Poems About Sculpture (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series)

Not as good as poems about painting as art, still these are very good gems of words and deserve close reading. Rewarding!

Charming, and the poems really make you think. Some are not explicitly about sculpture in the traditional sense. A great volume if you want to explore some new poets.

Amazing book, small, great gift! Such beautiful work even what was written on a granite bench!

This is an anthology of poems about sculpture selected by a sculptor and it's a good one. Sculpture is an art form with a long and powerful memory. The beautifully chosen poems in this superb pocket-sized collection paint word-pictures of stone figures that date to the prehistoric era, plumb the meaning of mysterious Egyptian carvings and recall sublime Greco-Roman human figures. Sculpture is essentially frozen time and poetry a form of frozen feelings and sensations. The combination is naturally powerful, as you can tell by some of the chosen poems: Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn and On Seeing the Elgin Marbles, Shelley's Ozymandias, Robert Graves' Pygmalion to Galatea, Yeats' Sailing to Byzantium and Lapis Lazuli and Auden's The Shield of Achilles.Murray Dewart does an exemplary job of choosing the poems which are separated into six thematic groupings: The Gods, Love and the Body, Warfare, Monuments, Objects and Apparitions and Antiquity. The themes are well selected allowing Dewart a great degree of freedom in choosing his poems. Most of the poetry features a more conventional verse structure but some are written in lyrical prose that remains in memory long after reading, like Jack Gilbert's ecstatic The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart. I own many of these small volumes of poetry published by Everyman's Library that feature colorful cloth covers, silk placeholders, artistic dust covers and easy to read typeface (usually Bembo). With its obvious emphasis on art that reveals eternity, this collection is one of the finest yet. A superb addition to a wonderful poetry series.

I came back to this little book recently, and was reminded how enveloping art can be, when we are open to it. Bind this most visceral form of physical art (sculpture) with the most emotional form of writing (poetry) and savor the result.These poems about sculpture are curated, happily, by a sculptor. You are likely to find some old friends from bygone days, and make some new ones. The selections were thoughtful, and encompassing.If you’re dutifully practicing social distancing, there’s probably no one within earshot for large chunks of the day. Belt out one of these poems. Feel the rhythm and cadence and texture of the words.Allow yourself to feel your connection to the reassuring ribbon of time.__Specific notes on the book itself: Size and cover/binding are pleasing. Font is acceptable, but point size would be better at a point or two larger for readability.

What a charming volume. Now, please know that this is coming from someone who triple majored in English, music, and illustration ... and has a Ph.D. in English. So, what I find "charming" might not be your idea of "charming." In fact, my idea of "charming" might translate as a gift your elderly, Anglophile aunt might give you with the very best of intentions (even though I'm still pretty much a kid). So, please take all of this with the proverbial splash of salt.Foremost, do know that this is a darling little book ... maybe five inches in height and relatively slender. It is perfect everyday gift for that art AND poetry lover. And, in this sense, it is quite niche. Therefore, if you are not ordering this for yourself, make certain your recipient intensely appreciates both of these arts.Overall, the choice of poems is lovely. And, I enjoy that this small volume is further broken into clear categories: "The Gods," "Love and the Body," "Warfare," "Monuments," "Objects and Apparitions," and "Antiquity." Now, I am perplexed by a few entries. For instance, I'm not certain why Blake's "The Tyger" is anthologized here. Blake did illustrate this poem for Songs of Experience (so, there is that artistic element) ... but I do not recall any form of sculpture being the inspiration for this companion piece to "The Lamb." Maybe the thread tying this piece is the image of a God (perhaps) "sculpting" this creature. I guess. In this sense, it's inclusion may feel forced?All told, I do like this petite volume. It has an undeniable charm. It will make for a lovely little gift for that art-lover in your life.

This is a lovely little book. It's much smaller than the average book. Typically that would be a cause for concern for me, just in worrying about tiny print. Thankfully, the print isn't tiny(nor is it large).The outside of the book is covered by a lovely dust jacket, but beneath it is a textured cloth cover. I much prefer the smooth dust jacket to touch, but the cloth cover is also lovely with black labels and gold lettering. There's also a ribbon bookmark to keep your place. The pages aren't super thick by any means, but they aren't the incredibly thin pages I would expect from a smaller sized book. They're comparable to an average book page.By appearance, this is just an elegant, yet simple little book, and such a treasure for those that enjoy poetry, particularly about sculpture. I tend to enjoy poetry more in the nature realm, but I like to branch out a bit here and there. This book is filled with poetry from a wide variety of people. Some I appreciate more than others, as I'm sure will be true for every other reader. From subject matter, this isn't my favorite collection of poems, but I appreciate this book enough that I'm greatly looking forward to adding others poetry collections in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets line to my shelves.