The Alchemist to Mercury: An Alternate Opus: Uncollected Poems 1960-1980

by Jed Rasula

Book by Jed Rasula

Genres: Poetry

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite Robert Kelly book, even though it is a collection of "uncollected" magazine appearances. It contains Kelly's early serial poem, The Exchanges, which is still, to my mind, one of the most exemplary examples of the form. The poem, The Alchemist, is also pretty amazing, and in general, the poems in this selection outshine Robert's own selected poems, Red Actions. Why is this? Well, I would guess that Kelly has such a massive body of work that he would tend to select the works that appear in his books (which are many), and not really have the time to revisit the works left out of those initial selections. Jed Rasula made this selection, and whatever his agenda was, he served the poet well here. At their best, Kelly's poems wash over the reader, filled as they are with highly involved vocabularies, lots of sensuality, and an endless appetite for information, both general and obscure. He can be maddenligly difficult sometimes, but these poems repay rereading, and the hermetic references become clearer over time.

[Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whirlwinds seizing everything within reach, and by carrying it aloft, fleshes out the visible shapes.