New and Selected Poems 1974-2004

by Carl Dennis

The New York Times has called Carl Dennis’s poetry “wise, original, and deeply moving.” A poet with a growing audience of admirers, Dennis writes in a clear, classically simple language that is both personal and universal. Making use of a rich variety of genres—advice, meditation, elegy, and prophecy—his poems take unexpected turns as they explore their subjects, catching the reader off balance in a way that is liberating. This new anthology gathers the best of his eight previous books along with a generous sampling of new poems.

Genres: Poetry

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Randy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains selections from Mr. Dennis’s poetry over forty years. I first came across his work in one of those ‘best of poetry’ collections. I found his prosy, matter of fact style refreshing and illuminating. The poem that caught my eye was ‘The Window in Spring,’ from the 1993 collection. Its a meditation on neighbors whose outward presentation to the world is so radically different; one, neat and tidy, conformist and quiet, the other chaotic and rambling, the weed grown car hulks of the first line ever so telling. I was attract to the immediacy of the poem, the prescience of something frayed in American life and with the Jehovah witness coming to the door about to tell the poet of the poem that his society had caught fire.

Mr. Dennis has understandably won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and this collection has many fine poems that quietly made their points, opened up vistas in my mind and delighted my ear with their often precise and well-balanced sounds. In some of my favorite poems, Dennis captures that delicate sense of life’s continuity within the amidst of ceaseless change. He does it with specifics, grounding themes in vividness.

But ultimately I find his poetry like I find common sense; a worked for and distilled quality that seems clear and plain but which contains quiet wisdom. There is certainly a place for this kind of poetry as there is for common sense and I’m sure I will read more poems by Mr. Dennis but I didn’t need to read a comprehensive collection of his work. I didn’t feel him stretching for insights beyond his grasp, no crazy leaps or shifts or shocks that left my head exploded.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Carl Dennis' 'New and Collected Poems' is a captivating journey through the corridors of the human experience. With each verse, Dennis effortlessly weaves together themes of introspection, nature, and the complexities of existence. His words resonate long after the final stanza, leaving readers pondering life's profound mysteries.

[Rau Telles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elliptical, gestural, incisive--Carl Dennis continues to inspire after all these years. The poetry takes time to unfold and time--lots of time--to understand, but it's worth the effort.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of good poems and not as good poems. Very straightforward and plain.

If you like poetry, worth the read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked these poems. They are very plainspoken and straightforward. His literary illusions are right on - and interesting. For a collection across the years I find it a very even collection. It is one of the stronger collections from beginning to end that I have come across. He has an incredible sense of detail - that while this is common in all good poets - he employs it more wisely than most.

[DilanAc · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dennis is a poet of conversations - the sweet imagined back and forth between him and another person. Narrative is also important, as is a carefulness with language.
A whole book of them does feel a bit repetitive. I wonder if at some point in his career, Dennis will experiment more.

There are some beauties in here though that touch me every time I read them. ""Twenty Years"" is one. ""Consolation"" is another."

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went through this volume with the intention of hearing Mr Dennis read, but I found the poems too loose, prosy I'd say. As I try to reach back, I cannot say that I have a clear recognition of any poem, nor can I say that the brief narratives he developed struck me or stuck with me.

With new volumes out by Gluck and Merwin, this collection really doesn't compete.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of three collections that Steve Orlen made me read in my first U of A semester. I appreciated the gesture, but felt the same about all three: very solid, well crafted poems that didn't excite me much.

[Philip Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

A source of daily wisdom and poetic pleasure

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful poems about the most obscure of subjects and the most common.
Took a long time to read because it was absolutely impossible to rush.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman]

First Edition, 2004, Penguin Poets/Penguin Books, paper
Black Sun: 4/26/2016, 18.00, New
New York, won Pulitzer