Swift: New and Selected Poems

by David Baker

A sweeping achievement from a poet whose "rhythms are as alive to the roll and tang of syllables on the tongue as they are to the circulation of blood and sap" (Rosanna Warren, Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize citation). David Baker, acclaimed for his combination of “visionary scope” ( Gettysburg Review ) and “emotional intensity” ( Georgia Review ), is one of contemporary poetry’s most gifted lyric poets. In Swift , he gathers poems from eight collections, including his masterful latest, Scavenger Loop (2015); the prize-winning, intimate travelogues of Never-Ending Birds (2009); and the complications of history and home in Changeable Thunder (2001). Opening the volume are fifteen new poems that continue Baker’s growth in form and voice as he investigates the death of parents, the loss of homeland, and a widening natural history, not only of his beloved Midwest but of the tropical flora and fauna of a Caribbean island. Together, these poems showcase the evolution of Baker’s distinct eco-poetic conscience, his mastery of forms both erotic and elegiac, and his keen eye for the shifting landscapes of passion, heartbreak, and renewal. With equal curiosity and candor, Baker explores the many worlds we all inhabit―from our most intimate relationships to the wider social worlds of neighborhoods, villages, and our complex national identity, to the environmental community we all share. With his dazzling formal restlessness and lifelong devotion to landscapes both natural and human on full display, David Baker demonstrates why he has been called “the most expansive and moving poet to come out of the American Midwest since James Wright” (Marilyn Hacker).

Genres: Poetry

160 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2019

About the author

David Baker is a poet, critic, and educator. He has received honors from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Society of America, and more. Baker lives in Granville, Ohio, where he is emeritus professor of English at Denison University.

Reviews

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poems contains a lot of gritty nature/pastoral poems, which I enjoyed for their grit and the strength of the vocabulary and imagery woven in. I was a little lost on a lot of the poems, as Baker is one of those poets who doesn't necessarily make things clear for the reader. The new poems were my least favorite, the ones in the middle of the book my favorite. He is clearly an environmentalist and someone who knows a lot about living in the countryside and I thought this came out strongly. He also uses interesting forms, and his word choice is beautiful even in the many instances where I wasn't sure what he was referring to or what his meaning was.
This was not my usual poetry read but I learned a lot from it and I appreciated it.

[Ot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read most of these so I skimmed this more than actually reading it but whatever. He’s obvs a master at descriptive language but I’m just not one for a bazillion nature poems. He does have this poem from the 80s called “Starlight” which is probably my fave of his and one of my fave love poems ever.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Baker is a poet who is aware of his place in creation. In this collection of fifteen new poems and selections from his seven previous books of poetry, we are drawn into our common world that is highlighted by his keen observations and knowledge of nature. One collection draws upon the negative impact of chemicals used on the farms in Mid-America. He writes about death and bemoans the idea that the American way of death takes us out of the circle of life as we ensure that not even worms can feast on our bodies. In an note after another poem, he points out the insane about of fuel used to cremate bodies in North America (estimated to be equivalent fuel needed to drive a car the distance of 80 round trips to the moon). He hears the coyote cry at night and muses about birds and butterflies, fish and frogs. Through a variety of styles of poetry, some I found easier to comprehend than others, Baker draws us into this world we inhabit. I encourage others to indulge themselves with his words and images and ponder how we might live as a more responsible member of this planet.

I met David late in 2019 at a reading at the Book Lady Bookstore (which is one of Savannah's treasures).

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were poems that I liked but there were a few that moved my soul/core. Therefore I’m giving this the highest of ratings. My absolute favorites below:


1. The Spring Ephemerals
The intertwining of nature and people in his descriptions is beautiful. He alludes to the oneness of both.

2. Pulp Fiction
Baker’s manipulation of scenes with words is masterful.

3. Still-Hildreth Sanitarium

4. Tract
I loved his wording around trees getting political and protesting their death in the intro. It’s what I find to be a very strong intro to what’s to come.

5. Memorial grief

6. Murder
Smart (and pretty funny) way of addressing the writer’s consistent usage of nature to convey other deeper meanings.

7. Patriotics

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A career-spanning collection by a lesser known poetry who writes stunningly about whatever he focuses on. The poems are lyrical and full of beautiful natural imagery, often from his home in the Midwest. A wonderful introduction to an underappreciated poet.

[Anne Lutomia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed "The Truth about Small Towns".

[Zuska · Rating 5 out of 5]

After starting to read this book the conventional way, I took the advice of a reviewer and read these poems back to front, from earliest poems to latest. I think it was a much better experience that way. One sees the poet revisiting places, thoughts, creatures (the deer, the birds). I liked the earlier work better than the most recent poems, but it was good to see them all together. Kind of like the experience I once had walking through a gallery retrospective of an artist's career, and seeing the painting evolve over time. The later very abstract paintings I would have liked less if they were all I'd seen, but seeing them as part of the artist's lifelong evolution gives them a context that let them resonate more strongly than they otherwise would have. In both cases, I was left with more understanding of how "difficult" works are grounded in more accessible experience. Though, I confess I still prefer a poem not require so much work to parse that the pleasure of reading it entirely escapes me. This may be my shortcoming as a reader of poetry, but life is short, and there's a lot of reading I want to get done!

[Dylan]

I'm reading through Lithub's 365 Books to Start Your Climate Change Library, a reading list in four sections (Classics, Science, Fiction & Poetry, and Ideas). This book is #22 of Part 3: Fiction & Poetry and #58 overall.

Found a few that I liked. Lots of Wikipedia in the works cited.

[Uma Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A naturalist afraid for the world and what it might become. Eclogues and poems about loved ones, the damage of urban life, and so much explicit detail about the natural world that most nature poets would never bother with, as well as reflections on the soul's capacity to inflict harm, here is certainly a naturalist who loves the planet for all that it offers and is filled with a passionate duty to tell us all about it.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemingly another collection of well constructed, enlightened observations meant for the writer and not the reader. A few like "Patriots" spoke to me, but mostly took note of the rhythm and pace of the wording since I hadn't really a clue what the meaning was.

[Kelsey Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetry is so personal and so hard to really give a rating. I found his imagery beautiful and also quite melancholy and sad. I couldn't say there was one that I really really really liked. Perhaps in a few years when I'm older.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Wrecker Driver Foresees Your Death” strikes me hard every time I read it—the last part sums up my thoughts on mourning and loss better than I ever could hope to express. It is unflinching, yet it comforts me.