This Present Moment: New Poems

by Gary Snyder

"This present momentThat lives onTo becomeLong ago."For his first collection of new poems since his celebrated Danger on Peaks, published in 2004, Gary Snyder finds himself ranging over the planet. Journeys to the Dolomites, to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, from Paris and Tuscany to the shrine at Delphi, from Santa Fe to Sella Pass, Snyder lays out these poems as a map of the last decade. Placed side–by–side, they become a path and a trail of complexity and lyrical regard, a sort of riprap of the poet's eighth decade. And in the mix are some of the most beautiful domestic poems of his great career, poems about his work as a homesteader and householder, as a father and husband, as a friend and neighbor. A centerpiece in this collection is a long poem about the death of his beloved, Carole Koda, a rich poem of grief and sorrow, rare in its steady resolved focus on a dying wife, of a power unequaled in American poetry.As a friend is quoted in one of these new "I met the other lately in the far back of a bar,musicians playing near the window and hesweetly told me "listen to that music.The self we hold so dear will soon be gone.""Gary Snyder is one of the greatest American poets of the last century, and This Present Moment shows his command, his broad range, and his remarkable courage.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, 21st Century, American

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Gary Snyder is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of Deep Ecology". Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the American Book Award. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. He has translated literature into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese. For many years, Snyder was an academic at the University of California, Davis, and for a time served as a member of the California Arts Council.

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Snyder has aged as gracefully as any writer I can think of, assuming the mantle of Turtle Island elder with a calm intelligence and humor that shines through the murk of a time and place that have lost touch with their roots and possibilities. The final poem in the collection's worth quoting in full:

This present moment
that lives on

to become

long ago



This Present Moment is in part a miscellany, gathering poems written decades ago (several, Snyder writes in the notes, lost or misplaced) with several "flights" (in the sense of wine tastings) of lyrics reflecting on his travels around the world and his continuing love of his homestead in northern California. But the high point of the collection, and one of the high points of Snyder's career, is "Go Now," an elegy for his wife Carole Koda, which should assume a place with the most powerful and lasting memorium poems in the English language. It's unsparingly sad and beautiful, looking at death without sentiment or evasion, a profound meditation on suffering and joy.

[Mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great new book from Gary Snyder, showcasing several of the various poetic styles exhibited elsewhere; short pithy poems, short seemingly simplistic poems but ones which are actually rather esoteric and finally the rambling prose-poems which I find quite charming. I've always found Snyder to be a brilliant prose writer and sometimes excellent poet, with a very intelligent and sharp mind, exhibiting an enormous amount of common sense, which many modern urbanites could learn from (including myself). He won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1970s for Turtle Island (a native American name for 'America') and deservedly so.

The second-to-last poem in this collection, called Go Now about saying farewell to a loved one, somebody you have loved most of your life, at a funeral just slayed me. Absolutely shattered me. So sad but beautiful at the same time - probably because it reminds me of my mother's funeral last year and the poem sliced back the scars.

When his poems are clear, they are almost perfect with nothing superfluous in each line but are trimmed down to the bare essentials. However, sometimes I find his poems rather obscure and I felt that Snyder, in a similar way to Pound, is doing this on purpose as he wants us to put in 'the hard yards' with our study and enjoy the thrill of being in the library flipping through (reference) books in search of the truth ourselves and along the way discover other truths inadvertently. In this sense, it's almost like some of these poems are mere signposts to bigger truths which Snyder (and for that matter Pound too) wishes for us to discover by ourselves. Like with Pound, the more study you put into the work, the more rewarding it will be.

Snyder is an incredibly intelligent man exhibiting a poetic mastery on par with Ezra Pound coupled with the spirituality and level-headed common sense of Thoreau. His writings should be assigned readings in school in my opinion.

I love the TITLE POEM which closes this collection called This Present Moment

This present moment
That lives on

To Become

Long ago...

