New and Collected Poems: 1975-2015 (Hardcover)

from karenweyant

Years ago, I feel in love with the poetry of Jay Parini when I read his book, Anthracite Country, a book that details Pennsylvania's coal region through personal observations, stories, and lyrical verse. Shamefully, I have to admit that I have not kept up on Parini's work, so I jumped on my chanc...

from unclebob53703

I had no idea who Jay Parini was when I requested a review copy of this book through Library Thing. I haven't had a lot of luck with contemporary poetry, but this goes back forty years so I gave it a try. I was encouraged that the dust jacket features a positive review from Richard Wilbur, a favo...

from wrmjr66

Parini's collection shows him to be one of the steadiest voices in American poetry over the last 40 years. His poems tend to focus on a concrete sense of place--often coal mining country in Pennsylvania--but they typically turn to more universal themes. Whether it's facing fear in "Playing in the...

from hemlokgang

I read most of these poems aloud to myself. I particularly liked Parini's poems about nature. They called to mind those wonderful poems by Robert Frost. Overall the collection evoked a sense of yearning for the simple, lovely pleasures in life and in nature. Very nice collection!

from DonnaMarieMerritt

Ambivalent about many poems in this collection (in a 231-page book, that's bound to be the way, I think), but there is also much to love and savor. The similes ("snow is falling . . . flakes like butterflies that fail to land . . ." and "dunes whirling in the streets where cars lay buried, humped...