More Than This: Poems

by David Kirby

More Than This , like David Kirby's previous acclaimed collections, is shot through with the roadhouse fervor of early rock 'n' roll. Yet these rollicking poems also contain an oceanic feeling more akin to the great symphonies of Europe than the two-minute singles of Little Richard and other rock pioneers, as Kirby seeks to startle, to please, to unwind the knots that we get ourselves into and make it possible to being anew. Little goes unnoticed in these death is present, along with love, friendship, food, religious ardor and philosophical skepticism, nights on the town and quiet evenings at home. With More Than This , his twelfth collection, Kirby takes readers back in time and out in space, offering quiet wisdom and a sense of the endless possibilities that art and life give us all.

Genres: Poetry, Literary Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2019

About the author

David Kirby (born 1944) is an American poet and the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University (FSU).

Kirby has published over 20 books, including collections of poetry, and literary criticism. His new and selected poetry collection, The House on Boulevard St. (Louisiana State University Press), was nominated for the 2007 National Book Award in poetry. His work has won numerous awards, including four Pushcart Prizes, the James Dickey Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

Kirby obtained his Ph.D. in 1969 from Johns Hopkins University. He lives with his wife and fellow poet Barbara Hamby in Tallahassee, Florida.

Reviews

[Sarah Fowler Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal, wonderful, beautiful. My new favorite collection of Kirby's. Delightful and occasionally thought-provoking, like the man himself.

[Gary Leising · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because the software here won’t let me give it more. All the paradoxes of poetry rich in this volume, love and loss and life in all its splendor.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love David Kirby's poetry.