[Larry Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have followed the writing of Gary Snyder these past 50 years as I have, you will be doubly delighted by the echoes found in this collection done in his 80s. There are poems of people and places, of love and age, and the sweet connections we can make when we just listen closely to the world around us. Snyder is a poet of the body...as seen in his early poems of sexuality and in the wonderful "The Bath" in which he baths his young son, his wife, and himself. Here that intimacy comes in the final poem of the book "Go Now" in which he shares the intimacy of his wife's dying. Despite his warning: "You do not want to read this,/ reader,/ be warned, turn back/ from the darkness, go now," you must read this poem again and again to know the beauty and the pain of aging and passing and letting go. This poem alone is worth the price of the whole book, but the rest is rich with his sensual aliveness and his humor of knowing and going on. It is a small classic and a tribute to living in the present moment.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a lifetime of casting his eye westward toward the East, Snyder looks eastward toward the deep Western tradition of Greece, Rome, the tundra of ancient France, and the trek of Otzi the iceman. At 80, he also confronts the wildlife and faltering machinery of his California home as well as the death of his wife. An extraordinary book.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Present Moment

In 2015 Snyder wrote this collection of forty new poems. Snyder is unquestionably one of my favorite poets and I was highly impressed with this work. The last poem called 'Go Now' is about his wife's passing and is one of the best poems that I've read in some time. It reminded me a great deal of the poet Donald Hall's writing about his own wife's death. There are many other excellent poems here too, especially those centered on places in California and the Pacific Northwest and his travels to Europe. I for one underestimated the eighty-five year old Snyder's wisdom and mastery or I would have read sooner.

Here were my favorite poems of the bunch.

1. Walking the Long and Shady Elwha
2. Artemis and Pan
3. Old New Mexican Genetics
4. Why California Will Never Be Like Tuscany
5. Chiura Obata's Moon
6. Log Truck on the 80
7. Eiffel Tundra
8. Young David in Florence, Before the Kill
9. Otzi Crosses Over
10. Go Now

5 stars

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

His first collection since 2004, this book finds Gary Snyder to be a strong, vital poet speaking on nature and spirit. The longer poem, "Go Now," written about the death of his wife is a devastating and powerful piece that only increases Snyder's already strong reputation. A strong entry in the work of an important American poet.

[Bob Peru · Rating 5 out of 5]

the piece about his wife's death is for all the marbles.
beautifully moving.
and harrowing.

[Jarkko Tontti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viimeistelty kokonaisuus, runoilijan elämäntyön huippu. Koskettaa, herättää.

[Rasmus Tillander · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beat-sukupolven Thoreau" vakuuttaa edelleen.

Gary Snyderin Kilpikonnasaari oli ensimmäinen runokokoelma, joka aikoinaan todella iski minuun. Tämä uusin kokoelma ei nouse aivan sen tasolle, mutta Tämä hetki tarjosi runouden iloa ja rauhaa hektiseen syksyyn.

Jälkisanoissaan kääntäjä Tero Tähtinen nostaa esiin sen, että Snyderia ärsyttää miten häntä luonnehditaan luontorunoilijaksi, omasta mielestään hän on "työrunoilija". Ja se näkyy tässä kokoelmassa, vaikka jylhät maisemat saavat tietenkin osansa poetiikan taiasta, liityvät hienoimmat runot generaattorien korjaamiseen, suhteeseen vanhan Macintoshin kanssa tai kalalounaseen meksilaisravintolassa.

Tähtinen nostaa esiin myös Snyderin lahjan paikkojen kuvaamisessa ja tässäkin kokoelmassa lukija pääsee esimerkiksi korealaiseen buddhalaistemppeliin, Vltava-joelle ja Madascarille ihmettelemään auringonnousua.

Kokoelman päätös on julman kaunis "Mene nyt", jossa Snyder kuvaa vaimonsa vakavaa sairautta, kuolemaa ja tuhkausta. Se on raadollinen, mutta rakkaudentäyteinen elegia.


Se, että nämä runot on käännetty suomeksi teki minut aidosti onnelliseksi.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not his best.

