Measured by Stone

by Sam Hamill

These poems exhibit the range of Sam Hamill's celebrated practice and vision, from philosophical and discursive elements to the intensely lyrical, from his continuing poems of praise (and elegies) for fellow poets to the clear influence of the Zen classics he has so notably translated.

Genres: Poetry

90 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Poet, editor, translator, and essayist, Sam Hamill is author of more than thirty books including two from BOA Editions, Gratitude (1998), and Dumb Luck(2002). He has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including ones from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, two Washington Governor’s Arts Awards, the Stanley Lindberg Lifetime Achievement Award for Editing, and the Washington Poets Association Lifetime Achievement Award for poetry. He co-founded Copper Canyon Press, and has worked extensively in prisons and with battered women and children.

Reviews

[jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

from nine gates

2.
my aspirations
are all here. my poetry
will very likely
die with me, and that's okay.
it's just my way of getting

through another day,
of trying to be alive
as often as i
can be. i don't know the way.
i grope. i stumble. i fall.

it's all mystery.
for which i am most grateful.
old fool that i am,
i'm happy in my skin. shush!
listen to the sparrow sing.

[Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The problem with writing about current events is that you risk showing your age and becoming irrelevant. This book was less relateable and enjoyable than books I've read from the 30s despite having just turned 10.
It isn't that he chooses to write about war, but that he does it with no personal affects and without saying anything novel. The first third of the book basically reads "War is bad. M'kay?" and while I nodded along I don't know why he felt the need to tall me something so obvious for so long.
The second third reads like a college freshman who just discovered eastern philosophy and is mentally masturbating via name dropping.
The third part he actually discusses some personal events. I found it touching and moving, so there is that.
A few diamonds in the rough, but pretty redundant. May be your thing if you are really into eastern philosophy or early Iraq war protest poetry.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well crafted poems. Not the beauty of some of the earlier work. Almost too political. I would like to have seen more off the wall stuff and less composing