Parthenopi: New and Selected Poems

by Michael Waters

In the title poem of this collection, the speaker declares that "the common measure of love is loss," signature qualities of the poems of Michael Waters. New and Selected Poems collects the best of Waters, whose vivid, sensual poems evoke poignant memories of loss and the emotional aftermath. Contains generous selections from Waters’ six previous volumes, as well as new work.

Michael Waters is the author of six previous poetry collections. Among his awards are a Fellowship in Creative Writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, two Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council and two Pushcart Prizes. He is professor of English at Salisbury State University in his home town of Salisbury, Maryland.

Genres: Poetry

130 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume gets stronger almost precisely as it advances. The earlier poems, dealing with childhood remembrances and youthful passions, are well-crafted and at times moving and incisive, but there is an air of sentimentality and a formulaic quality lingering in many of them. The later poems though, which deal with mortality (and immortal forces), marriage, divorce and sex are strong, most especially travel encounters with an unforgettably evoked series of creatures and artifacts -- sea turtles, morpho, driftwood, conch, torches and more -- that illuminate and transform reality into a hard and rippling beauty.