Too Bright to See

by Linda Gregg

Book by Gregg, Linda

Genres: Poetry

67 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Linda Gregg is the author of several collectios of poetry: In the Middle Distance, Things and Flesh, Chosen by the Lion, The Sacraments of Desire, Alma,Too Bright to See and All of It Singing. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Literary Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She won 2006 PEN/Voelcker Award winner for Poetry and has won a Whiting Award.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Julia Hannafin · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet and feeling, with sharp darts of bitter medicine. afterward i think i am a body full of light and i can’t help but to let life in.

[Ron Mohring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jett Whitehead found me a hardcover copy of this book in back in '95 I think. Though I've read all of Linda's work except the new collected (selected?), it's this title, along with Alma and The Sacraments of Desire, that I come back to again and again.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slight, problematic, occasionally disarming and lovely book of poems. It's wonderful to read these early poems as foundations laid for her later and best books, The Sacraments of Desire and Chosen by the Lion. My favorites of the poems herein were "Alma in All Seasons" and "Blake."

[Gary McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really informed my writing during my first year at BGSU.

[Robert Walkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good first book! Worth reading, especially to see how she developed as a poet.

[Mandy E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This morning I found myself a ragged, water-spoilt copy I can afford...sigh of relief

[june · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

"My presence stings. / I grow specific without consequence."

"Who moves from grace by choice?"

"I am moon / to what I am doing and what I was."

"The space we breathe is also called distance. / Presence gives. Absence allows and calls,"

"I will persist in this permanence / that flesh holds."

"The light of the heart (sun).
The light of the mind (moon).
Longing and having make it all
possible for us."

[ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

'there she is' has been one of my favourite poems for years but i've never read any of her full collections--obviously this was beautiful and i think i copied at least 3 of 4 poems into notebooks or my archives

— "If the happiness lasts,
it is the smoothness. The part
we do not notice. The language he made
was from the bruises. What lasted
are the eyes. Something ugly
and eaten into. What a mess his eyes are." (from Goethe's Death Mask)

[alicia gan · Rating 4 out of 5]

lindaaaa new poet discovered this year and i am a fan

favorite poems

we manage most when we manage small
the girl i call alma
different not less

ideas of

solitary not lonely
habit
contraries (blakean)
the surreal
the night

how can we attempt to compose, to arrange our lives, despite the absurdity. where do we get our dignity. one thing at a time– "This touching home / goes far. This fishing in the air."

[Brittany Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading my first taste of Linda Gregg. Too Bright To See is a collection of confusion, doubt, and hesitation. Gregg's poetic line breathes choice and indecision and acceptance. Torn between love and creation, she writes of life and of marriage, love and obligation. These poems are a confounding collection, but one that challenges and pushes beyond the limits of possibility.

[ceciliaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m the worse part, but mean no harm.
I might scare a deer, but I walk and breathe
as quiet as a person can learn.

Me había cruzado con unos poemas de ella que me gustaron tanto que pensé en aprenderlo de memoria para repetirlo cuando ando en tren, pero de acá nada me marcó, igualmente toca ver cómo se desarrollan sus otros libros.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could not get into this. I liked No More Marriages and Trouble in the Portable Marriage but overall just wasn’t a fan of this book. Some lovely images but also some cliches. I didn’t really feel anything reading the poems.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I was overthinking or not thinking enough but I couldn't connect with this poetry.

[cel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tentative 4 stars; I only realized the magic of the book towards the end (more to do with my skills as a reader over Linda Gregg's skills as a poet). Will revisit

[Will]

yes!!