Lines of Defense: Poems, by Stephen Dunn
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Lines of Defense: Poems, by Stephen Dunn
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“[Stephen Dunn] has taken his place among our major, indispensable poets.”―Miami Herald
In his seventeenth collection of poetry, Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Dunn confronts the lines we fight against and the ones we draw for ourselves. Lines of Defense poignantly captures the absurdities of modern life, expectations derailed, the lived life juxtaposed to the imagined life, and the defenses we don to make do. The poems in Lines of Defense are wry and elegiac, precisely observed and wide-reaching. As with the best of Dunn’s work, they take stock of the quotidian aspects of life, of the essential comedy of getting through the day: finding a lost cat; not being invited to a party; taking a granddaughter to a carnival. The lines of defense are the lines of the verse itself, as poetry forms a stronghold against mortality. This essential volume showcases a poet writing at the height of his powers.From “Before We Leave”:
Where are we going? It’s not an issue of here or there. And if you ever feel you can’t take another step, imagine how you might feel to arrive, if not wiser, a little more aware how to inhabit the middle ground between misery and joy.
Lines of Defense: Poems, by Stephen Dunn- Amazon Sales Rank: #1176246 in Books
- Brand: Dunn, Stephen
- Published on: 2015-03-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.30" h x .40" w x 5.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 96 pages
From Booklist Pulitzer Prize–winning Dunn’s seventeenth collection is stunning. Divided into four sections, and including the stand-alone “If the Poet,” Dunn asks the big questions, offers contradictory and exploratory insights, and addresses mighty themes throughout. He offers an unnerving realization about what history preserves of life’s grand gestures: “Some of us wanted to drop out, go far away / from integrity’s demands. Others sought strange / consultations with their almost vanished selves.” Dunn is smart without being caustic, partial to the mundane in its glory, and willing to look back without giving up hope: “Just to be clear— / no whining on the journey. / If you whine, you’ll get stuck / somewhere with people / like yourself.” There is a whimsical feel to these poems. That’s not to say there isn’t conviction. Dunn writes of life experienced, and, in that, the uncovering of truth: “I don’t want to be brave, or safe. / I resolve never to fake joy, / or pursue old grief. If I encounter opacity, / I’ll try to smash it with something clear.” --Mark Eleveld
Review “Stephen Dunn’s fresh batch of poems teaches us that ‘to tell’ is just as good as ‘to show’ if you have something worth telling. These are smart, forceful, meticulously spoken poems that tell us some vital truths about how to conduct our lives.” (Billy Collins)“Stephen Dunn’s newest poems―retrospective, elegiac, comic, quotidian, tactful, and transcendent―true the self’s comprehensions of its own stories as a sawyer’s jig, file, and hammer true a saw, yet without ever sacrificing tenderness for sharpness (or the reverse). Lines of Defense reconfirms Dunn’s long-held place as one of our most necessary American poets: if he did not exist, we would have to invent him. But―what luck― exist he does.” (Jane Hirshfield)“Over a lifetime richly invested in poetry, Dunn has mastered his signature take on an artfully colloquial voice that, in the guise of plainspeaking, slyly lampoons our daily pretensions, tenderly empathizes with our daily disappointments, and reminds us that the day-to-day can serve as the gateway to otherness. Lines of Defense is an admirable addition to that life-work, its difficult honesties and wrestlings with conscience lurking under beckoningly, entertainingly casual surfaces.” (Albert Goldbarth)
About the Author Stephen Dunn is the author of poetry collections including What Goes On: New and Selected Poems 1995–2009 and Here and Now. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his collection Different Hours. He has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and has received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Richard Stockton College, he lives in Frostburg, Maryland, with his wife, the writer Barbara Hurd.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Staying in tune with Dunn By greymare Across the room grouped together on a small table is my library of all Stephen Dunn's books published since 1989, along with journals in which his poetry and prose appears, and now, the books of Barbara Hurd. In that space is the life of Stephen Dunn--from his mother's breasts, his girls standing up for Jesus in the back of the car, the academic social scene, and the rich mid-life we all have from 30 to 70.I, too, noted a slight change of tone in Lines of Defense. Dunn is entering elderliness, just as rich a time of life, no matter how otherwise it is advertised. I'm older than Dunn, drive, go to the gym and generally out there. But I'm more contemplative. Time does that. Perhaps that is what other reviewers are sensing. Not so much is there of gulls dipping like addicts, passing the old college that looks like an asylum, and that cringer--blood on a white dress (Toward the Verrazano). I have experienced no lack of quality in this book of poems--that same original take of the amused bystander is there--and find as much pleasure in the re-readings as in the rest of the books. And not to count Dunn out: a fine poem just appeared in the New Yorker.In spite of my long "acqua8intance" with Dunn, I enlarged my knowledge reading The Room and the World, a new book about Dunn and his life in essays by other writers and friends It is a valuable addition to my collection, and I recommend it, as I do Lines of Defense, to others.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I want to love poetry; why can't I By Martin F Weybret I want to read poetry, but don't, often. I want to love poetry; why can't I? I bought Lines of Defense after hearing Stephen Dunn on Morning Edition. He was down-to-earth but not earthy. His poem's language is common, the subjects often commonplace. He sounded approachable, without the summit we must climb to reach most poets. And so I've read — about half the poems — plodding, one after another. At times I smile a bit, see a bit, feel a bit of understanding. And yet my head is inconstantly engaged, my heart is un-deeply stirred. Is it my lack lack or Stephen's? Would rhyme and rigid meter bolster the Lines of Defense? I will read on, plod on, hope that Stephen wins me over, that he incites me to poetry.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This is a wonderful collection that will have you memorizing lines and sending ... By Julia McMichael How did I not know this remarkable Pulitzer Prize winning poet? This is a wonderful collection that will have you memorizing lines and sending copies to your friends. His poem //Nothing to Hold Onto// is a beautiful homage to a young person starting out in life. He cautions that because one has been deeply loved, one doesn’t have the defenses of the unloved. Dunn is so truly original and wonderful; something all good poets have in common. The first poem in the volume //It Was a Time// hearkens back to one’s salad days of youthful rebellion and resistance only to end it with “we became people we only occasionally knew.” Each and every poem is a gem and – if you are like me – you will seek out more of this exceptional poet’s work. Stephen Dunn has fortunately written sixteen books. He is clearly a master at his craft and I look forward to reading more of his poems and delighting in his great take on life and aging. Or as poet laureate, Billy Collins says “These are smart, forceful meticulously spoken poems that tell us some vital truths about how to conduct our lives.”
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