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Pierce's most compelling book of poems expresses the delights of the senses and the hard play of emotion. They celebrate the wonders of nature and explore the nature of love and friendship.
- GenresPoetry
129 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Marge Piercy
113 books926 followersMarge Piercy is an American poet, novelist, and social activist. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Gone to Soldiers, a sweeping historical novel set during World War II.
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 23, 2018
(4.5) Marge Piercy – what a great discovery! I’m especially pleased with this book as it was a random find at Bookbarn on our last trip. Many poetry volumes get a middling rating from me because some of the poems are memorable but others do nothing for me. This is on the longer side for a collection at 120+ pages, but only a handful of its poems fell flat. The subjects are diverse: travels in Europe (my cover depicts the Avebury stone circle in the gloom), menstruation, identifying as a Jew as well as a feminist, scattering her father’s ashes, the stresses of daily life, and being in love.
The title poem, which appears first, has a slightly melancholy tone with its focus on the short days of winter, but the poet defiantly asserts meaning despite the mood: “Even the dead of winter: it seethes with more / than I can ever live to name and speak” (versus, later on in “A candle in a glass,” “We lose and we go on losing as long as we live, / a little winter no spring can melt.”)
Some of my favorites were “Eat fruit,” about selectively adhering to the lessons her mother taught her; “La dolce far niente,” describing how difficult it is for a workaholic to be idle; and the final section of “The ram’s horn sounding,” in which the poet wrestles the deity for words: “bless me and use me for telling and naming / the forever collapsing shades and shapes of life”.
The title poem, which appears first, has a slightly melancholy tone with its focus on the short days of winter, but the poet defiantly asserts meaning despite the mood: “Even the dead of winter: it seethes with more / than I can ever live to name and speak” (versus, later on in “A candle in a glass,” “We lose and we go on losing as long as we live, / a little winter no spring can melt.”)
Some of my favorites were “Eat fruit,” about selectively adhering to the lessons her mother taught her; “La dolce far niente,” describing how difficult it is for a workaholic to be idle; and the final section of “The ram’s horn sounding,” in which the poet wrestles the deity for words: “bless me and use me for telling and naming / the forever collapsing shades and shapes of life”.
November 10, 2015
Even though I only loved three poems in this collection, I am giving it four stars because I believe these three poems tackle topics in feminism and women's lives that don't normally get voiced.
In "Joy Road and Livernois," the speaker talks about the girls she grew up with and where they all ended up (spoiler: they met various terrible fates). This poem is haunting in that the speaker feels a certain amount of guilt for escaping Detroit while these women did not and were trapped by their impoverished circumstances with little opportunity. This is especially strong in the final stanza.
In "Something to look forward to," the speaker talks about when she got her period. She thought it was the most awful thing ever and couldn't wait for menopause when she wouldn't have to deal with the blood. I love this poem because this is not the type of topic poetry normally addresses, and it was a wonderful reprieve and essential look into the reality of women's lives
Finally, "Loving the crone" addresses ageism that the speaker sees as rampant in society. Why are older women always cast as witches, hags, and other villain types? Why can't their contributions to society be celebrated? Just because they no longer have the youthful beauty that so many seem to cherish does not mean they do not still feel that youthful vigor and beauty still within themselves. I love this concept and was so happy to see Piercy write about it in this poem.
In "Joy Road and Livernois," the speaker talks about the girls she grew up with and where they all ended up (spoiler: they met various terrible fates). This poem is haunting in that the speaker feels a certain amount of guilt for escaping Detroit while these women did not and were trapped by their impoverished circumstances with little opportunity. This is especially strong in the final stanza.
In "Something to look forward to," the speaker talks about when she got her period. She thought it was the most awful thing ever and couldn't wait for menopause when she wouldn't have to deal with the blood. I love this poem because this is not the type of topic poetry normally addresses, and it was a wonderful reprieve and essential look into the reality of women's lives
Finally, "Loving the crone" addresses ageism that the speaker sees as rampant in society. Why are older women always cast as witches, hags, and other villain types? Why can't their contributions to society be celebrated? Just because they no longer have the youthful beauty that so many seem to cherish does not mean they do not still feel that youthful vigor and beauty still within themselves. I love this concept and was so happy to see Piercy write about it in this poem.
July 8, 2018
A tour de force! From “Joy Road and Livernois” to “Slides” to “Country Pleasures” to “The Ram’s Horn,” this collection of poems surges with the power of a rogue wave crashing over the unsuspecting beachcomber—the punch of the impact, the crush of the water, the brutal grind against the cutting coral, the orgasmic sense of drowning, the helplessness and despair, the glimmer of light, the surfacing, the undertow that threatens to take you out to sea, the next wave. Yet who can resist the ocean?
June 13, 2025
3.5 rounded up.
.
This was enjoyable. Piercy uses beautiful language, and though some of the poems were dense, others were light-hearted and even funny.
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"Joy Road and Livernois"
-"The bottom line"
-"Wrong Monday"
-"We don't have much to say to each other"
-"The answer to all problems"
-"For mourning"
-"Moves on the ceiling"
-"Perfect weather"
.
This was enjoyable. Piercy uses beautiful language, and though some of the poems were dense, others were light-hearted and even funny.
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"Joy Road and Livernois"
-"The bottom line"
-"Wrong Monday"
-"We don't have much to say to each other"
-"The answer to all problems"
-"For mourning"
-"Moves on the ceiling"
-"Perfect weather"
March 1, 2018
Piercy’s poems, when they hit their stride, possess an earthy in your face assertiveness that combines natural, animal imagery with bald human striving. Her work is a collision of forces: beauty with primal demand, innocence with cunning, flat words with delicate ideas. I like it.
December 31, 2023
Published when I was a young child, this slim volume remains a relevant marvel. The author, Marge Piercy, inspires me to hike and write, perhaps at the same time! What other feeling could a reader want from reading poetry?
October 29, 2019
It was pretty good.
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March 19, 2020Wonderful poetry. Like all Piercy's verse, the lyrics are well crafted but accessible and evocative. Significant without pretension.
June 24, 2016
"Because all artists know the self
is a bag of roaring winds northeast, south, west
coiling for a curious fool to loose them,
and all artists are fools who push on and in
servants of chaos and of order in each season
as Persephone labored to please death and fertility
finding in herself both seed and skull
the flower that opens at each end of life."
is a bag of roaring winds northeast, south, west
coiling for a curious fool to loose them,
and all artists are fools who push on and in
servants of chaos and of order in each season
as Persephone labored to please death and fertility
finding in herself both seed and skull
the flower that opens at each end of life."
August 25, 2007
I don't have a lot of specifics in my memory, but I have always admired the humor and compassion of Marge Piercy's poetry. She is a prolific novelist as well, but for some reason, I've never been able to get into her novels. Possibly one of you will have a recommendation?
February 16, 2015
Visceral and powerful, not what I was expecting having read her novels but still compelling.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews