Description
Book SynopsisDuring John Thompson''s sadly attenuated lifetime, he completed only two volumes of poetry. At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets and Stilt Jack (published posthumously), but seldom has such a slim oeuvre supported such a large reputation. When John Thompson: Collected Poems and Translations was first published in 1995, the reasons for Thompson''s stature became clear, and in the twenty years since then, his influence has only grown larger.
Thompson seeks out the darkest places of the heart, then floods them with light. These remarkable poems evoke the deep woods, the relentless turning of seasons that churn life into death, and back again to life. They unflinchingly examine his relationships, drawing out the pain and joys of domesticity.
Confessionally raw, but oblique and beautiful, Thompson''s poetry and in particular, his experiments in Stilt Jack with adapting the ghazal, a poetic form with origins in Arabia has influenced
Trade Review
"John Thompson searched deeply among humanity's most hidden places and brought back to us poems of remarkable beauty. The uncollected poems and translations only add to the greatness of his gift. No one who reads his life's work can go away unchanged." -- Patrick Lane
"what lasts, words like hooks to catch trout, love that got away" -- D.G. Jones
