Ground Work: Selected Poems and Essays 1970-1979

by Paul Auster

A collection of poetry and prose from Paul Auster, the author of "New York Trilogy" and "Moon Palace". The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a selection from the author's volumes of poetry published in America in the 1970s and the second part is a collection of his essays.

Genres: Poetry, Essays, Fiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Paul Auster was the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Bloodbath Nation, Baumgartner, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He was also a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). Auster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He died at age seventy-seven in 2024.

Reviews

[Walter Schutjens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Auster deivers here an impressive collection of essays that use as impulse the most interesting existing characters in both fiction and the realm of authors who write them to make nuanced and engaging points about the point of writing.

The poetry which comprosed the first half of the book I found much less enjoyable, it was a bit too forced in a symbolistic manner and overtly curated with no natural authorial voice. These are afterall his very first works. But that latter point of explanation was summarily put in the blurb, “this edition gives a sense of the development of Austers thought” a.k.a “if you are such an Auster fan that youre willing to sit through poetry of a 22 year old aspiring writer to understand better his development, go ahead and read it”.

I think im finding i like Austers non-fiction better than his fiction. I suppose that means it is time for his debut memoirs.

[Arma · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4,5**

Este libro ha sido un maravilloso descubrimiento. Pocos autores tienen el duende y/o talento para escribir muy bien en distintos géneros. Auster es uno de ellos. Sus poemas tienen una energía e imágenes poderosas. Sus ensayos, alejado de tanta crítica literaria, invitan a buscar ese objeto que le llamó la atención, ya sea un libro o una pintura.

Recomendado.

[Cristina Egea · Rating 4 out of 5]

He de reconocer que sólo me he leído la parte de poesía (que era la que me interesaba) y ha sido una sorpresa francamente grata. Esperaba toparme con versos "de andar por casa", pero lo que he encontrado es magia.
Con este libro Auster ha conseguido revolucionar a mis Musas y probablemente por eso le he cogido un cariño especial.

[Poly Ranca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depósito Legal: B. 44401-1998
ISBN: 84-339-6617-0
código de barras: 9788433966179

[Aina Ballesteros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado.

[Brent Legault · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small paperback book sells for a large price on Amazon and I don't understand why. It's more than a little mediocre in my estimation.