[Jeff Lochhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the nature-based poems, but others less so. Poem about his wife’s death was powerful.

[Kristi Galloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some favorite lines:

Don’t need much light for stories in the night


I knew even then
I’d never feel quite like that
with anyone,
ever again.


This present moment
that lives on

to become

long ago

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite poem of this text would be Stories in the Night. It is the one I have read and reread, over and over. I identify with the generator that does not work, the comfort in making tea, the salvation of the 3/4 inch crushed rock delivery in late winter, and traveling through Kyushu. And then the Buddhist author hits me with "I could never be a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew because the Ten Commandments fall short of moral rigor." And "that other thing, can't have 'no other god before me' -- like, profound anxiety of power and jealousy and envy, what sort of god is that? worrying all the time? "' What? You clearly have not read the Bible in it's entirety, dear Author. And, to quote some fourth century teacher, "That God called Yahweh to the west, he's really something. But too bad, he has this nutty thing that he's Creator of the world.' That could really set you back." Oh, my. Still, a well written collection of poems, and in spite of my solid faith in Christ, and in Yahweh, my favorite poem of the bunch will likely remain Stories in the Night. And I will read it again, and again.

[Dan Gobble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Snyder's short, terse poems, coarse in places, fully connected to place, whether his own backyard or visiting the Hai-en Temple in South Korea. One of my favorites from this collection is titled "Inupiaq values" and needs no explanation:

"Inupiaq values"
HUMOR
SHARING
HUMILITY
HARD WORK
SPIRITUALITY
COOPERATION
FAMILY ROLES
AVOID CONFLICT
HUNTER SUCCESS
DOMESTIC SKILLS
LOVE FOR CHILDREN
RESPECT FOR NATURE
RESPECT FOR OTHERS
RESPECT FOR ELDERS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRIBE
KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE
KNOWLEDGE OF FAMILY TREE

On the walls of a classroom in a tiny school in Kobuk Alaska just a bit south of the tree-line.

(Gary Snyder, "This Present Moment: New Poems", Counterpoint: Berkley, 2015, p. 55)

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Go Now" is one of the most real, compassionate poems I've ever read. Contemplating his wife's death, Snyder captures the triple depth of love, sorrow, and relief with such rooted resonance. His verse has the tenacity of one of the gnarly old trees that crop up throughout the book, but is imbued with the emotional and spiritual resilience necessary to keep from snapping.

This was my first book-length experience with Snyder. I can't claim to have understood all his references, much less how the book sits within his arc as a poet, but that didn't keep me from appreciating his mystical awareness of the world around him.

[Mark Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snyder's poems are essays in miniature--essays on a page, in a few wisps of words. If I am in a hurry to think for a long time, they are perfect.

My absolute favorite in his latest collection is the last poem, "Go Now." Against his warning, I read it and it worked its way into my consciousness. But I also loved "Reinventing North America," "Walking the Long and Shady Elwha," and "Gnarly."

[StevenF · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions speak to me and tap me into the essence of BEING alive.With a select few, Snyder is worthy of being placed next to Stonehouse(Red Pine Translation) on a special bookshelf. I am grateful that I can read.Superb.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not being a big reader of poetry I have to say I was taken off guard by Gary Snyder's poetry. It is well written and very moving. I won this great book on GoodReads and like I do with most my wins I will be paying it forward by giving my win either to a friend or library to enjoy.

[Michael McGrinder]

The poetry is fine but as much as I want to, I can't really relate to it. I think I like the "idea" of Gary Snyder more than I like his work. Am I being unfair?

[Steven Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful meditation on nature and life. One of our greatest poets, does not disappoint in this collection.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've finally discovered Gary Snyder. I wish it had been sooner. What a visionary! His poems take you places he has been and in generally brief glimpses shares what his eyes saw, what his body experienced. I'm reminded of Wordsworth's "emotion recollected in tranquility." The poet's powerful emotions in the moment are translated into words so that the reader can almost experience the same intensity of feeling.

