The Gods of Winter

by Dana. GIOIA

Poems discuss a journey across the ocean, a veterans' cemetery, money, an abandoned collection of dolls, and a man who escapes from his prison cell to commit a murder.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I've reviewed Dana Gioia on here before, so I'd like to avoid the gushing of affection I feel for this poet--except that I can't. Gioia is everything I love about poetry--meaningful statements artfully delivered. I understand that sometimes questioning meaning itself can be rewarding, but most pieces that attempt this create their meaning by studiously avoiding meaning--the point becomes "See I said nothing and that resonates!" And it can. When it's done right. But most of the time it's not done right and the structure and power of communication are abandoned for banality.

None of that here. Instead Gioia communicates clearly and profoundly with a truly beautiful ear for language. This collection has less rhyme than I remember from his other collections, but it is full of brilliant work. I loved so many of these poems. I tried listing the ones I'd particularly like and found myself typing so much of the table of contents that I gave it up as a bad job.

What I love about Gioia is that he avoids the trap of navel-gazing intentional obscurity. He communicates clearly, writing for an audience and not just for himself. It does not decrease the profundity of his work, it improves it. It improves the artistry as well, allowing the reader to understand how that simile, this metaphor, the alliteration in that line, the assonance in this are emphasizing the meaning of the work without a reader's guide or a professor to help elucidate.

Gioia reminds me of Robert Frost--apparently old hat. Apparently traditional to the point of being boring. But such statements could not be further from the truth. Frost famously compared writing free verse to playing tennis without a net. I don't entirely agree with him, but the abandonment of tradition and structure can only progress so far before one is lost with nowhere else to go and shocking is all that is left and even that has become blase. Gioia dares to mean: clearly, profoundly, and beautifully. I absolutely adored this book.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new contender for one of my favorite volumes of poems. Mournful and celebratory.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite enjoyable, I started it and didn't want to finish, so restarted a couple of times. "News From Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Homecoming were good albeit disturbing although in different ways. The Song (Rilke) and The Silence of the Poets were quite memorable. I like Gioia's rhythm. I've listened to him on YouTube as well and his voice fits that rhythm. Good stuff.

[Matthew Murawski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought for the catchy name: some of the poems were darker than I anticipated and left me unsettled.

[Cameron Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go read Gioia.

[D.M. Banlocke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be unfair to Dana Gioa - and to my obscure and slightly crumpled self - to term this a real review. I read "The Gods of Winter" several times, many years ago now. It is on my rereading list, and I have no qualms about recommending it. Mr Gioia, as I recall, makes as good a case as you may find for the existence of 'Expansive Poetry'. The term isn't used as much nowadays. Dick Allen and a few others (Arthur Mortensen perhaps) tend to use it. Others, a subset of the Expansives according to Allen, prefer 'New Formalists' (or 'Neo-Formalists' if you like). The 'Baby's First Burp Is A Poemists' like to use expletives. Realise they are also convinced each and every one of their own burps is a poem. If you agree with them, Mr Gioia's work might not be for you. I say give him a chance, let him plant a sequoia.

[Timothy Tumutod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotionally captivating

[Gary Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable.

[Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice poetry. I like the three-stanza, unrhymzed, iambic pentameter thing he's got going on, especially in the longer, narrative poems. That's where he really shines, I think. He's got a very calm, almost unpoetic voice - it's not trying to be beautiful poetry, it's just sort of trying to tell a story. Which is why, I think, it works better for the narratives. "Counting the Children" gave me minor chills, whereas the language wasn't quite powerful enough to give most of the shorter poems a punch. Still, nice. Very easy to read. Calming, even the sadder stuff.

[Charz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was introduced to his poetry through Lauridsen's choral setting of Prayer, which is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. Several poems in this collection deserve repeated readings; especially enjoyed Night Watch, Rough Country, Cleared Away, and the ice cold Homecoming.

[Rebecca Cantor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this signed at his CGU reading in October 09. It was a great event. He does most of his poems from memory. Overall, a very impressive man, and a wonderful book.

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feb 2026. Again, passing time on a fifty-passenger bus, chaperoning high schoolers on a trip to the Ozarks. Five stars.

Feb 2014. First time. Four stars.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. Many memorable poems here.

[Joanne Gass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful stuff.

[Maria Renate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually prefer this collection of poems overall to those of Interrogations at Noon, Gioia's more recent work. Perhaps because these ones are more raw. I like storms and angry weather.

[John Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems around losing a child and the growth of a murderer were especially effective.

[Michael Dionne]

I like Gioia. I am still learning poetry. I’m attracted to his idea of “the new formalism.”