Now And Then. Poems 1976-1978

by Robert Penn Warren

Thirty-seven of Warren's poems written between 1976 and 1978, presented in reverse chronological order.

Genres: Poetry

75 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935. He received the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for All the King's Men (1946) and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1958 and 1979. He is the only person to have won Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and poetry.

Reviews

[Mike]

Less abstract and possibly more mature and direct than Promises, Penn Warren’s Pulitzer-winning Now and Then collection of poems primarily focuses on time, existence, and nostalgia. Common themes are dreams, moonlight, and autumn which give his poems a readable but ethereal feel, often demonstrating his brilliance with simple yet beautiful language. Only a few were too abstract for my comprehension. Favorites include Love Recognized, Diver, Rather Like a Dream, and Heart of Autumn.

[Wilbur]

Dense. Deep.

[Kenneth]

Everything is sacred.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin]

Of all his work, Warren said that he was most proud of this collection, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for 37 stellar reasons.

Favorite Poems:
“Red-Tail Hawk and Pyre of Youth”
“Star-Fall”
“Not Quite Like a Top”
“Waiting”
“Love Recognized”
“Heart of Autumn”

[Jeffrey (Akiva) Savett]

This was my first encounter with Robert Penn Warren's poetry. I'm incredibly impressed. My book is riddled with underlines, highlights and circles, and there isn't a poem in this collection which didn't warrant a re-read.

Though I've known Warren almost solely for his great novel All The King's Men, Warren considered himself a poet first and foremost. It's clear why he won two Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry, including one for this book.

Warren's poetry is about the big questions. There are no vignettes here about a married couple slicing tomatoes at the sink (although that sounds lovely). Warren is concerned with Time and Memory and how we come to define ourselves through what we remember of ourselves. That is not to say these poems are abstract or vaguely cerebral. One of the strongest poems, "Dive," is rich with pool, body, and water imagery all used as a metaphor for delving into the unconscious.

I recommend this highly.

[Andrew]

Not having read Robert Penn Warren's poetry before, I was not expecting something so formally loose. Eloquence and sharp imagery, certainly, and they are here in abundance, but I was surprised by the degree to which Warren seems to, in many cases, let the idea he's expressing determine the length of his line or sometimes shape his stanzas.

[Marion]

Good poems.

[Laura Heller]

Love RPW's poetry.

[Jason Linden]

I enjoyed this volume of poetry. Warren writes some of the most beautiful prose you'll find anywhere. I did lose the plot in a few poems, but overall, it was an enjoyable reading experience.