Straight Out of View

by Joyce Sutphen

poetry

Genres: Poetry

106 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Joyce Sutphen (born 1949) is an American poet, currently serving as Minnesota's Poet Laureate. She is the state's second laureate, appointed by Governor Mark Dayton in August, 2011. Sutphen also serves as a professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota.

Reviews

[ariel *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i thought some were good, some REALLY good, and others very typical/or too personal for me to connect to or to be universal. the beginning was very strong, while the 2-4 parts were a little lacking for me, and a few poems at the end were good.

some of my favorites include: please follow these instructions, double exposure, in praise of unlovely voices, burning the woods of my childhood, lunar landing, death becomes me, and what you wanted.

[Neil Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! All the way through from the initial instructions for reading to the final poem, Crossroads.

12.20.2025

Still amazing! The last poem in this book, Cross Roads, the first Sutphen I ever read, still explodes on the page as my favorite. The one right across the page, Living in the Body, ain’t too shabby either. In fact, all of Part 5 strikes me as wonderful, touching, frightening, telling ruminations on death and impermanence. And I love puzzling over who Angie is in Part 4.

Please Follow These Instructions at the very beginning is a wry reminder of how to read everything that follows.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Near the British Museum, Lunar Landing (contrast this poem with The First Breast by George Bilgere), In Black.

[Dan Gobble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful poems. I especially enjoy the ones set on farms or in rural areas and experiences of life.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

THoughtful images meaningfully placed.