Future is a powerful reminder and a ringing confirmation of Mary Jo Salter’s remarkable gifts.
In Mary Jo Salter’s poetry we have a unique blend of domestic drama and the grittier wider world. In the title poem, she reimagines the technological simplicities and humanistic verities of the past with a brilliantly disorienting detachment. Here are poems imbued with the violence of modern life—a mother slapping her child on the subway, a child losing everything in the Iraq war—and others that bring a witty luminosity to peacocks in the park, to shoe-shine “thrones” at the airport, and to poetry itself. A tender elegy for the poet Anthony Hecht is followed by poems about the Baroque sculptor Bernini and the German Expressionist painter August Macke, which add to Salter’s already impressive list of poems about image-making. Although in many of the poems Salter looks back wistfully at what is lost, she also sets her sights on the "Lord, surprise me with even more to miss," she writes in “Wake-up Call.”
Among the selected older poems are the much-anthologized “Welcome to Hiroshima” and “Boulevard du Montparnasse”; her historical narrative “The Hand of Thomas Jefferson”; and moving elegies for her mother (“Dead Letters”), her friend (“Elegies for Etsuko”), and her psychiatrist (“Another Session”). Here, also, are such light verse delights as “Video Blues” (“My husband has a crush on Myrna Loy”) and “A Morris Dance”; poems that bring a deeper insight into foreign settings and cultures (from “Henry Purcell in Japan” to “Icelandic Almanac” to “The Seven Weepers,” set in the Australian outback of 1845); and poems that reflect on the art of seeing, as in “Young Girl Peeling Apples” and “Trompe l’Oeil.”
A Phone Call to the Future is a powerful reminder and a ringing confirmation of Mary Jo Salter’s remarkable gifts.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2008
3 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Mary Jo Salter
28 books17 followersMary Jo Salter is an American poet, a co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Poetry and a professor in the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University.
Salter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was raised in Detroit and Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Harvard University in 1976 and her M.A. from Cambridge University in 1978. In 1976, she participated in the Glascock Prize contest. While at Harvard, she studied with the noted poet Elizabeth Bishop.
From 1984 to 2007, she taught at Mount Holyoke College and was, from 1995 to 2007, a vice-president of the Poetry Society of America.
Salter has been an editor at the Atlantic Monthly and at The New Republic, and she is on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common, based at Amherst College
Salter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was raised in Detroit and Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Harvard University in 1976 and her M.A. from Cambridge University in 1978. In 1976, she participated in the Glascock Prize contest. While at Harvard, she studied with the noted poet Elizabeth Bishop.
From 1984 to 2007, she taught at Mount Holyoke College and was, from 1995 to 2007, a vice-president of the Poetry Society of America.
Salter has been an editor at the Atlantic Monthly and at The New Republic, and she is on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common, based at Amherst College
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 28, 2022
A poet of the New Formalism, Salter focuses on how exploring new places provides an outlet to explore new depths of the self. Her inventive structure and language always lends a piece of wisdom to the reader, but some of her poems also seem to cleverly reject the notion that a poem must provide some kind of message.
The poetry at the beginning of this collection does seem to champion European cities as the best sparks of inspiration, which results in a few pretentious poems. Otherwise, a strong collection of poems that confront the indescribable feelings and human experiences we have. Rating: 3 out of 5 envelopes.
The poetry at the beginning of this collection does seem to champion European cities as the best sparks of inspiration, which results in a few pretentious poems. Otherwise, a strong collection of poems that confront the indescribable feelings and human experiences we have. Rating: 3 out of 5 envelopes.
November 25, 2024
“ The water is slapping wake up, wake up, against the boat
chugging away from Venice, infinite essence
of what must end because it is beautiful.”
Mary enthralled me with the first stanza… though the more I read the book the less I felt compelled to recommend this book. Enjoy!
chugging away from Venice, infinite essence
of what must end because it is beautiful.”
Mary enthralled me with the first stanza… though the more I read the book the less I felt compelled to recommend this book. Enjoy!
September 23, 2018
An excellent sampler of her work, this was my introduction to Salter, and it didn't disappoint. I envy her apparent ease with formal structures, inventive rhyme, the all-important detail or sense image inserted rhythmically, (as if) conversationally. There's a wide range here: historical poems, narratives, persona poems, observations of both the internationally newsy and the minutiae of backyard life, and all are done with a keen eye, wry humor, a deceptive plain-spokenness that belies a vast intelligence and curiosity. I dog-eared too many poems to list here, but her "Dead Letters" is an astoundingly tender and clear-eyed and powerful commentary on the death of her mother, and put Salter on my list of poets who make the craft look easy while delivering an unexpected sucker punch to the heart. "Another Session" is a masterfully well-done narrative that stuck with me, and "Absolute September" shows her ease and delight with the short form. Highly recommended.