The poems are filled with fellow-feeling for all creatures, a love of our Mother Earth. It's the stuff of hippies and communes and living an earth centered life, eschewing our Western dissociation from nature and love of acquiring lots of things for which we willingly, gleefully, arrogantly, plunder and destroy the only home we have.

"Go Now," the final poem in the collection left me shaken. It is easily the most moving poem I've ever read about love and death. It's tender and raw. The poet warned, "You don't want to read this, reader, be warned, turn back from the darkness, go now." But I didn't turn back. "Worth it. Easily worth it."

[Michael McCue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have known about the poet Gary Snyder since I read a section about him in one of my high school English text books. The introduction to the poetry section of the textbook emphasized Snyder as a poet who was also an active outdoor type man. He worked as a lumberjack and fire lookout. This Present Moment includes poems about the Northern California mountains where Snyder has lived for over 30 years. I got to live near there for ten years. Snyder has really captured the feel and the reality of that part of the world. His poetry doesn't just praise mountains, he captures human life just as well. The first poem in this book, Gnarly is about cutting firewood. A Letter to M. A. Who Lives Far Away was Snyder's answer to a letter from a young fan who wrote to him in rhyme. It is I think the only Snyder poem that rhymes. This Present Moment is a book that should be read more than once.

[Robert Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was influenced to read this book by a seeing a great article on the Beat Generation recently in the Washington Post by Jeff Weiss. These poems are wonderful and continue the great appreciation and look at all the world and its inhabitants that Snyder has always pursued. Many jewels including his naming of the all the individual hounds of Actaeon in his own Snyder fashion while remembering that Ovid and another classical poet had also done the same. And speaking of names he gives you a reason not to worry about them in how to look at birds. The volume ends with a beautiful long poem about his wife's death, Go Now, and the first line is a warning to the reader to go and not read the poem rather than a whisper to her.

[Matthew Stolte · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a warning at the end to read no further; i take these notes before reading in case i am cursed. The poem "Claws/ Cause" appears in the last collection of poems, but here with a fuller dedication & a few changes. Some poems very accessible; others of foreign lands provide opportunity for study. Some poems blunt; others flick off like a fish, making me think twice ("Rome was built in a day."?). I am an "equal opportunity" reader/ gazer of poetry - a new volume of poems by Snyder is as exciting as any. & now to proceed as usual, where angels fear.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that I had a hard time with this one. There were some moments of brilliance and times when I thought it was dull and times when I just didn't get it. It seems like a hodge-podge of things from throughout his life - almost all of which were reprints from previous renditions. The highlight for me was the longish, hair-raising poem about the death and cremation of his wife. I still have to read the book of letters between Snyder and Wendell Berry. It MUST be better than this.

[Keith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I would like this book because it was a surprising full length collection from Snyder! But it seemed so right to me. At the time I was thinking it would be his last book, but now he has continued on at full speed for almost another 4 years, with no sign of diminishment in sight. Below are a few words I wrote for the Ann Arbor Observer about his last visit here in 2015

https://annarborobserver.com/articles...

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A curious and fascinating collection of life experiences rendered in the sometimes splintered and sometimes sprawling verse of a master. Throughout, he seems to be saying “walk with me, see with me, live these moments with me.” His love of life and respect for the reader are always clear in his work.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Snyder is a wonderful poet, and I can see that his reputation is well deserved. There were a handful of poems in this collection that I especially loved: Stories in the Night, Go Now, Sunday, How to Know Birds.

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here

In the dark
(The new moon long set)

A soft grumble in the breeze
Is the sound of a jet so high
It's already long gone by

Some planet
Rising from the east shines
Through the trees

It's been years since I thought,

Why are we here?

[Vivian Zenari · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first Gary Snyder book, and it was hit and miss for me. It contains some startling poems, though: "Go Now" (about a cremation). I liked a couple other ones. I have two more Snyder books to read.