August 2, 2022
Inexplicably does not include some of her better early poems
November 19, 2023
i was not a fan of these poems' tendency to teach me something
June 18, 2025
Her verse is deceptively simple. It sounds conversational and natural, but it is obviously labored over and precise. Always delivers an emotional payload. Some of the best of contemporary poetry.
December 11, 2009
Mary Jo Salter, A Phone Call to the Future (Knopf, 2008)
So many new-and-collected books of poetry are ways to track the change in quality of an author's work over a long period of time. The early work shows shakiness and amateurism, fading into seasoned, professional work. Or, more commonly, the fresh, new voice of the early work fades into cynicism, pedantry, or repetition. Not so Mary Jo Salter; there's almost twenty-five years of material in this book, and the stuff from the earliest represented book is just as strong and assured as the new poems. Unfortunately, I had to send it back to the library before I could pull a good quote out of it, but really, I'd have had a difficult time doing so; much of this book wants to be quoted, and as it's one of the longest single-author collections I've read in the past five years (222 pp.), that would make this review a bit longer than I like to go. (Insert emoticon here.) Stop by your local library or bookstore, open to a random page, and sample for yourself. Yes, the rest of the book is really that good, and yes, you want to read it at your earliest convenience. ****
So many new-and-collected books of poetry are ways to track the change in quality of an author's work over a long period of time. The early work shows shakiness and amateurism, fading into seasoned, professional work. Or, more commonly, the fresh, new voice of the early work fades into cynicism, pedantry, or repetition. Not so Mary Jo Salter; there's almost twenty-five years of material in this book, and the stuff from the earliest represented book is just as strong and assured as the new poems. Unfortunately, I had to send it back to the library before I could pull a good quote out of it, but really, I'd have had a difficult time doing so; much of this book wants to be quoted, and as it's one of the longest single-author collections I've read in the past five years (222 pp.), that would make this review a bit longer than I like to go. (Insert emoticon here.) Stop by your local library or bookstore, open to a random page, and sample for yourself. Yes, the rest of the book is really that good, and yes, you want to read it at your earliest convenience. ****
April 12, 2008
May 4th 2008: I've been reproached for being overly reluctant to award five stars. So I reviewed my ratings so far in 2008, and have to admit there's some justice to the rebuke. Accordingly, I'm upgrading the best of my former 4-star ratings to 5 stars.
Mary Jo Salter writes poems that stop me dead in my tracks, in the best possible way. Furthermore, she keeps on doing it. Don't look for any fancy analysis from me - I can't break it down; nor do I want to.
I LOVE this woman's work!! Her husband, Brad Leithauser, is no slouch in the poetry department either, and I also try to keep up with his stuff. But - sorry Brad - it's not even a close call, it's Mary Jo who knocks my socks off every time.
A fine antidote to the byzantine complexities of the tax code. It's like Christmas in April (pace TSE).
The first of Salter's poems that I came across, over 20 years ago now, in The New Republic. It was the year after my own mother's death from cancer, and it still moves me to tears:
http://gaelstat.com/Documents/DEAD%20...
Mary Jo Salter writes poems that stop me dead in my tracks, in the best possible way. Furthermore, she keeps on doing it. Don't look for any fancy analysis from me - I can't break it down; nor do I want to.
I LOVE this woman's work!! Her husband, Brad Leithauser, is no slouch in the poetry department either, and I also try to keep up with his stuff. But - sorry Brad - it's not even a close call, it's Mary Jo who knocks my socks off every time.
A fine antidote to the byzantine complexities of the tax code. It's like Christmas in April (pace TSE).
The first of Salter's poems that I came across, over 20 years ago now, in The New Republic. It was the year after my own mother's death from cancer, and it still moves me to tears:
http://gaelstat.com/Documents/DEAD%20...
May 8, 2008
Maybe I'm not meant to read longer collections of poetry by poets that I don't already know and love. Or maybe I shouldn't treat longer poetry collections as though they were novels.
That said, I stilll liked this collection, but I didn't love it. Postcards lost, the condition of being an au pair, space travel, daughters growing up and moving on, our daily lives. A reflective read for the subway.
That said, I stilll liked this collection, but I didn't love it. Postcards lost, the condition of being an au pair, space travel, daughters growing up and moving on, our daily lives. A reflective read for the subway.
June 14, 2013
I'm giving away my autographed copy. Sad, but true.
November 5, 2015
Flat beer. When people refer to Salter as an American Andrew Motion, I'm guessing it's not a compliment.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews